Latest / The Jake Wimberly Podcast / Mike Grace talks SEC with Men's Basketball and Football

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Mike Grace talks SEC with Men's Basketball and Football · The Jake Wimberly Podcast

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  You can also find press Box Radio one on X give him a follow,
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  Mike Grace, he is mister Pressbox himself. Of course you can hear them
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  every night here Monday through Friday, eight pm or to ten. Excuse me,
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  he joins us talk a little SEC sports. Mike, Welcome in,
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  sir. How are you? I am great? I am pumped for some
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  Egg Bowl basketball tonight. Man, how about that? I mean, what's
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  your thoughts so far? I mean, we got a long way to go.
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  We're about to hit the turn here on the second half of the season.
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  I mean it's going quick. But when you look at these two programs,
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  Mississippi State with a big win over the weekend, Ole Miss They've had
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  big wins as well. You know, we're talking to a lot of people
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  like you are about how deep is this league? Is it six seven,
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  eight nine? We'll see what the NCAA tournament kind of rolls out. But
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  looking at the matchup tonight and then looking at these two programs, your thoughts
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  so far on State Anile Miss Well, is this gonna be the biggest game
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  ever at the pavilion? I mean this is huge tonight with State coming off
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  there, you go back to back wins or two wins at least in January
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  over top five teams in Auburn and Tennessee your top ten teams, I guess.
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  But they have yet to win on the road at all this season.
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  They got six neutral sight wins, Jake, but have yet to win a
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  true road game, zero to three in the league on the road and really
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  haven't even been competitive. On the other side, you got Ole miss is
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  unbeaten inside pavilion this year, and just I mean, do life under Chris
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  Beard. I'm expecting the place to be rocking tonight. It should be a
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  whole lot of fun to watch Mike Grace on your radio Tuesday edition of the
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  program make You'll find him on x check out their show. You can get
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  it right here at eight o'clock tonight. Mike, when you look at the
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  SEC as a whole, is this the deepest that you can remember this league
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  has been? Man, it's hard to say it's not. I mean,
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  look, we've had years the last couple of years with what Bama's been number
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  one in the country. We don't have a team that high this season.
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  But when you look at the again, the quantity of quality that is up
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  and down this league. Oh, this is the perfect example, Jake.
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  This team was at the basement of the league a year ago. There's seventeen
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  and three now four and three in the league. They're just coming off their
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  first ever win at Texas A and m never at Oldness won a basketball game
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  Texas, say them until this past weekend. So I just think up and
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  down the line, you can't. You can't take anything for granted. And
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  it's why both for both clubs tonight, for States to try to get steal
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  a road to win and for ole Miss to protect that home court advantage.
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  It's a big game for both clubs. You know, you talked about Misissippi
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  State, and you know it will be interesting to see if a trend is
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  bucked one way the other. Almost twelve and oh at home. State zero
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  and four on the road, but they are six and zero on neutral sites,
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  you know, and sometimes this thing goes tip for tat between State and
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  o Miss. A lot of splitting. You know, you get back to
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  Rick Stansbury and when he was at Misissippi State, they owned that series.
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  But who do you like tonight in this ball game? Well, I mean
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  I like State if they can do a couple of things. The first thing
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  they got to do is avoid the letdown. I mean, coming off the
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  big win over Auburn. I think Christians will do a good job of getting
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  those guys back enjoy that win, but you gotta flush it and then you
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  got to do what you've been doing. So the strength of this team is
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  defense and rebounding. Those things should travel. You just got to find a
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  little offense every now and then. And look the free throw. Those things
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  they're a must. Man. They didn't cost this team on Saturday when they
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  hit some key ones down the stretch versus Auburn, they were still just nine
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  of eighteen, just fifty percent from the stripe. And you've got to do
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  better that than that if you want to win anywhere on the road in this
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  league. Michael, I have a SEC Baseball. College baseball first pitch starts
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  here in a little over two weeks on the sixth, sixteenth of February.
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  You look at the SEC again, Nashally just front loaded from Florida, Arkansas,
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  SU all getting you know, garnering attention. Nashally, Vanderbilt, top
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  ten type teams, Texas, A and M. You look at what Alabama
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  did last year. It's hard to believe South Carolina that Missisispi State Ole Miss.
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  We're just I mean, we're not that far removed from back to back
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  national championships in this state. But this league is so tough and it is
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  so deep. What defines success for both State and OLEMSS this year in baseball?
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  And you know, you know, especially for Crystal Monas, you could
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  make the case for Mike Bianco. Where do they need to be to be
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  coaching at these universities in twenty two? You know, the past two seasons
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  for Lamonas and Startfold have been the kind of years that State fans aren't used
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  to. Well, let's just face that baseball fans in Starkfill aren't used to
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  the last two seasons coming off that national championship that bought Lamonas a lot of
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  good will. You wonder if that's going to be running out this year,
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  if they can't come up with a winning record in league play and get back
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  to the tournament at least make a decent showing in that regard. And again,
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  I think for Old Miss they still got a little bit of room because
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  their national championship game a year later than States. But still you expect these
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  two programs to be near the top of the SEC because your fight Jac,
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  it's so loaded from top to bottom, and there's just no easy weekend in
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  SEC play at all. Let's pivot over to football, get your thoughts on
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  a couple of things. Why I got just a few minutes here. Let's
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  stay in the state of mississipip can go back to Oxford. We all know
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  about Lane Kiffin and what he's been able to do in the transfer portal.
