0:01

Good day, everybody. Welcome into the lead t Report. We are presented

0:05

by Bobcat Enterprises as we head into a big sports weekend for the University of

0:11

Kentucky Big Baseball Series at Florida starting later today. And then you've got the

0:19

men's tennis team trying to advance in the NCAA tournament, hosting a Sweet sixteen

0:24

matchup this week and that'll be tomorrow over at the Boon Tennis Center. So

0:29

lots to focus on this weekend for the BBN as we roll into our Wildcat

0:35

News of the Day, always presented by Juseppes of Lexington. And we've got

0:40

a couple of legends UK greats joining us today. Keith Madison, former Kentucky

0:46

baseball coach. We'll talk to him about what's been a tremendous season for Kentucky

0:52

Baseball's they try to play their way to a second SEC championship. And then

0:56

Oscar Cobs will be with us in the second half. Oscar last week week

1:00

was announced as one of the newest members to the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame.

1:04

He'll be enshrined this September and we'll talk with Oscar about that honor and

1:11

just about his amazing career, talk about a little more about Mark Pope coming

1:18

on to the scene as the UK men's basketball coach and how that's going.

1:23

So lots to get to today here on the show, so let's get right

1:27

to it. UK Baseball at Florida today. They have moved up the starting

1:33

time for the game today because there is some stormy weather rolling into Florida.

1:40

I was watching the Today Show and as it was airing, the Panhandle of

1:46

Florida was getting hit with some potentially tornadic type weather and that's obviously a little

1:56

ways north of Gainesville, but still that systems moving through, so hopefully they

2:00

can get this game in today. It's slated now for a one o'clock first

2:05

pitch on SEC network, plus Darren Hedrick will have the call on the UK

2:08

Radio network. Pregame will be twelve forty five Eastern for Darren, and then

2:16

Tomorrow and Sunday the games will be on the SEC main network, and of

2:22

course Darren will still be there for the call on both of those as well, So you can turn down the TV and turn up and sync up the

2:29

UK radio network for Darren's call. Kentucky Florida six SEC games left for Kentucky

2:36

to try to not only secure an SEC championship, but maybe potentially be the

2:43

number one overall seed for the NCAA Tournament. Certainly they would be in a

2:47

great spot for a top eight national seed just by taking care of business against

2:53

the Gators this weekend and Vandy at home next weekend. Mark Pope was on

2:59

the field of sixty eight last night and talked about how the pieces of his

3:04

first Kentucky team are such a good fit for his system that brilliantly fits what

3:09

we're trying to do, and he said, this is a team that does

3:15

a little more defensive oriented. He said acknowledged he's more of an offensive minded

3:22

coach, but that the guys that they have, they have some really good

3:27

defensive players. Single that Lamont Butler in particular as a defender, and you

3:32

remember the phrase he used when he was on with us last Friday, guard

3:37

your yard. It's something it sounds like we'll be hearing more often from him

3:43

in terms of what they expect defensively, and they want to be able to

3:46

switch a lot. Think about you know, Willie Cauley, Stein, DeAndre

3:52

Liggins, guys like that that could switch in one through four or one through

3:55

five, and it sounds like he wants that kind of verse Untaldy defensively on

4:00

his roster and feels that's what he has been able to put together through the

4:04

transfer portal here to start. He also talked about how this quote feels like

4:10

home at Kentucky being out and speaking to groups and maybe he'll see a former

4:14

player in the crowd, or see a teacher from his time at UK when

4:17

he's speaking to campus groups, and he said, it just feels like home,

4:23

and I think that really resonates with Kentucky fans. Coach Cal was on

4:29

social media yesterday tweeting about being back in Lexington visiting friends who were part of

