Latest / JustIN Time / Celebrating a Year of Growth

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Celebrating a Year of Growth · JustIN Time

0:07
Welcome back to this very special edition of the Justin
0:10
Time Podcast. I'm your host, Justin, and with
0:14
me is Will. My guy, it's been a year already
0:19
brother, already. Already been a year.
0:22
And I can remember, like it was yesterday, we was talking about
0:24
the Skid Berman book, brother, everything right there in
0:28
baseball. Yes, Sir, that's the one.
0:30
Then I got the L book right here because, you know, he's back in
0:34
very special format. He's back?
0:37
Yeah. We hire you, brother.
0:39
I've got the special edition 2023 Coke can right here as
0:45
long, as well as the 1993 Coke bottle right here and the
0:52
beautiful flag behind me. There's a pay homage that's
0:55
there you go brother. Pay homage.
0:58
You know, so you know, a lot has happened this year.
1:03
You know, we've had very high highs and very low lows.
1:09
What a difference 12 months can make, brother.
1:11
You know, like we were saying, yeah, it's a lot, man.
1:15
But you know, last year, oh, and I'm glad the national
1:17
championship had from 2025 because that's really how all it
1:21
started. Yeah, for sure.
1:24
You know, we had got into the sort of talk about the season
1:27
late, late into the World Series, you know, before we
1:31
really got into the book. But I just, yeah, it's been a,
1:34
it's been a great year. It's been a fast flowing year
1:37
for sure, I will tell you that. But yeah.
1:41
It has been a great ride. Yeah, we are up to, let's see
1:45
the episode count real quick. Want to say we're up to 40?
1:51
More. Let me see.
1:53
We have 58 video, let's see 1-2. You know, it'd be easier if I
1:58
went to Spotify and did this. By the way, we are on Spotify
2:02
folks. Please drop us a follow there
2:05
and give us a listen there please.
2:08
Let's see we got 137 episodes. Not I'm sorry, we're close to
2:12
40. Yeah, I knew it was on that
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ballpark. It makes the ballpark makes
2:16
sense. So yeah.
2:17
Yeah, But, you know, we're still growing, still getting out
2:21
there, figuring some stuff out. I think we figured some stuff
2:24
out for baseball season that I like going forward.
2:28
We'll keep doing that next year, maybe do a special fall edition
2:32
next year, who knows? Like we, we all like we should
2:36
always tell you guys, you know, just looking to get more ideas
2:40
from you guys, more feedback, you know, we just see what we
2:43
can do. Think me and just been talking,
2:45
you know, we got some stuff planned, you know, I have some
2:47
ideas percolating so well. You definitely be updated when
2:51
that time comes. Yep, But you know, last year we
2:56
talked about a bunch of about a bunch of skips influences in the
3:01
college game, you know, and throughout this week with the
3:04
College World Series been going on, I've seen on social media
3:08
and repeatedly you can see skips input and you know, not input,
3:16
but like impact. Yeah.
3:19
You know, and you know, here's a great story just from Ben
3:23
McDonald, one of the LSU greats. What year was that thing was
3:26
like 89 or something. Don't worry, I got it.
3:29
I'm going to pull it up. Yeah, it's 208789.
3:32
Yeah. About him giving up the walk off
3:37
Grand Slam. And that was the first time he's
3:39
ever failed at something in the sport.
3:41
And he was going to quit baseball and stick to basketball
3:44
because Dale Brown told me had a future in basketball, you know,
3:47
and he almost gave up baseball. But he got on a plane and went
3:50
to the Alaskan League and was still on shore.
3:54
And the coach for the Alaskan League told me he was going to
3:56
start that the opening day the next day.
4:00
And he said he didn't sleep at all.
4:01
And they he went to the ballpark and the coach came and gave him
4:04
the lineup card for the other team.
4:05
And it just had Paul Carey one through 9.
4:08
That's the dude who hit the Grand Slam off of it.
4:11
And he said he went out there, he threw a complete game.
4:13
They won and he had 15-4. I think he said 15 strikeouts,
4:16
maybe 14. And the rest was history.
4:19
And it just was the wake up call he needed to kick in the kick in
4:23
the ass. He needed to get going, you
4:26
know, just to get him going. It was a wake up call.
4:29
And he's like he said that story just tells you that some things
4:32
aren't going to go your way, you know, But you know, it's got you
4:35
got the whole impact list. Like Ole Miss lost the opener.
4:39
Bianco is a Bertman guy. He played under Bertman.
4:43
He still got the same photos for comebacks in his thing as he
4:47
posted all in the locker room and tell stories and
4:51
motivational speeches and stuff. You know, it didn't necessarily
4:56
work out for them this year. They blew it.
4:59
You know, OK, a lot of these teams, SEC teams, they probably
5:02
told them, OK, LSU has been most successful here.
5:06
I mean, just count them out with me.
5:08
We got 8 right there. Yep, a nice number.
5:11
Been one of the most successful teams in the SEC in Omaha.
5:16
Do what they did and I think they meant for from last year,
5:21
you know, or the 2023 season. Yeah, not this year's LSU team
5:25
because Texas went out there and had like 3 errors in the first
5:28
inning against Georgia in the opener.
5:30
Yeah, miss miss the pop up at the from third because they were
5:36
given that best LSU impression. Man on man.
5:39
We're going to get to that too, man Goodness.
5:41
You know I mean. But like you.
5:46
When they say do what LSU does, they didn't mean this year.
5:48
This year. That's that that that's the
5:51
caveat. But but I'm with you, brother.
5:53
Like I mean, just you know, like you bring up Ben McDonald, you
5:57
know, 6 foot 7, you know, if play from 87 to 89 won the 89
6:01
gold Golden Spikes award award. It's like their first overall
6:05
MLB draft. You know, just like you said,
6:07
the basketball we and we already we've already had such so even
6:10
last year, but just but it's just that's just one of many
6:13
countless examples of how like the the fingerprint that Skip
6:18
had on not only just LSU baseball, not only on LSU
6:21
athletics, but just the college sports landscape as a whole.
