Latest / North Florida Sports Network Podcast / Voice of the Seminoles: Inside FSU Sports with Jeff Culhane

Transcript

Voice of the Seminoles: Inside FSU Sports with Jeff Culhane · North Florida Sports Network Podcast

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: all right, welcome back everyone.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: It's the north florida sports network.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: I have the pleasure to be joined by the voice of the seminoles the director of broadcasting at florida state, jeff colhane, joins the program.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Jeff, what's going on, man?
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: austin, all is well, great to talk to you and uh, yeah, man, we're uh heading towards memorial day weekend as you and I talk, and summertime, and uh, we're, uh, we're all good.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Thanks for having me yeah, so, uh, you, I know you did know you did the softball game recently.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: Is that your most recent work?
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: Correct.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, the Florida State-Florida softball game May 1st you bet.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: How about that?
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: How about that team man?
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: They had a bunch of young girls on the team this year, right.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: Sure did.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I tell you, Alana Alameda and her staff deserve a ton of credit for you know, you knew you were going to have to transition away from Cass Andercock and the circle.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: She's one of the all time greats here and it's going to take a little time.
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: And so you're.
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: You know you're relying on some, some young arms there, some returners as well.
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: Obviously, the young gals like Jason E Beecham and Issa Torres have been unbelievable this year, to say the least.
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: Jason E is going to be the National Freshman of the Year.
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: She might win Player of the Year in college softball.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: She has just been outstanding.
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: Issa Torres had huge shoes to fill with Josie Muffley, you know, moving on at shortstop and she's been tremendous.
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: And so this is a group that, as they head into a super regional versus Oklahoma as we talk to you right now, they are a team that has really come together.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: They really finished the year strong and I tell you they can hit with anybody and they get the bats going this week.
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: It'll be very entertaining in Norman there's no doubt.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: I mean there's no pressure.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: Go out there swinging.
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: I mean, that's the giant of the sport.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: Is Oklahoma and Florida State's been right there on their heels, if not right there with them, in the past few years?
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: I know you don't do the baseball games, but I know you're probably watching and a big fan of the baseball team.
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: What do you think about the turnaround they've had this year?
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: Man, what a year.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: You knew it would happen and I think even all of us were not shocked, but just certainly pleasantly surprised by what Link Jarrett and his entire staff and this team have done.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: They had some roster management things they had to get through and they have done that and answered some questions in a big-time way.
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: I mean to come off a season where you're in a transition year we all know how 2023 went and to come into this year and win your first 19 games to start the season and then do what they've done with the injuries that they've had in the pitching mound is just phenomenal.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: And they've had some guys really step up.
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: Jamie Arnold's been phenomenal on the mound.
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: Young guys have stepped up throughout the year.
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: Connor Whitaker is getting healthy and coming back.
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: We can get Cam Leiter back.
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: That'd be massive as we head into postseason play following the ACC tournament.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: But this team offensively is as good as anybody.
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: I mean James Tibbs, cam Smith, jaime Ferrer, just to name a few.
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: You know all these guys Dinges Smith, jaime Ferrer, just to name a few.
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: You know all these guys Dengis, cantu.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: I mean these guys can swing it.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: And he got.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: I thought Tibbs said it perfectly the other day, following their win over Georgia Tech in Charlotte, he goes.
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: you know, we're a bunch of three hole hitters that are all throughout the lineup sprinkled around and I thought he hit it head on and so if, if this group can out and yeah, I thought he would hit it head on and so, yeah, uh, if, if this group can, can pitch it as you get deeper into tournaments past day two into day three if they get some of these young guys to really to really settle in and and step up offensively, this team can hang with anybody in the country in my opinion well, you're right about the lineup.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to watching it.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: Um, you know well.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: You know I touched on what's going on right now in fsu sports, but you know Well you're right about the lineup.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to watching it.
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: You know well.
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: You know I touched on what's going on right now in FSU sports, but you know it's not too long ago where you got your start here.
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: But before that you came from South Dakota State, and that's where you're from?
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: Is that correct?
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: Well, I got to correct you OK.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: Because that's the rival.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: I came from North Dakota State messed up the north the dakotas man, so I'm not a jackrabbit oh my gosh, all right, I'm definitely.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: I'm definitely a bison all right, that's for darn sure.