4:32

the success that he had here at UK. He singled out Joe and Kelly

4:36

Kraft. He also repeated his line about the need for a new voice for

4:42

Kentucky basketball. He said he likes and respects Mark Pope. I remember Coach

4:46

Pope talking about running into Cal and Tubby Smith at the Final Four, which

4:53

was actually Mark didn't know it at the time. It was already in motion

4:58

for the Kentucky job to be coming open. CBS Adentnis Dodd also went to

5:01

Fayetteville to do a story on Cal. You can read that at cbassports dot

5:05

com. Cal said the way it ended sucks and I think everybody would certainly

5:12

agree on that point. Kentucky Men's tennis taking on Harvard tomorrow at a Sweet

5:16

sixteen matchup at the Boon Tennis Center. Kentucky one four to two over the

5:21

Crimson in February. Hopefully they get a great turnout to cheer on Kentucky men's

5:27

tennis. They are in quite a run these days and trying to get that

5:31

national championship that just eluded them a couple of years ago. Links to the

5:36

stories that we talk about, you can find them on the bud Light Leech

5:41

Report page at Tom leechky dot com. Our opening segment always presented by Giuseppes

5:46

of Lexington. A lot of you may be planning a Mother's Day visit to

5:49

Giuseppes. There's no better place for a big event like that than going to

5:54

Giuseppes to celebrate. You get a fantastic meal, Pasta's homemade, the fresh

6:00

food that's brought in, handcut steaks, and you get a fantastic ambiance with

6:05

Dave Hall's Live Jay. As if you sit in the bar area which has

6:08

been expanded, so there's more of an opportunity to do that. They expanded

6:12

it because it is so popular. So get to Giuseppes Lexington dot com or

6:15

open Table and make your reservation for the next special experience dining experience at Giuseppes.

6:21

We'll be right back with Coach Keith Madison. It is the Leach Report

6:26

presented by Bobcat Enterprises. Sixteen past the top of the hour. It is

6:30

the Leach Report. We are presented by Bobcat Enterprises and today's their big day

6:36

for the Walton location. They're having the grand opening in their location in Walton

6:42

for Bobcat Enterprises, the newest one. It's just off I seventy five.

6:46

You see it from the Interstate the one three three five Oho service Road.

6:49

If you're in the area between ten and two today, stop by visit with

6:54

the team. Check out all the great deals there on heavy equipment or new

7:00

more for your home. Enjoy the food. Sign up to have a chance

7:03

to win surprizes, and thank them for their support of the show bringing it

7:09

to you each day. That's today, the grand location, the grand opening

7:13

for the location of Bobcat Enterprises in Walton, Kentucky. So let them know

7:18

that you are a big fan. All right, we're efforting coach Keith Madison,

7:26

hopefully land him here in a moment. Let me catch you up in

7:29

a couple of other things. Triple Cown coverage presented by Clayburne Farm again this

7:33

spring doing the usual, unusually well for more than one hundred years. A

7:39

couple of notes with the breakness field, Tuscan Gold was entered to run in

7:43

the Peter Pan Stakes tomorrow and in New York instead. Trander Chad Brown is

7:47

re routing Tuscan Gold to the Preakness. Tuscan Gold's lightly raced horse, but

7:53

ran third in the Louisiana Derby behind Catching Freedom and Honor Marie. And he's

7:58

going to take a shot in the Preakness now. As Brown City looked at

8:01

how the field was shaping up and thought Tuscan Gold fit Catching Freedom the winner

8:07

the Luisiana Derby, he's listed on the possible runners now for the Preakness.

8:13

Still a chance that Mystic Dan will be there. Kenny McPeak was on a

8:16

national teleconference I think yesterday. He talked about they won't make a decision before

8:22

this weekend. But things have gone well so far from all reports. I

8:26

saw an interview with Robbie Albarado, the former jockey who was a board Mystic

8:31

Dan for his return to the track, and Robbie was just gushing with how

8:35

well the gallop went for Mystic Dan. So hopefully we'll see the Derby winner

8:39

at the Preakness as well, and this will all start to shape up over

8:45

the weekend because entries will be taken on Monday in Baltimore for the Preakness,

8:48

which is a week from tomorrow. And then Joel Rosario has been named to

8:54

replace Keith Aspison as the writer aboard Just Steele, who was a little too

8:58

close to the hot pace in the Derby and faded, but previously was second

9:05

in the Arkansas Derby, finishing ahead of Mystic Dan that day. So Just

9:09

Steele is gonna have a new rider, Joel Rosario for the Preakness stakes.