6:26
Because, you know, we, we talked about last year, you know, just
6:29
as we're covering the book, talk about how you know, Hey, hello,
6:33
hey. Tell everybody, hey Louis, this
6:36
could be the mascot of the channel.
6:38
Yeah, OK. Lou, you.
6:39
Want me to put you down? There you go, buddy.
6:43
Yeah, this absolutely just, and I was, you know, The thing is
6:48
when you look at how it, it's so when we when I was reading a
6:51
book, it's so crazy when we was reading it last year to see, to
6:56
not see LSU had like the most elite light.
6:59
And when it came to the sport of baseball, because we talked
7:02
about in the 80s, we talked about in the 80s, you know,
7:04
obviously the football team won a championship in their late 50s
7:08
and basketball was really decrement on the crop for the
7:11
school in the 80s. So like and like baseball in the
7:14
like by the time at the end of the decade, they were on the
7:17
rise, but they didn't get to the mountaintop just yet.
7:19
But when you look back when he since Skip got there in 84, not
7:24
to really build up that culture, not just on the field, but just
7:27
like the fanfare. And then so when you progress
7:30
from that point and to really see what they've become is such
7:33
a testament to obviously, you know, you can't nobody does
7:36
anything alone, but it's a testament to like his vision.
7:40
But we always talked about last year, he was such a visionary.
7:42
A lot of people celebrate him for just having that forward
7:45
thinking mentality and like you. And you just see the
7:48
manifestation, like you say on the flag in your room, just like
7:51
in you, just like it's the manifestation of what he had
7:55
installed. And like you see it, you see it
7:58
like with Ben McDonald with talking games, play by play and
8:00
we talk about, you talk about Bianca, just like all these guys
8:04
have really had it had a or impacted positively by Skip.
8:09
Yeah, and here's another one. You know, if you look and then
8:12
you listen to the commentary from the gangs, I'm 90% sure
8:19
Todd Walker's doing one game. That's a skip guy.
8:23
Ben McDonald's doing the call in other games, you know, his
8:29
influence is huge, you know, But you know, none of this happens
8:33
without him. Oh yeah.
8:35
You know, because Alex Box was run down in the 80s.
8:38
There was a quote that I read this week and I think it was in
8:40
the book that somebody said if you wanted to go to, if you want
8:43
to find a quiet place to study, you went to LSU baseball game
8:47
back then. Yeah.
8:49
So it's just amazing what you can do.
8:52
And what's LSU? Alex Box Stadium and Skip
8:56
Bergman Field is a testament to that.
8:58
And all, every single national championship up there is a
9:00
testament to that you know of. Course for sure, you know, I
9:06
can't speak enough about how like he it really demanded
9:10
excellence, not just from his staff and his players, but just
9:13
really the university as a whole.
9:15
You know, just like you got to, you know, like, you know, like
9:17
the man change, but you force Shane in a way, but you know,
9:21
you just but you have to be in the process of actually just
9:26
holding people accountable, holding yourself accountable for
9:28
one, and then holding everybody that comes after you
9:30
accountable. And obviously there's a whole
9:32
joint effort and like just to really to really to see where
9:36
this program is like we don't get to the 26th baseball season,
9:39
but but we we tried to not play too, but just but really just
9:44
they have really set the bar so high.
9:47
Now. I know USC still has the most
9:49
mid the baseball titles in college with 12 or 11 or 12, but
9:53
just but but what LSU has done is so, so remarkable because
9:57
they've been so steady for the last several decades.
10:01
So. You know, let me find my phone
10:05
real quick because I had something, but man, I ain't
10:09
gonna find it. I don't know where it went.
10:10
There it is. Speaking of USC, we've got.
10:13
Yeah, so that. Their picture, you know.
10:16
Yeah, so. Got one of the pictures.
10:19
You know, it could be a good season for LSU next year.
10:23
But you know, Speaking of bringing it all back to skip,
10:26
you know, one of the things he said, And I think that way, we
10:29
failed this year just because of injuries and everything else.
10:33
What in hasty transfer portal? You know, I think we got to the
10:40
point where we didn't, OK, like I read, I didn't read his book,
10:46
but I read, I mean, I read that book, I listened.
10:48
I've got the audio book for another thing that he has on my
10:51
phone. And it popped up yesterday on
10:53
the playlist. And I think where we failed this
10:56
year a lot because of injury and other things was we played the 9
11:02
best statistically, but not our nine best.
11:06
Yeah. He.
11:07
Said yeah, he said that he. Had always looked at the off the
11:14
field stuff, the mindsets, the emotion, how different players
11:20
interacted with each other. If they had one guy that written
11:25
for us this year, in my opinion, I really think that one guy for
11:29
us was Chris Stanfield that all the guys did better with that
11:35
guy in lineup and we didn't have that rather it was due to
11:42
injury. You know, we'll get on this a
11:44
little later. But a guy like Gavin Guidry, you
11:48
know, what I think is what I miss is I know he's a pitcher.
11:55
I miss having that number 8 on the field, that leadership, you
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know, and I think if Guidry leaves, which is not, he's in a
12:09
summer ball league right now, so I don't think he's going
12:11
anywhere. Yeah.
12:13
But if he ends up going, I would like to see that number 8 jersey
12:17
go to a guy like Mylan, you know?
12:20
That would be my pick too, you know, just, yeah, just I just
12:24
like, and quite frankly, I don't if you're going to change
12:27
anybody, like if if you don't give it to anybody else, I don't
12:30
see how you can give it to anybody else but Mylan.
12:32
But that's just that's just my take.
12:35
Yeah. No, no, no, not a knock on
12:38
Guidry or anything of. Course.
12:40
Not the number 8 jersey last year when they did it last year
12:45
in 25. Should have gone to Josh
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Pearson. He was a guy that stayed there
12:50
while every other talented outfielder in his class left and
12:54
went to and hit the transfer portal.
12:56
He stayed off for a year, 4 or five years he was at LSU.