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: Oh, I'm so sorry about that but you are correct, I grew up in south dakota.
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: Uh, it's all very confusing if you're not from there.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: It feels like one Dakota across the board.
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: I get it but yeah, I grew up in South Dakota and my last stop was in Fargo, north Dakota, north Dakota State, and man, it's a real special place.
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: It's a special place, you know, for me and my family and we were part of some great, great success there.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: I mean four national championships for football while I was there.
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, men's basketball made the NCAA tournament twice.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: Baseball won a game for a college baseball team in Fargo, north Dakota who was on the road for the first two months of the season.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah, to be able to compete nationally, yeah that and win a game in a regional.
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: That's pretty special.
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and so you know, not to mention the softball program there yeah, has had huge success.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: Track and field is really good, and so it really is a special place and I'll tell you.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: You know I'm sure we'll talk about some of the other stuff, but all my stops in my career have really, you know, you go through things and you're not sure why they happen, but the reasons are there at some point and you know all the things, all the places I've been have helped me get to Tallahassee and be a part of the Seminole family over the last couple of years and head into year three, and it's really fun to look back upon those experiences.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: Man, you weren't kidding about the success, I mean the talent that's come through that program, the Bison program.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: I know that's where Trey Lance went, is that correct, correct?
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: And then Jordan, who's the quarterback before him?
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: Well, he had a great run.
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: This was pre-Transfer Portal era, so it happened during a time where you could hang on to your rosters.
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: It feels so weird to say that Yeah's how quickly.
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: Things have changed in college athletics, but you know, starting back in 2009, 2010, you know, north dakota state was transitioning d2 to d1.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: When they became postseason eligible um, they really started to take off and they were right there anyway, even in the transition years.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: And so Brock Jensen, carson, wentz, easton Stick is Justin Herbert's backup with the Chargers right now and started some games to end the year.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: And, of course, trey Lance I got a chance to call all 17 of his games during his time at Fargo as well.
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: So some unbelievable names and just a special run.
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: You know there's a lot of similarities Austin and, on a much smaller scale of course, between Florida State and NDSU, if you can believe it, you know.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: I can't believe that.
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: I appreciate my time there and it's fun to talk to people about where I've been because they obviously, you know, they kind of go wow.
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: All right.
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a place we've never been before, but we certainly know about the, the success and how those programs operate overall.
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: Well, you I mean I, as far as I didn't get the right Dakota, so that can tell you right, there I didn't, I didn't have that one right, but you're from, so you're from south dakota correct, all right so what?
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: All right, take me back.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: You're in south dakota.
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: When did the young jeff cohen know that, hey, I want to be a broadcaster, I want to do sports broadcasting.
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: When did that hit?
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: you, yeah, yeah, sports are always really big in my life from an early age, um, playing them, going to them, knew I always wanted to be, you know, involved somehow if I could.
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: And you know my dad was as a side job.
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: He was the business manager of our school district, owned and operated a sports bar for multiple decades, but he also was the public address announcer for our high school and college teams in my hometown and did some radio and so when I was five years old he was doing, he was the analyst on the high school boys basketball broadcast in our small town and high school basketball was big for me, for everybody in our town growing up, big, a big sport.
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: And so just from an early age I kind of saw a radio booth and the equipment and thought it was pretty cool that these guys are at a game talking about a game you know for for work and just you know there.
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: There's a lot of little things along the way that add up to to get me where I'm at right now my first you know, job in broadcasting.
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: I was a weekend, part-time on-air person at an oldie station in my hometown at age 14.
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: Oh man.
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: So you know it started out there.
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: I started doing sports in college and it just kept building and building before I decided I wanted to pursue it as a career.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: What was your favorite?
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: What was your best sport or favorite sport yourself?
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: You know I played football in college for four years.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: I played one year of baseball.
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: I love basketball.
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: You know, basketball, as I mentioned, was a big deal in our town and it's probably the sport I worked at the most and practiced the most.
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: But football and baseball were my best sports, for sure.
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: Without a doubt when it comes to is there like, take me, so you started early 14.
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: Do you ever still get nervous going on the air?
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: I'm sure you do.
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: I mean, it seems something like.