9:13

So that's the news coming out of the second leg of the Triple Crown,

9:16

and we'll get a little more into all of that next week. But appreciate

9:20

Clayborne Farm for bringing us the Triple Crown coverage this spring. Coming up on

9:26

nineteen past the top of the hour and we're gonna gonna take a quick break

9:31

and we'll come right back. It is the Leach Report Radio Network presented by

9:35

Bobcat Enterprises. Leitch Report presented by Bob Cat Enterprises. We go to the

9:41

Club Blue Ediel Hotline and bring on coach Keith Madison, longtime baseball coach at

9:46

the University Kentucky. You hear him now from time to time working with Darren

9:50

Hendrick on the UK Radio Network. Coach has been quite a special season for

9:54

Nick Mangeon. I know you guys have gotten to be good friends, and

9:58

give me your ti take on what he's done in the last couple of seasons

10:01

to get this program headed in the direction that it's headed. Yeah, Tom

10:09

here, you're right. He's done an incredible job. And one thing that

10:13

he's done for sure is he has he has taken full advantage of the transfer

10:18

portal and he's done it in a way that's pretty special in that he he

10:24

brings these guys together from all these different schools, graduate transfers, all kinds

10:31

of guys from Texas and New Mexico and California, and they come together as

10:37

one. They seem to really enjoy playing with each other. They really compete

10:43

hard with one another, and it's it's a tribute to Nick and his staff

10:48

to be able to bring all these different personalities that are very mature and they

10:56

come together and they win. You know, I know a lot of major

11:00

league general managers would like to have a manager that could do that with with

11:03

players. But yeah, Dick ben Jones been outstanding and and as you know,

11:09

being around the game a long time, defense and pitching wins and the

11:15

guys that he's brought in have played incredible defense. Uh. You know,

11:20

Emilian Petre had second base only two errors and Grant Smith at short's top only

11:26

three errors for the entire season. That's phenomenal. So these guys can really

11:30

play a little like they're a little like the Saint Louis Cardinals of the Whitey

11:33

Hersal era, right, Uh, they had all those qualities. Yeah,

11:39

yeah, the great defense. Uh. And also they're a little bit like

11:43

the uh now you're too young to remember this, but they're they're they're also

11:46

like the Walton Austin Dodgers back in the Sandy Kofax era, where you know,

11:52

they have really good pitching, great defense, and they put a lot

11:56

of pressure on the defense with their base run. This team, this walkhead

12:01

team, they will take every advantage of a ball in the dirt that the

12:09

catcher doesn't catch cleanly, you know, if the pictures, if he's lollly

12:15

gagging, they're going to take the base. I mean, they're fun to

12:18

watch. I really enjoy watching this team because they they run the bases with

12:22

reckless abandons. And that's something I would think from a coach's perspective. You

12:28

have to be committed to because everybody's all for that until it doesn't work and

12:33

you get you know, thrown out or you get you run yourself out of

12:37

an inning. But you have to be committed to it through the good times

12:41

and the bad. Right, you are exactly right. You know. You

12:46

can hear people moan when they get picked off or thrown out in the base,

12:50

but if you look at the overall picture, they've created a lot of

12:54

havoc on the basis and they've created errors from the other team just them being

13:01

aggressive on the bases. I mean, they they take chances. They you

13:05

know the you know, Nick's got the he's got the arm wave and at

13:09

third base they're going to try to score. If you love baseball, You're

13:13

gonna love watching this team play. One thing that was really encouraging to me

13:18

just as a fan last weekend in the Arkansas series was how the two guys

13:24

on Saturday and Sunday, Ninemen and More got their games back on track because

13:31

they gotten roughed up the previous two weekends and you didn't want to see that

13:33

be a trend, and I thought it was good for their confidence. I

13:37

assume to have solid outings. Absolutely, you hit the nail on the head.