13:00
You know, you don't win the 23 national championship without
13:03
him making that play in the in left field, Yeah.
13:06
That's right, yeah. But, you know, I mean,
13:10
everything's different, but you know, kind of pushes forward,
13:15
you know? Football 26 football and I bring
13:18
it like I know like yeah you does that you have fit falls all
13:21
along with the. Lord, you know we went from the
13:25
highest of the highs back to Brian Kelly.
13:30
Doctor Brian Kelly, BK Lee I know you had the you had all six
13:34
even going into the year like you had the Burger King jokes
13:37
that say you're going to be working at Burger King soon
13:41
even. Worse, even worse, nobody would
13:43
touch him because he did such a terrible job at LSU, so he's
13:47
insulting for free at Memphis. Yeah.
13:53
How the mighty arrogant people have fallen and went straight to
13:57
free consultation in Memphis. You know, I just, I mean, I
14:03
think just like looking at the football.
14:04
So, you know, you and I, we've talked nauseam about this.
14:08
You know, I always say that you've always, I took it like
14:12
you've always respected like him, but you never respected or
14:18
you didn't believe in him when it came down to the clutch
14:20
moments or the big games. But you you always respected his
14:24
his resume like because at the time he was hired, like he was
14:28
the greatest coach to ever hide it.
14:29
When you talk about pre LSU resume, nobody was more
14:34
accomplished as the LSU coach. It is not even remotely close.
14:38
Nick Sabre didn't didn't win a championship like he hadn't won
14:42
the championship when he got got the LSU in 2000.
14:44
He had yet to win the national title.
14:45
So all these coaches like Nick and Lesnar, they have modest
14:49
success, but it wasn't like overwhelming like Brian Kelly.
14:52
Brian Kelly was by far the most accomplished coach they ever
14:55
hired. You talk about pre LSU resume
14:58
and I thought I was I was shocked that they hired him
15:00
because I thought I was surprised they actually pulled
15:03
that big fish based on his resume because like he wanted he
15:06
was a two time national championship at the D2 level and
15:09
it was grand Valley State back-to-back, I think, and then
15:12
went to Central Michigan, then went to Cincinnati and of course
15:14
went to Notre Dame, a really steady guy.
15:17
So but did not go over the top. You know, they didn't pull it
15:20
over the top and then they. But they ran into that Alabama
15:24
both saw. Yeah, man, this they were they
15:27
they say man and humming. So I mean, just, you know, end
15:30
of the end of the day, no shame in that per SE, Just like the
15:34
dude was different, but like just so they end up higher.
15:37
So it started off really stuck really strong because like I
15:41
always said, like the 22 team was really that was the that was
15:46
the greatest coaching job I've ever seen because like they had
15:49
after the natty and 19, they had a two year rut and like just
15:52
like, and, and just got come there like no, basically no
15:55
scholarship play. It was just in a, it was in a
15:57
mess. But like then?
15:58
We came out and we won the West that year and.
16:01
Went to the championship beating, beating Bama and I was
16:03
like that. Like obviously we got we lost to
16:06
Georgia, but I was like the only loss in my lifetime.
16:09
Just well, I wasn't necessarily upset.
16:12
I didn't I didn't like us losing.
16:14
But just considering where they were the previous two seasons,
16:18
how they've fallen and for I didn't expect them to make it to
16:21
the SC title game. So I think that was the greatest
16:23
coaching job I was in the following year.
16:26
You go to you have an historic offense, but you waste you waste
16:30
Aiden Daniels season because the defence defence.
16:34
Yeah, it's the the statistically the worst defence in history of
16:37
the program to this past season. It's the complete opposite.
16:41
And I've said that you you you know, I'm a broken record with
16:44
this like the 25 season was just the inverse flip of the 23
16:47
season. This this past season, like it
16:50
had an incredible defense, but off is wasted, you know, and we
16:53
can talk about like, you know, the injuries we could talk
16:55
about. There's so many things that went
16:57
wrong. But just like because obviously
17:00
emotional win against Clemson to open the season and like I was
17:04
like 17, I said, listen, we lost like what several straight
17:06
season openers? I don't even care.
17:08
Yeah, like so just like you get them that that mug out your
17:11
back. Go ahead.
17:12
Let's see we. Won it in 19.
17:15
Yeah, we lost 2020-2021, 2020. 2202324 so it's probably.
17:21
Won it in 25, you know, But Brian Kelly to me showed his
17:25
true colors in that first season.
17:29
And we were just binded by the Bama win to see it when Jay and
17:32
Daniels basically limp the whole first half of the Texas A&M game
17:37
that we lost. And Brian Kelly consistently put
17:41
that kid in and put him in career ending situations with a
17:45
knee injury, you know? But we were just too blinded by,
17:50
oh, we're winning. We won the West and this and
17:53
that, you know, and he could do nothing wrong and blah blah
17:58
blah, you know? And you know, I think he showed
18:02
his true colors then and nobody paid attention.
18:05
He sure as hell showed his true colors with the whole Nussmeyer
18:08
situation. And like just they, they, they
18:11
wanted to the media want to convince us so bad and like,
18:15
there's nothing wrong. I'm like, it's just like, it is
18:18
hard to believe that you go from the 24 season.
18:22
They were so productive and they're like not to the historic
18:27
level of 23 and 19, of course, but they were still very
18:29
productive in 24 offensively and then come to come from this in
18:34
25. Like they just the thing like I
18:37
said, the same thing about the 23 team.
18:38
It's like the only thing like the 23 off it defense did well
18:42
was put on the uniform consistently well.
18:45
Same thing with the 25 offense. Only thing they did consistently
18:48
well was put on the uniform. It's like you can't.
18:50
And like, and I was thinking like I was always a big Brian
18:53
Kelly supporter, even though and I respected everybody's think
18:56
about like he didn't get the teams over the hump like they
18:58
should. And The thing is like when you,
19:01
you just cannot waste 2 elite units and keep your job.