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: I mean, if I just had to guess, I see, it seems like you love doing it and this is something fun and for you to do, and you're almost like, wow, I get to do this.
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: Is that?
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: Is that correct?
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: Is?
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: that correct?
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: No question, yeah, there's no doubt.
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: I wouldn't say I get nervous.
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: I think there is an excitement and anxiety, but it's not nerves, I'm not worried.
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: I'm not concerned about going and doing a game or going on the air ever.
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: But obviously obviously you're.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: When you're in it and you know the magnitude of some of the opportunities that you have, there is a uh, a want to do it the right way.
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: Every time you do it and certainly for the biggest of games that mean more there's a want to do it and and create that, that moment that people will remember forever.
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: Um, you know, thinking it like that in the moment, you, just, you just do it.
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: You know, you react and you respond and you prepare and get yourself ready to go.
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: And uh, but you're right, I, I love what I do, uh, I mean I'm, I'm blessed to be where I'm at, and a lot of people support me and help me along the prepare and get yourself ready to go.
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: And uh, but you're right, I love what I do.
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: Uh, I mean, I'm, I'm blessed to be where I'm at and a lot of people support me and help me along the way.
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: There's no question Um have leaned on a lot of people for advice and you know no one's ever done it alone.
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: I can.
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: I can promise you that nobody, not even to the greatest of all time in any category, you know.
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: So enjoying it, just really happy to be a part of the seminal family right yeah, um, so you're not getting nervous.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: Is there any warm-up routine?
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: Do you go through anything like that?
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: Have you seen the ron burgundy one where he's like yelling at the kids in a high point, high-pitched voice?
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: Have you seen that one?
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: he's like get the kids out, now brown cow come on.
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, awesome man awesome awesome, absolutely um, yeah, I'll do a few things you know to, to make sure I'm good, ready to go.
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: You know, you, you look kind of everybody kind of stretches into their own way, right, and all right it gets loose some more than others.
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: Like you know, tiger woods is stretching more than john daly right yes both.
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: If you feel good about where you're at, you're good to go.
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, you know.
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: For me, preparation, one of the things that I've learned is you really have to fall in love with the work that nobody sees, and you know.
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: That's something that I've learned throughout the years.
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: And then, on the broadcasting side, I have competed with myself to challenge myself, to continue to dig deeper and do better.
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: Getting ready for a game Ask another question about why this is this way, or what's a connection between the two teams or players.
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: How do they know each other?
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: The history of the game you know everything so I think, that's, that's a part of it I've fallen in love with and, you know, I hope to have that same kind of uh, same kind of energy, obviously until they tell me I can't do it anymore well, I think you've been doing a great job and some tough shoes to fill.
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: I'm not going to lie, I didn't think I was feeling bad for whoever got the job after the great Gene Deckerhoff, but I think what you've said rings true and that you're falling behind on your experience and you want to do, if anything, hit that seat honor by doing your best, and I commend you on a great job well, thank you, I appreciate that.
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: And, and gene is a friend and a mentor.
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: We just had lunch, uh, last friday, you know, and we, we connect and chat as much as we possibly can, and I'll bounce things off of him, get his thoughts on some things, and I enjoy just listening, as as everyone has for the last half century to gene and so, um, I've said it many times to people, but you cannot fill the shoes of gene deckerhoff.
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: You have to go, put your own pair on and have fun along the way and do the job the best that you can.
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: So that's what we're trying to do right now and I mean I'm loving, I'm enjoying and loving working with you know, william barn on floyd and tom block and our entire crew, chris culp, andy sarat I mean we got, we got a great group of guys.
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: I love doing it and we like doing it together and we're gonna keep, uh keep doing it that way too like, yeah, um, so you got, went through the, the pre-game routine.
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: Uh, what do you have?
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: You know, I know last year was such a magical season, but to go through the ending of it and to have an assignment, like you did in the don't matter bowl I mean the orange bowl um, what was that game like, did that?
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: What was it like to feel that emotion that you, that the team had?
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: Was it different than any other game you've experienced?
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: um, yeah, it was.
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: I mean it was, it was sad, it was um frustrating.
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: I think there's some anger in there from everybody.
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: You know, um, the biggest thing about 2023 is that we don't remember it for that.
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: And man, every week was just unbelievable.