13:41

Not only that, Tom Johnny Hummel, who's been their closer, got

13:46

really roughed up at South Carolina. It was a tough weekend for pitching down

13:50

there, and Johnny Humbill bounced back as a closer against Arkansas. So it

13:56

was after that series I think the people that really follow Kentucky baseball felt much

14:03

better about the team because it looked like they were kind of drifting into a

14:07

slump. And then they play the number one team in the league, the

14:15

number two team in the nation, and they scored a lot of runs against

14:18

them and pitched well against them. Do with Keith Madison, former Kentucky baseball

14:24

coach, and you hear him now and with Darren Headrick working on our UK

14:28

network broadcast Kentucky's down at Florida this weekend. What do you know about the

14:31

Gators? Well, the Gators have struggled. They started off the season in

14:37

the top five in the nation and they were predicted to win the East Division.

14:41

Well, Kentucky Tennessee. A lot of teams are ahead of Kentucky Tennessee,

14:46

South Carolina, Georgia all ahead of Florida. Florida. They have some

14:52

great players, they always have great players, but their pitching has been a

14:54

little subpart of this spring and they just aren't clicking. Uh they're not They're

15:01

not the same Florida team that we've seen in the past. And you've probably

15:05

mentioned this, or if not, you know about it. But the team

15:09

actually were supposed to be at six thirty dece evening, Yeah, move to

15:11

one o'clock this afternoon, so that'll be an interesting thing as well. Uh

15:16

but uh yeah, I feel good about the Waldcats going to Gainesville, and

15:20

there haven't been many times since I've been in Lexington where I felt really really

15:26

good about the Waldcats going to Gainsville. So, uh yeah, I expect

15:30

a good series from the Waldcats down there. Let me go back to something

15:33

you were talking about at the top of the interview with bringing all the guys

15:37

together from various places through the portal. That has been a key piece of

15:41

what Nick Minngeon has done here. Uh. Mark Pope's having to do that

15:46

now in his first season where you come in and there's the ross, the

15:50

cover's empty, the roster's emptied out, so you have to go to the

15:54

portal. And Mark was on a podcast last night talking about how well he

16:00

felt like the pieces fit together. And that's such a big part of it

16:03

because you know, you want the number one you got to get bodies to

16:06

be able to feel the team, but you want to be able to do it and such. You want to be able to move fast enough to to

16:11

collect the bodies, but also smart enough to make sure that they can work

16:15

well together. And that's quite a challenge. It's it's a real challenge.

16:19

I mean, you need Dick Tracy or somebody to vet all these players that

16:23

are coming in so quickly. But yeah, I mean it's it's it's one

16:29

thing to get talented players in. Uh. You know, a team like

16:32

Kentucky can do that because of the reputation. But another challenge is get the

16:37

players in that are going to fit in, that are going to go to

16:41

class, that are going to be a good teammate, uh, and all

16:45

those things that are so important within a program. Uh. If you get

16:48

a group of guys in here that are terrible teammates, uh, then it's

16:52

just going to be disaster. So that's a lot of work. It's you

16:56

have to do a lot. You have to ask a lot of questions.

16:59

You have talked to a lot of people and I'm sure Mark Pope has done

17:03

that, and I know Nick Minjon has done it and Mark steps has done

17:07

it. So it's becoming an art and those who do it well are going

17:11

to succeed. Yeah, that is one hundred percent true. Coach. I

17:15

appreciate the time as always, and we will get you back on to talks

17:19

board baseball, maybe ahead of the SEC tournament here in a couple of weeks.

17:23

That'd be tremendous. Tom. Thank you a lot. That is Keith

17:26

Madison and I always enjoy when he ends up in the booth with Darren because

17:30

they are really good together and Keith is excellent on the radio. And obviously

17:37

it's a tremendous feel for the game and that comes through over the year.

17:41

We're halfway home Oscar Cobs when we come back. It's fully true report for

17:48

a Friday presented by Bob Kent Enterprises. I want to remind you guys about

17:56

the Committee of one oh one looking for new depth for the team. Those

18:00

are the men and women in the Blue Coats that you see at Rupp Arena

18:04

and at Kroger Field and other UK events helping out as ushers or whatever is

18:11

needed. They're always there to answer the call and they are looking to add

18:15

some new members and you can be a part of it. It's a great

18:18

organization. Go to their website, the Committee of one o one dot org.