19:06
He wasted the elite offense in 23, wasting the elite 25
19:10
defense. You just it, it's hard for me to
19:11
keep your job because that they fired the coach, assistant
19:14
coach. I was like you just can't keep
19:16
your job. You wasted 2 elite offenses.
19:18
You didn't have to be great in either one.
19:21
Exactly. You didn't have to be great.
19:24
Yeah, yeah. But, you know, we should have
19:27
known stuff was wrong with Brian Kelly from game day one, game
19:32
one where he didn't. When we lost the season open in
19:37
that first game, he didn't take responsibility for that loss.
19:42
He looked around and blamed the players.
19:44
We need to execute more. That's the players.
19:46
I can't do much of this and that we don't know how to finish and
19:50
beating the table, you know? Oh man.
19:53
We should have known as LSU fans looking at that guy that he was
19:57
a loser in that, you know, you look at the chain of events that
20:01
go down. And Scott Woodward hired
20:05
winners, but there's two black, he's got 2 black eyes.
20:08
And they both came from football hires when he hired Jimbo Shrimp
20:13
at Texas A&M and hired Brian Kelly, the Burger King himself,
20:20
to come coach at LSU. Because if you look at it, he's
20:23
responsible for bringing in national championship coach.
20:29
God, I hate when he does this. He's responsible for bringing in
20:34
national championship coaches in Kim Mulkey and Jay Johnson.
20:39
I mean, he's athletic director on paper.
20:41
I don't know how much of that was actually him.
20:43
You know, I think I think would baseball skip had a lot and I
20:47
know with gymnastics DD DD bro had that one in.
20:52
So I'll give them, I guess, on paper, I'll give him Jay Clark,
20:55
even though Jay Clark was already here.
20:57
Yeah. You know, but his two black, his
21:01
two black eyes are Jimbo shrimp and be the Burger King.
21:05
Be the BK, the burger. King did did a man man just suck
21:10
because like and I really like Scott, but it it it those didn't
21:13
help. No.
21:14
Yeah, just like, you know, like there's so much other stuff, you
21:17
know, with like, you know, hiring like coaching preferences
21:21
and stuff like that. I mean, that's, I mean, that's
21:23
all been well hashed out. But anyways, just like that, you
21:26
know, yeah, go ahead. You know, that brings me to the
21:30
next thing in the chain of events that happened.
21:32
The only time I'll ever say this.
21:33
Thank you, Texas A&M for taking out the trash.
21:38
Y'all come in. Y'all beat us like a redheaded
21:41
stepchild in the second-half of that game.
21:43
Literally take over Death Valley, Tiger Stadium, and the
21:47
next day, Brian Kelly's gone. He's packing his bags, he's
21:50
leaping. Y'all literally unbeknownst to
21:53
y'all, y'all think y'all killed the king so to say because
21:58
that's y'all national championship game over there.
22:01
Every year is when y'all beat us, but y'all don't realize
22:04
y'all saved our football program.
22:05
I remember like I had the schedule, you know, I had like
22:09
the, the paper schedule on the wall, you know, doing the win
22:12
column updates on Reddit and stuff.
22:13
But I was like, you know, my, I was out with family.
22:16
Like during that second-half, we was out again.
22:19
He was out just spending time together, but just, and I was
22:21
just seeing the updates. I was like, oh, I'm so glad I'm
22:24
not at home watching this. And like when I got home, I just
22:26
took the schedule down because we already lost like a couple
22:29
games or I was like, yeah, this is it's done.
22:31
Looking back on it, there's two times where we should have known
22:35
this was going to happen. One of them happened in 2022 in
22:39
his first season. It was a 11 AM game against
22:43
Tennessee. I was, I was at work and I saw
22:45
it, yeah. I was there, they came in, they
22:48
took over our stadium. The only two times I remember a
22:52
fan base can remember a fan base taking over Tiger Stadium is in
22:56
Brian Kelly's tenure as LSU coach, and it's Tennessee and
22:59
Texas A&M. First season last season.
23:02
Yep. And they haven't.
23:04
Texas A&M, to this day, still has no idea they saved our
23:07
football program, you know. But you know, that chain of
23:10
events led to the governor of the state of Louisiana to step
23:14
in to fire our athletic director because he hired Brian Kelly and
23:19
he didn't want these because this dude keeps spitting
23:24
nonsense that he doesn't know anything about and keeps saying,
23:27
kept saying that the taxpayers were paying Brian Kelly's buyout
23:32
and this and that. No, but I was such a mess.
23:36
Yeah, Good God. You know, realistically, if you
23:40
look at it, you know, I heard a joke that somebody said this is
23:45
the only time I'll get political on this show and bring in
23:48
presidents and stuff. But somebody said that the LSU
23:53
fan base petition Donald Trump to and that's why to get jaw
23:59
Jeff Landry out of the LSU sports and stuff and keep his
24:03
nose out of it. That's why he got elected as a
24:05
special envoy to Greenland or wherever he sent him to get him
24:08
out of that. So we can get because Trump
24:10
likes winners and he wanted LSU to get a winner.
24:13
OK. You know, I also heard something
24:17
that the most fun he's ever had in the White House is when LSU
24:21
has won a national championship and went there.
24:24
But you know, he poked his nose in it.
24:27
He didn't need to poke his nose in it.
24:29
Sports isn't about politics. It's not as it shouldn't be.
24:35
You know sports. Sports isn't about politics,
24:39
unless you're playing on the travel ball team back in the
24:43
Daddy Ball days, the early days of sports where it's who your
24:48
daddy's to coach and he's you. Like this one, Let's play that
24:51
one. I don't like this dude's
24:52
parents. He's gonna sit at the bench, you
24:54
know? And even then, it doesn't belong
24:56
in sports, you know? Yeah, I'm with you like this.
24:59
That's a whole other can of worms too.
25:01
But yeah, it's but yeah, I'm with you.
25:03
What you talking about? But yeah, just like it was just
25:06
such a mess, man. Just like because I was like,
25:08
man, what a laughing stock. The seas are been rough and like
25:11
you got this, this, this extra unneeded attention to this
25:15
program. I was like just.