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: And I remember last summer thinking about the roster that Mike Norvell and his staff put together and I believe that this team could win all of them.
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: I really did.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: I thought they could win every single game with the roster that we had in place.
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: And you know, I knew right away we would find out a lot with LSU and Clemson in the first month.
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: Yep.
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: We won both of those games.
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: We beat the breaks off of LSU and, you know, Jane Daniels ends up winning the Heisman.
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: We go into Clemson.
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: I knew, regardless of what Clemson's record was.
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: It was going to be a huge hurdle.
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: Exactly, regardless of what Clemson's record was, it was going to be a huge hurdle.
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: Exactly, I lost there twice in the last decade.
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: So you know, like right away you knew, if you get through September and you stay healthy, you're going to have a chance to do some really special things.
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: And you know, sadly, the injury to Jordan changed everything.
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: It was used as an excuse by the committee to keep us out, and December was a difficult month.
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: I can't imagine being a player on the team.
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: I can't imagine being the coaching staff and the head coach.
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: The part that sticks out for me is what you touched on, just saying that, the fact that I know I did the same thing.
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: I asked you that question instead of asking you.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: You know about a particular game during the season which you know you could see different guys step up throughout the year and it was a special season.
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: As someone who's lived here through all the seasons, I lived through that season.
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: It was a special team and I know the real fans will remember it as such.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: It's just a shame that the committee didn't give the team a chance for them to imprint themselves on the on the scene like they should have.
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: yeah, I mean I, you know, I, I, it was one of the best teams and you know, it's only the third team in the history of this program to have 13 wins right in a season now, obviously, you only played sometimes 11 games or 12 games in a year, back in the 80s and 90s, you know and so there's more games to be played, but it's still saying something and, um, it's hard to do, it is not easy to win them all.
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: Uh, ask anybody.
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: It just doesn't happen very often, and so you know.
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: But, to answer your question, december was tough.
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: You knew that we were going to be extremely shorthanded.
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: It was a completely different football team than the one that we had played with throughout the year and I don't put any weight on that game at all.
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: It doesn't take away any of the success had by the team that we played with during the.
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: You know, the 13 of the games of the year and frankly, to me I don't like to me doesn't even count.
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: I know it does count, but I'm with you know I don't even, I don't even I've been going back and watched it.
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: I'll never go back and watch it.
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: I call it.
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: I thought keon holman said, it best in you know, he did a podcast with RG3 and he called it the don't matter bowl and what I just thought that was he put it.
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: He kind of put that to bed for me as a fan.
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: Well, jeff, I know you have, so you come up.
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: So you said you just do it right and so there wasn't any practice.
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: When touchdown Florida State, touchdown FSU.
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: You didn't practice that.
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: You're getting a job down in Tallahassee.
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: What was that?
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: Take me through that moment.
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: Where you're from South Dakota, you've been doing games there.
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: I mean the Bisons have a great tradition.
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: You've been doing games there.
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: I mean the bisons have a great tradition.
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: I mean winning.
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: But now you're about to be the voice of the florida state seminoles.
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: Take me through that experience.
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: And what?
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: What was that like?
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: yeah, there's certainly some some preparation for that, no question about it.
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: I mean, there was, there was practice there, without a doubt, and you know what's your touchdown call, what's your final call.
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: Those, those were the two that I really thought long and hard about.
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: Um, the touchdown call needed a little bit of you know, a little bit of tweaking here and there.
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: Okay, um, really, after the first game that we had, a lot of people forget the duquesne game of 22 the week zero game.
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: They think the first game was lsu no, no yeah and so I I'd actually tweaked my my touchdown call from game one to game two what was the first?
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: what was it?
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: it was just the, just the touchdown fsu and I had a touchdown florida state oh yeah, ahead of it and so I listened to a lot of what Gene had done.
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: Gene's was very, you know, higher tempo touchdown Florida State, touchdown FSU, you know, and that was his.
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: So I kind of you know mine was I want to do it my own way, but also do something that will connect with everybody and also honor Gene a little bit Right yeah with everybody and also honor gene a little bit right.
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I just slowed down the last one, quite simply with a little bit of, you know, a little growl at the end on big, on big touchdowns, you know.