18:22

I mean they go back to like the mid sixties with this group got

18:26

started through a bunch of UK fans at IBM at the time that wrote some

18:33

letters of support to Coach Rup and that's how it evolved into the quote unquote

18:38

Blue Coats. You can also email and get an membership application UK one oh

18:44

one membership at gmail dot com. Really fun organization to be a part of.

18:48

Great folks and you'll be with nothing but wildcatfans when they get together.

18:52

So you are so inclined reach out to the Committee of one oh one.

18:59

We are working to land Oscar Combs, the founder of the Cat's Pause,

19:03

who was announced last week as one of the four newest members of the Kentucky

19:07

Sports Hall of Fame. Tony Dalk, who we heard from earlier this week.

19:12

We'll be going in with this class in September at Freedom Hall along with

19:17

Oscar, Roy Pickerel, a long time sid at Kentucky Wesleyan, and in

19:21

Teddy Bridgewater, a great quarterback from U of L. And it'll be such

19:26

a fun night to hear all of their stories. So happy for Oscar getting

19:33

that well deserved recognition. And he might be at at Wheelers having breakfast,

19:38

so we'll have to catch him here in just a moment. Tell you what,

19:42

Let's knock out a break and then we'll see if we can land Oscar.

19:48

If we don't, I've got an interview. I think I told you

19:52

guys, trying to round up interviews with various people who have covered the players

19:57

who are coming in as transfers, and whether it's a radio guy, a

20:02

beat writer, or whatever, to give us a little more insight into the games of these players. So I did tape an interview with Larry Hanskin from

20:08

Dayton about Kobe Brea, so we'll either roll that or we'll have Oscar will

20:14

be come right back. It is the Lates Report, and we are presented

20:18

by Bobcat Enterprises from the Clark's Pump and Shop studio Return Refresh and Refuel at

20:23

Clark's. Late's Report is presented by Bobcat Enterprises. And one thing we're doing

20:36

here in the off season is trying to catch up to people who have covered

20:41

the transfers that are coming in for Kentucky men's basketball, get a little more

20:45

insight into their games. Joining us. Next in the club Blue nil Hotline

20:49

is Larry Hanskin. He covered Kobe Brea the last few seasons in his role

20:55

as the radio voice the Dayton Flyers. And Larry, it's a job you've

21:00

had for a little while, right, Yeah, this is I just finished

21:03

my forty first season, so yeah, I've seen a little bit of an

21:07

Eton basketball through the years. We were talking off the air before we got

21:11

started that. Mike Pratt, my longtime broadcast partner, was a great fan

21:17

of the Flyers and coach Donaher recruited him hard coming out of high school there

21:22

in Dayton, back in the day. So it's nice to know that Mike

21:25

is still a legendary figure there in Dayton. Oh absolutely, I mean,

21:30

yeah, we're folks disappointed that he went away. Yeah, but he was

21:33

still beloved and came back. It came back a lot speak on many occasions

21:40

in the Dayton area. Was I mean, this is he never forgot where

21:44

he came from. Let's put it that way. Very true. Well, let's talk about a young man that is coming into the Kentucky program. Now

21:49

that you had the pleasure of calling his games, Kobe Brea, tell me

21:53

about his game and what the most impressive aspects of it are. Well,

21:59

I mean the thing that of at you right away. He is an elite

22:02

shooter. I mean really an elite shooter. If you wanted to teach someone

22:07

how to shoot the basketball, you you know, you put up a tape

22:11

of Kobe and uh, you know, his his the lift, he gets

22:17

on the ball, his his stroke has followed through a quick release. It's

22:22

all there. And you know he's he has been a great shooter since he

22:30

got here. But you know, this is the first fully healthy year he's

22:33

had. This past season because about a year ago at this time, he

22:38

was in a wheelchair. He had had he had had you know, steel

22:45

rods implanted in both both of his ships because of you know, to support

22:52

the tibia. He was dealing with stress fractures in both his tibia, which

22:57

really led to a very painful season in it would be twenty two twenty three,

23:06

and as a consequence, his numbers dropped off that and he was sick

23:10

and he actually missed a game in which he would have played against Coach Pope

23:14

in the in the Bahamas, and when Coach Pope was a BYU, but

23:18

he was home sick, and so physically he was, you know, he

23:25

was playing catch up all year. And that was coming off a year in

23:29

which he was the sixth Man of the Year of the Atlantic ten. Well, lo and behold, he comes back this year and just had his best