25:17
Put salt in the wound. Perfectly said.
25:21
But thank God, you know, just like you, we were able to pull
25:25
off the Lane Kiffin higher and really just reinvigorate the
25:29
program in the the university. Yeah, because I don't.
25:33
Think that I think that Lane Kiffin higher cost us our
25:36
baseball season. Hey, listen, but what do we say
25:40
about Wheel Wade? We're going to get back to
25:42
brother Wade in a second. But just like it sacrificed
25:44
Wheel Wade to save the football program, you've got to save the
25:48
football program. It's the money maker, It's the
25:50
cash cow. It's an iconic brand.
25:52
LSU baseball's iconic brand too, but it's not as famous, Never
25:55
been more famous than football because football's more popular
25:58
at the collegiate level. So they did the right thing.
26:01
So exactly. So that's what it is.
26:05
Yeah, give me a second. Get this camera.
26:11
What I always tell about the camera, you should have saw the
26:15
camera when you had walked out the room.
26:17
Like cameras about to break his neck trying to follow you.
26:20
There we go, raise it up just a tiny little bit to get the.
26:24
There we go. But yeah, so all of that
26:28
happens, you know, then we get into the mess where the coaches
26:33
fired and a week later the AD is fired.
26:37
I think they did a good job at bringing in AD, who's already on
26:41
there and naming Verge. I think he's going to do great
26:44
things at LSU. And you know, with all the
26:50
commotion and stuff around that, if Wayne Kiffin wouldn't have
26:53
said yes, he was coming here, I'm pretty sure we'd have ended
26:55
up with Frank Wilson as our head football coach next year, this
26:58
year. Because with all the all the
27:03
drama that we had leading up to that, I don't think anybody else
27:08
would have touched the LSU job. Yeah.
27:11
And The thing is this what makes it because it's like it it's not
27:13
every day that you have like a blue blood program or the leap
27:18
high profile program that gets open like that, like Michigan,
27:22
LSU Delight is it was a very that's a whole other thing
27:24
because it was like a huge coaching cycle this past season.
27:29
You know, junior Tech came open, you know, Penn State came open,
27:32
Michigan came over. LSU can't just all in that
27:35
Florida some time Florida, yes, Auburn, yeah.
27:38
It's just like it was a crazy season.
27:41
Yeah, but but you know, that all that all leads it, that all
27:47
happens, that all goes Thanksgiving weekend after the
27:51
season, we end up with all kind of stuff.
27:55
Lane Kipping comes, then Ole Miss tries to correct their
27:59
mistake by using Lane Kiffin as a scapegoat when in reality, in
28:05
reality, everything that they told their fans in the country
28:09
was a lie and they were just trying to make themselves look
28:13
good and Lane Kiffin look bad. That's what normally comes down
28:16
to. Yeah, and they still make
28:20
themselves look worse and worse. But, you know, Fast forward a
28:26
couple of months and, you know, we're in the transfer portal and
28:30
we're looking at quarterbacks and sores.
28:32
B decides to go to Texas Tech. And thank God he did, because
28:37
even though he had with, he would have came to LSU, even
28:41
though in the events would have played out the same way, even
28:44
though he'd never played a down of football at LSU, The NCAA
28:47
would have probably tried to give LSU the death penalty.
28:50
Yes man, this was some old brother like you know, you talk
28:54
about the all time bullet. Dodge right there man.
28:57
Oh man, Goodness gracious, he does a bullet.
29:02
Because the NCAA would have tried to come down on LSU for
29:07
that, you know? Without question.
29:11
Yeah, even. Though the kid never played it
29:14
down a football at LSU, they would have came down on LSU and
29:18
two things going against LSU with the NCAA's.
29:21
The NCAA absolutely hates LSU. Not that like the the the media,
29:27
yeah, also, yeah, I will get to that in the.
29:30
NCAA Tel issue and then you look at it, they hate Lane Kiffin
29:34
because Lane Kiffin made a career choice.
29:38
Yeah. That any of us in whose shoes
29:41
who actually wanted to compete for and have resources to
29:45
compete year in and year out, you know, I know Ole Miss was
29:49
that had an outlier season last year where they can actually
29:51
competed. Yeah.
29:54
On a national level. But that'll never happen again
29:57
at Ole Miss, most likely. I'm not saying it'll never
30:00
happen again. I'm just saying the man.
30:03
Who? It's hard to replicate that at
30:05
old miss. The man who did that is gone.
30:10
You can't replicate it. Y'all had successful season
30:12
after successful season because of the Wayne Kiffin, not because
30:16
of you know, but it's hard to knock a guy who's looking at
30:22
historical stats, you know, statistics wise in saying at oh,
30:28
let me go to LSU where you know, they have successful every other
30:33
head coach other than the last one out the last four, three of
30:39
the four have won a national championship at LSU.
30:42
Let me go, let me make my job, you know?
30:46
I mean, and The thing is like, one thing I hate about those
30:48
conversations is that it if you it's like, Oh my, everybody,
30:52
these players are jumping ship and stuff.
30:54
I was like, brother, the coach has been doing this for decades.
30:57
Nothing's new about this. That's that's the old, it was
31:00
like, which? So if you were a college
31:02
basketball coach, would you rather coach at Toothbrush Tech
31:05
or would you rather go to Duke? You know Duke.
31:10
You got like, come on, Like let's be serious for a. 2nd, the
31:12
name alone carries a little bit for you.
31:16
Yes, for sure like this name right here.
31:20
This name right here carries a lot more than in football, at
31:26
least in recent success. Those shoe that brand carries a
31:31
lot more than no let's it's not just football because I saw a
31:36
video of a Japanese guy these kids were on.
31:41
I don't know if I sent that to you.
31:43
I don't know if I can't remember it was a TikTok or Instagram
31:46
reel. But these guys went to Japan and
31:49
were wearing LSU stuff and this Japanese guy stopped him and
31:52
told him go tigers and had ALSU football jersey on a Joe Barrow
31:56
jersey on. You know, it's not just
32:01
football. It's every sported LSU That's a
32:04
worldwide brand nowadays. And you say you see it like, and
32:09
The thing is like you see it through all all these sports.