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  Depending on the outlet, they're going to be somewhere nineteen twenty twenty one in
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  recruiting, but the portal is where you know they have made their money,
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  no pun intended. And you look at obviously the loss of Quinn Shawn Judkins,
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  but so many players they have picked up. And here recently they pick
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  up a big offensive lineman you know, from the University of Washington, who
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  played thirteen ball games. This has been fascinating to watch, actually two offensive
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  linemen from the University of Washington. Now to see Lane kifven build this roster
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  and the expectations are as high as I can remember in Oxford. Has is
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  this guy figured out the recruiting pitch, the new recruiting deal I mean,
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  whether it's his social media presence, whatever it is, I don't know.
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  When he's got it. Going down and coming to the step is the new
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  thing, you know, the guys that comes so close in years past,
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  it's time for him to take that next step. I saw a recent ranking
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  of SEC football coaches and he was right below the top two guys. This
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  guy had listed Brian Kelly and the Kirby Smart. Obviously, Kirby at number
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  one, Brian Kelly at number two is championship elgue guys. But then Lane
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  was in that next group of one step away. They are so close,
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  and with a field expanding to the twelve team playoff year should be a great
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  opportunity for Old Miss to be in that playoff and try to make some some
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  true boisseason postseason os noise. You mentioned the recruits they're bringing in. How
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  about the home run higher. Bringing Joe Cox in as the new tight ends
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  coach is huge, a former Nick Savin assistant, an Alabama guy that they've
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  been flowingly talked about. He's already recruiting in his home state of North Carolina,
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  looking for more of those studs that Lank Kiven's been putting together. And
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  the thing that I'm I love seeing today, Jake, how about Lane Kiffon
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  three years alcohol free today? Are really heartfelt social media post earlier. I
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  know he catches a lot of flax sometimes for his social media stuff, But
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  anybody who's got a history of alcoholism and personal are in their family something like
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  that knows what a bear that can be. And you got to be happy
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  for Lane Kiffin. And you know, for a state guy to feel good
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  about Lane Kiffon, that's a stretch for this guy. But I'm doing it.
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  No, there's no doubt about it. I mean, that's the hats
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  off to Lane Kiffin for that. That is a very tough deal to battle,
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  and he's been open and honest about it. And you know, I
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  hope that he continued down that path. Hell, let me stay at the
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  transporportal. We'll get you out here on this question here. Speaking of the
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  transfer portal, we've talked about Alabama, Alabama, Kaitlen de Boor coming in
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  the Alabama guys transferring out, Mike. They've got almost thirty guys, twenty
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  nine guys in the portal out. They've brought six in. They'll get a
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  few more of those guys. You know, they'll get some guys back in.
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  On the second short window after spring practice. Last year they had somewhere
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  around twenty two to twenty three guys and only seven or eight in that I
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  don't know that we're focused on this enough, but that depth in Alabama,
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  boy, it is really really just deteriorated over the last two years. And
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  look theref folks who believe that Kaylen de Boor was the perfect hire, the
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  perfect guy to try to replace Nick say, but you're not going to replace
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  him, but to follow him. But Jake, I'm with you. I
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  don't care. Especially with all the transfer portal news as you mentioned, how
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  does this program not take a step back. I mean, I don't think
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  there's anyone that could step in and do what Saban has done. So you
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  know, Obama fans are optimistic, they love to hire, They're behind Kaylen
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  de Boor. I just really want under it. It's it's gonna be tough,
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  especially with the expanded SEC that Texas and Oklahoma program coming in. Good
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  luck Taylor to Boor, you need to go find you some players because you've
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  got a tough lead to compete in. Lastly, DJ Dirkin to Auburn.
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  Good hire, bad hire. Gotta wait and see, man, gotta wait
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  and see. You know, it's a name that's out there, been out
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  there, the former Maryland head coach. He's got his experience in the SEC.
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  He's got his experience with you, Freeze. It's interesting to me to
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  see how how Freeze does kind of manage the turnover and his staff. I
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  mean, to turn so much turnover after just one season. You wonder if
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  maybe, you know, having Carnell and jack Ethride the other two Auburn guys
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  there, just they worn't his guys. So is this him, you know,
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  moving those guys out and getting his guys in. If so, and
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  either way, I mean, the guy needs to win this year. Last
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  year was a social year for Auburn, but they're not going to stand for
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  that for very long. Make sure to find him on exit press brought excuse
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  me, press Box Radio one. That's Pressbox Radio one. Go to pressbox
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  radio dot com to grab the show. You can always hear it right here
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  on ESPN one or five nine, the Zone eight to ten. You'll get
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  that tonight as well well, after pick up after Missippi State basketball concludes as
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  well. Mike I appreciate your time as always. Look have a great rest
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  of the week and enjoy the ball games. We'll talk soon, hey man.
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  And if I can a quick blood for the show, we've got some
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  fun. Bruce Pearl is with us inside the press box tomorrow. Coming up
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  on Thursday, we've got the Jim Naggy, executive director of the Senior Bowl.
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  And Friday, I am Eagle, fresh off the AFC Championship game call
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  on West with One and getting ready for the international call of Super Bowl fifty
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  eight. We'll join us Friday inside the press box. Very good, very
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  good, Mike, thanks so much. We appreciate it. We'll talk soon.
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  Thanks guys, thanks so much.