23:33

year so far, six Man in the Year again in the league. And

23:37

it's just he was the elite three point shooter in college basketball. And I've

23:42

always been a fan of Anthony Grants back from his days when he was in

23:45

Alabama. So I was telling our listeners here that a guy like this that's

23:49

played for coach Grant, he's going to know how to play the game and

23:52

do more than just shoot. Yeah, he don't know how to play the

23:56

game. And beyond that, you know, beyond that time know how to

24:00

conduct himself. You know, he's going to know how to be the type

24:04

of person who's going to represent himself, his family, his school, his

24:10

institution, and his community. Well, big spotlight here at the University of

24:14

Kentucky when you play for the Wildcats. Is he a young man that's comfortable

24:18

in that kind of situation, Well, you know what, I would think

24:22

that, you know, arguably, you could say he had his three finest

24:27

games this year. One was a bit of a spotlight game against you see

24:32

at a so called neutral siety in Cincinnati, when he went off and really

24:37

shot the ball well on that game. And then in the NCAA tournament,

24:41

he was a huge part in that amazing seventeen point comeback in the final seven

24:47

and a half minutes against Nevada. And then you know, Dayton was on

24:51

the brink of collapsing but did not made a game against Arizona in round two

24:55

and then guir again he was the big reason why. So he did not

24:59

shine on the big stage, and in fact that the uh well, the

25:03

Arizona guards at one point in time said to him, run down the court.

25:07

He goes, well, you got some shot. Was he a primarily

25:12

a catch and shoot guy? Could he create his own shots? Some?

25:15

What about that part of it? Catch and shoot? Obviously? I don't

25:21

know a three point a really good three point shooter who cannot be a good

25:25

catch and shoot shooter. But he was a good at the pump fake,

25:30

let the guy fall past him, pump fake, step back a little bit

25:36

off the dribble. I would not say he's great at creating his own shot,

25:41

but you know he did not have to. He did not need a

25:45

screen to get open. He could create space either with a dribble or a

25:52

you know, just a side step something like that. And you know he's

25:56

he's got good size. He's six six maybe almost six wow, so he's

26:00

able to shoot over top of people as well. Looking forward to seeing him

26:04

play. We appreciate the scouting your port, Larry, Well, you know

26:07

what, even more than Washington playtime. He's gonna enjoy being around it.

26:11

Great. Can't get enough of those kind of guys, No, you never

26:17

can. You can never have a team with too many good people on it.

26:22

Amen to that, Larry, thank you for the time. Oh My

26:26

Place, Tom. It's Larry Hanskin Radio, long time radio voice of the

26:30

Dayton Flyers, and we appreciate his insight into Kobe Braya's game. Yesterday,

26:37

around this time, Justin Rowland was with us talking about Kentucky might be trying

26:42

to pursue another defensive lineman in the portal well. The name popped out yesterday.

26:48

It's a young man from Grand Valley State who would have two years of

26:52

eligibility remaining, six three two and eighty two pound Flint, Michigan native JVR

26:57

Suggs, and he announced a top six yesterday which includes Kentucky, Arkansas,

27:03

Southern Calm, Michigan, Florida State in Wisconsin. So there are some serious

27:07

folks after him, including Mark Stoops, Vince Maryland Company. And that's the

27:12

name to keep an eye on over the next couple of weeks to see if

27:15

Kentucky can land Jvr sucks. That will get us to a break, we

27:21

will come right back. And I don't think we're gonna be able to land Oscar today, so we'll try to get him back next week. Keith Farmer's

27:27

gonna join us whill we return. It is the Leech Report Radio Network.