32:12
You know, it's like, you know, women's basketball is very
32:15
popular next and very popular. And that's always that's a whole
32:18
other topic because like they don't make the money, but
32:20
they're not as like mainstream. But it's hard to replicate that
32:25
notoriety that this university gets on social media.
32:28
Listen, if you look at LSU football costs, all their
32:31
platforms, they have like 3 or 4 million.
32:33
Just a football program has like 3 or 4 million total followers
32:36
across like the major social media platforms.
32:39
And that's just a college. They have more followers than
32:42
the actual universities page. And they're not the only one
32:44
that's like that because you know, like Ohio State, Bama,
32:46
Georgia, like they have millions of followers across their
32:50
platforms as well. Just the football program alone.
32:53
But it's it's, it's unreal. Yeah, if you look at the most
32:58
recognizable college brand, I could be wrong, you know, you
33:02
can't Google it because they you got to be specific and I ain't
33:05
got the top of the brains fan to do that right now.
33:06
But the brand LSU is one of the most recognized, recognizable
33:11
brands you know. Yeah.
33:14
That's my point that I'm trying to make.
33:16
So you can't blame a guy who wants to come with the name
33:18
recognition. Like he's gave the basketball
33:21
example with Duke. Duke has Duke, North Carolina
33:25
have brand recognition when it comes to basketball, You know,
33:32
and I would throw Kentucky in there too because Kentucky is
33:34
normally. Latest a national championship
33:37
you could throw UConn, Kansas. I mean, this is the point is
33:41
like the point is like, say, even though like, you know,
33:44
money plays a massive role for the players, which I don't I
33:47
don't yeah, which I don't blame them, but just, you know, the
33:50
the brand still has the the the national weight.
33:53
So I would much rather go to a blue blood, even though I'm a
33:58
it's higher expectation, but you already have the backing of the
34:01
fans they store backing up the the school and you come like
34:05
Wayne comes to a school, even though Ole Miss has has had six
34:09
and they won a championship in a couple championships in football
34:11
years ago. And like he brought them like to
34:14
your point, he re elevated their status.
34:17
So like and then just but college sports is all about
34:21
sealing because it's not like the pro sports where it's like
34:24
it's built on parody. Our sports would never be built
34:27
on parody. It would never happen.
34:30
So like I would much rather like take take the criticism.
34:34
Now, I'm not saying like he handled it perfectly, but just
34:36
like, but that's the whole other thing with the calendar and
34:39
stuff like that. I would just rather take the L
34:42
and there's in in the court of public opinion and just go to a
34:45
better situation. You know, like I said, the last
34:49
episode we did our fans is yelling STTDB.
34:54
Do you really think we care about what you paint us as?
34:57
If we're the painted as the villains, or if we're painted
34:59
as. And like, I mean, we're going to
35:05
talk about that soon with, with like, yeah.
35:08
Do you really think our fans care about being painted as the
35:11
villain or not? We don't care.
35:13
They embrace that stuff, brother.
35:15
We only care if our teams are good.
35:20
We are probably one of the most hostile places to play, you
35:23
know, and we take pride in that, you know.
35:27
But moving on, you know, we start our baseball season and we
35:33
all got high hopes and all in. Good.
35:36
Jacksonville. You went to Jacksonville,
35:37
brother went to Jacksonville and we.
35:40
Cleared house in a tournament and had a great time and.
35:43
That had a hand. The glow in our eye.
35:46
When it started 8 and up in Collins, McNeese State kicks us
35:49
right in the balls. You know, and the, and The thing
35:52
is like we, you know, man, it, it's, it's so shocking how how
35:59
it went, man, just like this is like, you know, we, we did the
36:03
the the game by game updates. We did the powerhouse polls.
36:07
Yeah, if you haven't seen that powerhouse polls to the to those
36:11
who are new, you know, throughout the baseball season,
36:13
we did like a weekly record of the top three performers of LSU
36:16
baseball from offense, defense and pitching.
36:19
Each week. We did like a point system.
36:21
So be sure to look into that. Our latest upload from a couple
36:25
weeks back this day. Yeah, I'll put it like and and
36:28
just going to like hook you up. Yeah, when I put the YouTube
36:31
video out for this one tomorrow, I will put that one as the
36:34
video. Yeah.
36:37
Yeah, but I can't still to this day can't tell you if it was
36:40
just I really do think due to injuries like we talked about at
36:43
the beginning of this episode, yeah, we were forced to play our
36:46
nine best statistically and not our nine best like, you know,
36:51
continuity, continuity wise and teamwork, you know.
36:56
Yeah, that was one of Skips biggest things.
36:58
He played his nine best, not his nine best.
37:01
Yeah. You know.
37:03
Yeah, and they is like they just, you know, for all the
37:07
talent, you know a lot of people, you know how they they
37:11
rigged on like Mammoth stolen and all the other guys and Luso,
37:15
they always say like, oh, how is it the most talented team?
37:18
They I like listen, talent when people say most talent is about
37:21
projection is about on paper, they like they're never going to
37:24
be short of talent. LSU now.
37:26
But I do understand the frustration because it's all
37:28
about the production. But The thing is it's like never
37:31
in my mind was there. I never questioned that they
37:34
didn't have talent. They just didn't execute on it
37:37
because especially not consistently.
37:39
And Andrew definitely didn't help them, but they had a lot.
37:42
They were so flawed in every capacity.
37:44
They just never played consistently well in any facet
37:47
throughout the year. And, you know, if you look at
37:50
it, I watched them because it's been a week now, we'll just
37:53
spoil it. But Michael Cavill and Jay
37:56
Johnson did an interview last week.
37:58
And I watched it on YouTube. And one of the things Jay was
38:02
saying is, you know, he feels good about the pitching staff
38:06
for next year. I start rotation because you've
38:09
got Evans, Moore and Schmidt all coming back.