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: So that was, that was the initial one and I think it's gone over pretty well.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: I think some people are still trying to figure out if they like it, which is how it goes.
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: I'm not too worried about that exactly.
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: I was just gonna ask that you know, being as a position where you kind of have to put yourself out there, you kind of have to just roll with it.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean you just you have to have confidence in yourself, or are there moments where you kind of doubt yourself or what, what, what is it?
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: And do you have the people around you that kind of build you up?
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: I mean, I'm sure everyone has it.
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: What's that like for you?
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: No question, I mean I.
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: I you see, when somebody says something about you, that is not nice.
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: I mean, you know that's in this social media climate that we are in.
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: You know, yeah, I see him, like I'm going to be like how can you not see it?
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: Right, you know, and so sure you see him and you just move on.
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and not everybody.
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: You know nobody likes.
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: You know there's not one guy where everybody likes everything that they do and announce it Exactly, it's not, and then that's just how it is and that's okay and so, um, but I, you know, honestly, my wife Sarah, has been amazing.
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: You know we've had a lot going on.
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: You know she was eight months pregnant when the process started, wow, or you know getting, you know, earning the opportunity I was announced on a Monday to, you know, take over for Jean, and then on Thursday she had our second child that week in 2022.
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: So you know we've had a lot and, yeah, there are moments where you're certainly, you know, vulnerable emotionally about you know somebody saying something that kind of catches you off guard, but you just you move on like whatever.
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: Okay, you know and um, but yeah, ultimately just uh, you go out and you have fun with it, because if you're not enjoying it, you're not having fun.
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: Like what do you?
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: What's the point that you're not doing it for the right reasons overall?
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: I totally agree and you know, kind of I mean I know I started doing this show the year you started and I know I didn't.
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: Mine was more of just I grew up wanting to always do it.
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: I didn't have.
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: You know, my dad was a painter and so I used I painted houses with him and I used we used to talk sports on top of the roof and he passed away a while back but my brother had this voicemail that he kept and I put it at the end of every show.
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: I play this little song and I kind of end the show on every show.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: But that's kind of what this show is.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: I just missed it and I wanted to talk sports and it's a way I can connect with some of my friends and I've had the chance to interview guys like you.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: I had Chris Fowler on here, chris Cotter and Jared not Jared Verse, but Fabian Lovett was more than welcome, was good enough to come on.
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: It's been real fun and you know I'm doing it just for the love of it and you're I mean, you're a professional but and you, you do it because you love it and I just uh, before I let you go, um, you're, uh, ireland coming up.
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: You excited about that?
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: no doubt, yeah, yeah, very excited about that and, um, never been overseas, so it'll be a first for me.
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to the experience and you know, obviously we got a job to do while we're there, but I can tell you that the seminal sports network radio crew has never shied away from having a good time so we're gonna.
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: We're to go over there with smiles on our faces and take in the culture and have a good time in Dublin, and I know that Knowles fans are going to paint that place garnet and gold and we're going to hear the war chant echoing all up and down the main roads and the main pubs there.
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: And, man, I can't wait.
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: It's going to be a special experience.
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: I think it's going to be a great football game.
• 24:32
  Speaker 2: I think Georgia Tech is going to be a tougher opponent than people think because of what they have coming back offensively.
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: And I think they've also hired Tyler Santucci, who was Duke's defensive coordinator last year, as their guy, and he's a bright, bright coach.
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: As a quote-unquote young coach, I think he's unbelievable.
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: And so, working some of our new guys in with DJ and and some of our new pieces, I think it's going to be a heck of a football game.
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: So looking forward to it and excited to to get over there.
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: You know we've been around the.
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: You know the Aer Lingus crew, the, the, the.
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: You know the college football Ireland crew.
• 25:10
  Speaker 2: They've been to Tallahassee a couple of times.
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: Let me tell you they know how to have a good time as well so we showed them a good time in tally.
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: I know they're going to show us a good time in dublin and uh, we're going to try and, you know, do do all the things they tell us we need to do during our, our short time over there well, uh, jeff, I'm glad to hear that you grew up with the basketball background.
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: You know I was my favorite sport listening to Gene was basketball, and actually the most time I've listened to you is during your basketball broadcast.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: Just, you know, there's more frequent games and just the difference of all the sports.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: What's what stands out about basketball that you like specifically?