27:32

We are presented by Bobcat Enterprises, and we will be right back back to

27:38

the club Blue Nil Hotline and Keith Farmer joins us from BBN tonight. And

27:45

Keith, we appreciate you jumping grabbing a bat, jumping up to pinch hit

27:49

and covering to the rescue. Talk a little uk P. Yeah, you're

27:55

usually the only place you want me, just being there on the bench ready to go shake that. Uh, let's let's talk a little bit about your

28:03

Kentucky Derby experience. You guys do a great job with the coverage. And

28:07

I didn't wasn't working for anybody to enter this weekend this past weekend, so

28:11

I had a chance to watch all the l e X eighteen coverage and the

28:14

NBC coverage and enjoyed all of it. And uh, you know, you've

28:18

been around it for a long time, being in louis in the Louisville market

28:21

for a while. Uh, what was the what were the storylines that kind

28:25

of that most connected with you in this year's Oaks Derby weekend? You know,

28:32

one of the things that you know, first off, I just love being a part of the Derby experience with you know, l e x eighteen.

28:38

It's one of those things we start preparing for. I saw the rundowns

28:42

started populating, like when we were still in March and we were dealing with

28:47

basketball, and I was getting a little stressed out. But at the same time, it's the most fun time to be able to talk about the horses

28:52

and to see even some of our newer people get the chance to go experience

28:56

in the Derby and uh and their slant on the stories that they see.

29:02

And so I think it's for me. I like sitting there watching it just like everybody else does before it comes time for me to talk about a horse

29:08

or something. But certainly, you know Kenny McPeek being the Lexington native going

29:14

to Tates Creek, I think it was just incredible. I mean, you

29:17

know, we brought up the fact that he could be the first since Ben

29:19

Jones in nineteen fifty two to win the double. I think we kind of

29:22

do that every year, but you just think I also think it hadn't happened

29:27

in so long. Once he had the oaks, she think, well,

29:30

that's it. You know, he's not winning the Derby and then obviously there's

29:33

another one of those long standing droughts that you know goes by the wayside,

29:38

and he does it. So phenomenal to see him have the chance to win

29:44

both for the first time. It It was about this time in the show

29:48

last Friday that I played a clip of an interview I did with Kenny from

29:52

out at Keenland. We're talking about one of his horses for a steak at

29:56

Keenland, and then I went on to ask him about Torpedo and and how

30:00

she was coming up to the Oaks, and he was gushing about her,

30:03

and then I said what about mistic Dan and he then, you know,

30:07

he praise on how well misstic Dan was doing, and unsolicited he said,

30:11

yea, we all dream about that Oaks Derby double. I'm dreaming it,

30:14

and so he kind of called his shot. So it was a little little

30:18

Muhammad Ali esque and yet just to the other end of the spectrum, the

30:23

picture of humility once it all played out. So I think he was a

30:27

guy that everybody found easy to root for. And that's the thing is,

30:33

like he was so confident and you could tell that in both of them,

30:37

and yet he wasn't like pushing it out there, and maybe because not a

30:41

lot of people were going by there to check him out and see them what

30:45

they thought about him. But and by the way, if you know the

30:48

backside of Churchill downs, a lot of the barns for the derby horses are

30:52

like in thirties forties range. He's down in number four, so it's way

30:57

down away from the others. Maybe that's why people just didn't go down and

31:00

make the trip to his barn. I think you're probably right about that,

31:04

exactly right. That's how it happens sometimes that the horse had had a little

31:11

bit of traffic trouble in the Arkansas Derby that contributed to you know, a

31:15

so so finish and that helped people maybe write off his chances as well,

31:21

those of us who were in that boat, regretting the chance to have cashed

31:26

in on a nice playoff. Big weekend, Yeah, big weekend for UK

31:32

sports with men's tennis, and I know you guys on BBN tonight cover everything

31:37

and so tell us a little bit about the job that they've done. I

31:40

mean, they're on quite a run, played for the championship, national championship. A couple of years ago and putting themselves in a position to maybe be

31:45

there again. So yeah, it's it really is an exciting sport to go

31:51

watch. I really try and tell people you got to do it. I had the chance to go up to Illinois when they were in the National Championship