38:14
What got those guys in trouble this year is when they were in
38:18
the tight spot, we couldn't make a play behind them.
38:25
You know, we couldn't put our foot on the throats of our
38:30
opponents. You know, I'm kind of pulling
38:32
for Oklahoma to win the national championship.
38:36
My 2 choices are Georgia, Oklahoma.
38:39
Yeah, right now, you know, and if you look back at the Oklahoma
38:45
series, you had it on there for Case in Evans for the
38:49
performance of the year. Yeah, we won that game.
38:53
Then we go to the Friday night game.
38:56
We were 1 double play away from winning the series against a
39:00
semi final College World Series team.
39:04
Yeah, potential College World Series champion.
39:07
We were 1 double player what botched double play away.
39:11
We could never get over that hump and say defensively we
39:16
would claim we went from having the best defensive team
39:20
statistically in school history to having the word brought one
39:26
of the worst defensive teams in school history.
39:30
It's a dramatic follow up. Now, mind you, this is this is
39:33
with like Steven Milam on the roster.
39:36
Yeah, I can only imagine he was so he was so unbelievably
39:40
dominant defensive this year. Like, and I was saying before,
39:44
you know, he has my vote for the greatest defensive shortstop in
39:47
the history of this program. I just don't think it's it's
39:50
hard to really grasp them. I know imagine we like how worse
39:54
they would have been without him because he seemed a lot of plays
39:58
for us. I say, you know, not having
40:00
Stan, like not having Chris Stanfield was a huge blow to us.
40:04
And I was just like, but you know, it's even with the
40:06
injuries, injuries compiled the struggles, but they just
40:09
whenever the offense was hot, defense was non existent and
40:13
when the defense was like office didn't show up.
40:16
And you know, you look at it early in that season, Stanfield
40:20
missed the 1st 15 games of the season.
40:22
And in that first 15 games, that was our hot streak, that 18 game
40:28
high streak. But you know, you look at it
40:31
too, Stephen Milam didn't have an error.
40:33
This is why he's going to be one of the not the greatest.
40:36
And I think if he can get his bat lined up for next year, I
40:41
think it'll be if we can have postseason mile and all season
40:45
long, I think Mylan will go down as degraded shortstop in LSU
40:49
history, not just the defensive greatest defensive shortstop.
40:52
Yeah, I'm I'm with you. Like I know like he's been
40:54
steady like Homer, steady Homer hit, especially down the stretch
40:57
this year. It was really close with the
40:59
with the long ball. But like I'm with you, I agree.
41:03
If we get to like that 15 plus mark with homers, I think you
41:06
can you can start really having that serious discussion.
41:10
Yeah. And, you know, Speaking of Milam
41:14
coming back, so I was watching that Jay Johnson interview with
41:18
Michael Cobble, and Jay hit one of these when Michael Cobble
41:22
said, you know, Stephen Milam is going to be gone.
41:25
How do you replace him? He hit one of these, which
41:27
Stephen Milam followed that up by.
41:30
This is how I knew he was coming back, I think, because I think
41:34
he followed that up on social media by combing through that
41:37
whole YouTube interview, getting to the 16 minute and 39 second
41:41
mark for those of you that want to go actually and watch it.
41:43
There you go, brother. Screenshot of it and made it
41:46
made it his Instagram profile pic in a day or two later,
41:50
Steven Milam comes out and post a she posted video saying he's
41:54
coming back. It didn't the season didn't end
41:58
like he wanted to and he's coming back.
42:01
You know, on the other hand, the flip side, so shout out to the
42:06
diamond baseball app or diamond stats app, whatever they call
42:10
themselves, they actually have the summer ball leagues when
42:15
they're at. So if you know your teams, which
42:18
I looked up OK and let me pull it up.
42:22
I saved it. So you've got Jack Rucker and
42:26
William Patrick playing for the Helzberg Prune Packers.
42:32
Reagan Rick and playing for this is all that William Patrick and
42:38
Jack Rucker for the Prune Packers are playing in the
42:41
Pacific Empire League for the foul mouthed Commodores in the
42:46
Cape Cod League. Reagan Ricken is playing.
42:48
And here's a big one that makes me think we have a Tiger coming
42:52
back to try to win his third national championship in five
42:55
years for the Anglers in the Cape Cod League, right-handed
42:58
pitcher Gavin Guidry. You know, so if you guys want to
43:02
take that, that's just some of them that LSU had posted and
43:06
write down those team names. Go to that Diamond Sports app
43:09
and try to follow your teams, your kids, not your kids, but
43:14
you know our guys on their summer ball stuff.
43:19
You can go ahead and do that. Yeah, shout out to Diamond.
43:23
You know that like I think Diamond is just like such a
43:26
tremendous tool, you know, especially like when it's not
43:30
high profile, no fight now you just feel like they they get to
43:33
they'll start covering it largely in the during the World
43:36
Series and in the tournament all together.
43:38
But even then you'll get like the live updates in the app so.
43:43
And, you know, it's a crying shame and you know, I'm not
43:47
saying nothing because we got to spend these last 10 minutes
43:50
covering just rapid fire quick events that's going on right
43:54
now. But America's pastime in college
43:58
baseball isn't getting looked at in getting enough stuff.
44:05
But historically, sports that we haven't looked at, you know,
44:12
like the WWE, the WNBA are all getting ESPN airtime.
44:17
But probably, in my opinion, the more fun baseball to watch in
44:20
college baseball isn't getting that recognition that it
44:25
deserves, you know? Yeah, and, and, and it's all,
44:28
it's definitely a process. I know a lot of guys, they do,
44:32
they go to the farm system out of high school or whatever the
44:36
case would be. So there's always so much you're
44:38
going to really see and like a lot of, and obviously I know
44:41
college, college baseball is extremely regional.
44:45
Like historically it was on the West Coast for many years in
44:47
like the last 20 years been on the on the Southeast.
44:50
I mean, you look at you look at Omaha alone this year and it's
44:53
the FCC tournament with a few newcomers that we could put, we
44:57
could plug in. Yeah.