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, just the pace, you know, creates the challenge of staying on top of it and describing it.
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: You know, I was told by a friend of mine, you know, about 10 years ago, brett Matlock's his name.
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: He's a son of, uh, derrick matlock um, who was the head baseball coach at texas rio grande valley.
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: He was a pitching coach at west virginia while I was there and there, um, uh, the, the, the younger matlock um, had, you know, a little bit of special needs and didn't have great eyesight, and so he always said, jeff, you got to make sure you let everybody know how impressive the things that you're seeing are when you watch them, because that's how I know how great you know what they're doing.
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: I've always remembered that and um, so when you see some of these, these high level, you know division one, college basketball players some are pros playing college.
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: You know college hoops, um, you want to make sure you have the right energy.
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: And when a big time dunk or a great play happens, man, you want to make sure you let everybody know how impressive it was.
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: And so, uh, it's a fun sport to call very frenetic pace in some games, depending on who you're calling.
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: I think the big challenge is hey, how can you work in some of your preparation into the flow of a game as it's happening, to educate everybody on what the game's all about?
• 27:22
  Speaker 2: And so that's always a fun challenge for me and that's why I love hoops as well.
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: March, madness man, there's nothing like it.
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: It's an unbelievable time of year, and you know if we're lucky enough to be a part of it.
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: Those are times you never forget.
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: I hope so.
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: It's one of the.
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: Probably a sports PTSD for me is that tournament getting canceled a few years back before you got here.
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: Oh my God that.
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: That team was so incredible and I still kind of think that this program's rebounding from it still.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: But, jeff, I'll tell you what man Do you mind if I do the closing on you right now?
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: What I do?
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: I hit it, I hit it and then the music plays about three minutes and then we take off.
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: We had to go.
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: All right, we've got to get on out of here.
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: Our ride's here.
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: But, jeff, it was great enough to come on the show.
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: The NBA playoffs are going on right now and I'm telling you what both games were really entertaining.
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: Indiana surprised everyone, but they blew it at the end.
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: And then Dallas last night Kyrie showed up again and they were able to take down Minnesota.
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: Have you had a chance to watch any of these NBA playoffs, jeff?
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: Also, I watched a lot of NBA playoffs.
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: It's really the only time of year I watch, to be quite honest with you, but I enjoy it and my dad is a huge Timberwolves fan.
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: He's in that part of the country and so I was texting with him last night about game one.
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: But I'm not a huge D wolves fan, but he is, and so I really want them to win.
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: Yes, you know to have that, to have that moment to say that, hey, one of his favorite teams played in an nba finals and he got to watch yeah, that's pretty cool, man, I will.
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: That's another reason I'll have for rooting for the T-Wolves.
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: We also got hockey.
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: Are you a hockey fan, jeff?
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: You know, my wife and I when we were dating we lived in Morgantown, west Virginia.
• 29:20
  Speaker 2: She's a huge Pittsburgh Penguins fan, so we went to a lot of games while we were in that part of the country.
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: But I have not.
• 29:27
  Speaker 2: I'll watch him every once in a while.
• 29:30
  Speaker 2: You know, sean McDonough is a mentor to me.
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: Oh my God, Are you serious?
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: He's called Hockey.
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: And yeah, oh, all right.
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: All right, well for it.
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: Sean McDonough is one of my favorite broadcasters.
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: In fact you know he used to do I'm sure you know World Series baseball back in the early 90s with him.
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: Tim McCarver, that's my favorite intro music song too.
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: I guess maybe that's just nostalgia.
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: All right, we got about a minute left here.
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: We're going to react to both game twos coming up.
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: We're going to have Coach MU Offensive Coordinator coming on here in the next few weeks A lot to get to.
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: But summer is coming in.
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: We got the baseball and the softball react to that.
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: We'll get, uh, we'll get Jeff on on a weekly occurrence.
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: I'm sure he has no problem coming on whenever.
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: Right, right, he's going into the.
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: You're going into summer break.
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: I know you, but I I just went to a fifth grade graduation today, so I just had to clear up the tears myself.
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: So it was great talking to you, jeff.
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: Uh, we'll have the games and we'll react to them and we'll talk to you next time right here on the north florida sports network.