31:56

against Virginia, and it starts out with three doubles just all going at the

32:00

same time, and whenever the first match ends, that's it, and that

32:05

team gets the doubles point, and then after that you got your six singles

32:08

that go out and whoever wins the most out of that is who takes the

32:12

match. And it's just so fun, so fast. I mean, it's

32:15

not a drawn out kind of thing like you think of Wimbledon or you know,

32:21

French Open or something like that. It's very quick and it's really exciting

32:24

to watch all the matches take place at the same time. They went undefeated

32:30

in the SEC this year. They've definitely earned everything they've gotten. They did

32:34

knock off Harvard, who they've played it at two o'clock and earlier this year,

32:38

and at the time it was an upset. So this is a very

32:42

good match up with Harvard, and luckily they're doing it on the court and

32:45

not with the books. But you know, I think we've got some pretty

32:49

smart guys too, So we'll see. But it is a lot of fun

32:52

if you can make it out there at two o'clock. Yeah, it's tomorrow

32:54

at the Boone Tennis Center and r tomorrow. Yes, yeah, hopefully they'll

32:59

have a it off a couple of days. And I'm growing off. So I understand you've been, as they say, burning the candle at both ends.

33:06

I'm sure through basketball and leading up to Derby stuff. Uh well,

33:13

man, that's where I was going to go next. Uh. You know

33:16

he is did the Field of sixty eight podcast last night. I mean he's

33:21

hitting all the media obligations. We had him last Friday. He is uh

33:28

uh you know, rounding up players and uh probably trying to find a place

33:31

to live and uh a lot going on in his world. Uh. Trent

33:37

Noah was a great pick up. I think once uh Pope came on board,

33:42

there was a you know, a little buzz boy. Wouldn't it be

33:44

great if you know after the state people, what people saw at the state

33:46

tournament they had Perry. Now if they could land Noah as well and it

33:52

play it happens. And heard a little bit of trent On ks R yesterday

33:57

and just you know, he made the comment that something effective Pope understands the

34:02

Kentucky way. And I think that's the thing with Mark at this point,

34:07

He's has said to people, he said all the right things, but yes,

34:13

it's one thing to say them and another thing to be one hundred percent

34:16

authentic, uh, you know, taken as one hundred percent authentic when you

34:21

say them. And I think that is what has happened. You know.

34:24

The thing is maybe the talent has fallen off a little bit in the state

34:30

since you and I were growing up, but I think we still definitely have

34:34

talent that knows how to play at that high level in the SEC, in

34:37

the NCAA Division One. And there's nothing like a Kentucky kid playing for Kentucky.

34:43

We've seen that through the years. That's the one thing that hasn't changed. Even if the talent's dropped a little bit, you still have those kids

34:50

that want to play and will succeed at the University of Kentucky. And so

34:53

I am super thrilled to see two guys ranked, you know, scoring top

34:59

five and the state all time in their careers, having the chance to play

35:02

there and to show out for the Kentucky fans. And it's kind of like,

35:07

you know that that blee blue thing that Mark Pope had, and he's not even from here. You're going to get that out of these two kids.

35:13

Keith, thank you much. You bet good talking to you. You

35:16

too, Keith Farmer on the Club Blue nil hotline, make sure that you

35:21

sign up by May fifteenth to be a part of the Club Blue team and

35:25

if you do, you'll be eligible for the June fifteenth meet and greet with

35:29

Coach Pope and the members of the team. It's exclusive to Club Blue subscribers.

35:34

Go to Club BLUEINIL dot com click join Club Blue for your chance to

35:37

be a part of the new era in Kentucky basketball Club Blue nil dot com.

35:43

Mark Pope has talked about how important the effort is to get BBN involved

35:46

with the ownership of the program through INIL. It's a great way to do

35:52

it. Club BLUEINIL dot com. Have a great weekend. Everybody will see

35:54

on Monday. Tom Leachkwhy dot com or on the iHeartRadio app. Interested in

35:59

advert tising on the show, email Leach Report at gmail dot com. We'll

36:02

see you next time on the Leach Report.