44:59
I think the only team that's not considered as South, and I don't
45:02
know if you would consider them as if, is West Virginia.
45:07
Yeah, I don't consider them a S either.
45:09
Coastal. Yeah, I'm with you, just like I.
45:12
Don't know if I would. I wouldn't consider North
45:13
Carolina the South either, but yeah, you know, but six of the
45:18
eight teams in Omaha come from the Southeastern Conference
45:22
states. Yes, because you have Troy, who
45:28
is in Alabama. You know, it's a very Southern
45:31
baseball nowadays is a very Southern thing.
45:34
Yeah, you know, but you know, moving on, LSU men's basketball
45:39
picked up Will Wade. Like I said before, rehire you.
45:43
This is LSU to rehire you. We're not above kicking the
45:47
tires again, circling the wag. Yeah, you know, and I'm trying
45:52
to go to Louisiana Card Con this year, especially on a Saturday
45:59
morning because none other than Ed Ogeron is going to be there
46:04
signing autographs for the 1st 200 people there because he's
46:09
got to get back to work on that recruiting trail.
46:11
Go get us some boys to can play football.
46:15
You can do. It and not whine and moan about
46:17
everything like that previous coach did.
46:20
And as you people know, you know, as you guys know, anytime
46:25
I could take a shot at Brian Kelly, I would take that shot.
46:28
Well, you that's sustainable. That's a signature brother.
46:30
That's yeah, a good signal. But you know, I'm going to try
46:36
this. This episode right here marks a
46:38
new leaf, and we're turning over a new leaf, and I'm not going to
46:41
bring up Brian Kelly anymore. Yeah, I'm probably going to.
46:44
We're going to let the trash stay at the dump and I'll bring
46:49
you back out. But you know, normally a
46:52
coaching hire in a coaching fire, you don't feel sorry for
46:57
the coach that gets fired. I mean, I do feel bad for
47:02
McMahon because I don't think he was given near enough of the
47:05
resources that. No whatsoever.
47:08
He needed to be successful at LSU, but I'm happy we got we
47:12
were way back. I think we'll be competitive and
47:14
who knows, we might be hanging a Raptor for men's basketball in
47:18
the P Max soon. Go ahead.
47:21
You know, we'll have to wait and see.
47:24
I think he was, if they were, if he wouldn't have got in trouble
47:27
when he did. I think his trajectory was
47:30
national championship, you know, in NC State wanting to do an
47:34
open an investigation on LSU and all of that.
47:38
Look, name a school that doesn't do that.
47:42
If they did it, you know if they did anything wrong.
47:45
Name a school who doesn't do what you're claiming they do
47:47
where they wait for a certain date to hire a coach if they
47:51
can. The thing is so calculated and
47:54
like like I said already, you know, listen like this on in a
47:58
vacuum on the surface of North Carolina State is a far and away
48:01
better basketball job in the mid side.
48:04
It's not even remotely close, but just like only for this
48:07
specific isolated circumstance where you have a guy that once
48:12
coached here and did not want to leave here.
48:15
Exactly. So like who enjoyed it here?
48:18
That's an isolated circumstance on a in a vacuum, on a with all
48:22
with no context. I'm taking North Carolina relish
48:26
as a men's basketball coach any and every day of this of the of
48:29
the the year. But this is this is not what
48:32
this is because it's a unique circumstance.
48:36
That's all it is. Exactly.
48:38
It's a unique circumstances. The man felt like he had
48:41
unfinished business in Baton Rouge and I really think he
48:44
would have bounced around had Ellish not fired me, man, he
48:48
would have bounced around and been readily available to LSU at
48:53
any point. And they said, would you like to
48:56
come back? You know, that's just to me,
48:58
that's what I feel. But you know that right there
49:02
does it for our weekly, I mean our yearly.
49:06
Review. What a year, brother, what a
49:08
year. It's been a great year.
49:11
I look forward to another great year coming up.
49:13
We'll have to figure out some Tiger football awards.
49:18
Like we did in baseball, we'll get into that.
49:22
But starting this coming week or next week, we're going to be
49:27
dropping 2 episodes a week. So y'all look out for that.
49:34
It's been a great year. Thank you for everyone who
49:36
supported or listened in, tuned in to us.
49:40
I know a lot of it is kind of been rants.
49:44
We go on tangents. We try to keep it fair, you
49:49
know, and we appreciate every single one of you who tuned in,
49:53
liked, commented, subscribe, shared.
49:58
Let's keep growing this and let's make this great.
50:03
We can do this. We can turn this into something
50:05
fun and great interactive for everybody.
50:08
You know, dumb and just like, like you say, it's been it's
50:10
been a great year, fast, fast-paced moving year.
50:14
But you know, it's been like, you know, even with the end of
50:15
the flow was a lot of it was a rough, rough athletic season
50:20
calendar year for LSU. But just, you know, we've had a
50:22
lot of good stuff to talk about, a lot of stuff to to indulge in.
50:26
But yeah, I'm just, you know, hopefully we take that next step
50:29
deal with the with the brand, of course.
50:32
And obviously LSU get some some championships on the board this
50:35
year. Yeah, y'all already met the
50:38
mascot of the channel, introduced him today, a year
50:41
later. But you know, as always, thank
50:45
you guys for tuning in and we're going to get right back into it
50:50
in a little bit. And everybody please like,
50:54
comment, subscribe, share, do all the things that we need to
50:58
do to grow this thing out. Hopefully we'll be able to do
51:00
some live streams coming up in the future.
51:03
Yes, for sure. And look for us on Spotify and
51:08
YouTube and or Apple podcast. I'm going to try to forget it on
51:13
Amazon podcast for those of you who listen there, you know, and
51:18
look for us on every Tuesday and Thursday coming up.
51:21
Yes, you know more to come. So I hope everybody has a great
51:25
day, a great night or whatever you have just make it a great
51:28
one. That'll do it from us.
51:30
See y'all later. Peace.