On the May 12th edition of Tiger Rag Radio, Host Jeff Palermo and Tiger Rag Editor Glenn Guilbeau discuss what went wrong with LSU baseball in 2026. Vanity Fair Reporter Chris Smith talks with the guys about his in-depth article on LSU football coach Lane Kiffin. Smith provides details on what led to Kiffin to discuss how racial climate made it to recruit to Ole Miss. We also get a preview of the NCAA Softball Regional in Baton Rouge. The Voice of LSU Softball Patrick Wright breaks down what the Tigers need to do win the Regional and who will be their biggest challenge.
Here is the complete transcript of the show from YouTube. Tiger Rag apologizes for any AI generated mistakes:
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1:01
1 minute, 1 secondThis is Tiger Rag Radio live from Super Chevy Dealers Studio.
1:07
1 minute, 7 secondsAnd good evening everyone. Welcome to another edition of Tiger Rag Radio. This is Jeff Polalmo, news and sports director of the Louisiana Radio Network
1:14
1 minute, 14 secondsalong with the editor for Tiger Rag Magazine, Glenn Gilbo. Todd Horn has the night off. Glenn, how you doing tonight?
1:21
1 minute, 21 secondsGood, good. It’s a it’s a busy night, man. Um Paul Skins is pitching right now uh against um who is he pitching against?
1:31
1 minute, 31 secondsI’m not sure who he’s pitching against, but he’s got a he’s got a uh he’s he hasn’t had a walk since uh before tax
1:38
1 minute, 38 secondsday. And uh he’s probably about 30 35 uh more innings away from the National League record of 72 innings by Greg
1:46
1 minute, 46 secondsMaddox with uh without a walk. Um but uh and then uh we just got TV information on LSU Clemson September 5th, 6:30 p.m.
1:56
1 minute, 56 secondsABC. Game day will be in Baton Rouge that weekend, that Saturday morning. And then September 19th, the bloodbath LSU
2:04
2 minutes, 4 secondsat Old Miss. That’s also going to be prime time September 19th. Uh and um
2:11
2 minutes, 11 secondsalso got a feature about the uh LSU baseball the some of the dubious records thereafter on the uh or not after but
2:19
2 minutes, 19 secondsthey might get anyway uh as they close the season but it’s it’s been a crazy couple days.
2:25
2 minutes, 25 secondsYeah, Paul Ske is going up against the Colorado Rockies tonight. So we’ll keep tabs on that as we’ll follow his progress. I see the Pirates are already
2:32
2 minutes, 32 secondsup one to nothing. No LSU baseball tonight and that’s probably a good thing. It it’s been a it’s been a rough season, Gwen. And um
2:42
2 minutes, 42 secondsyou know, this past weekend just was uh was finally uh you could put a fork in them if you would. Oh, no question.
2:49
2 minutes, 49 secondsUnless obviously they went on some crazy miraculous run in the SEC tournament, which no one is anticipating, but
2:56
2 minutes, 56 secondsI mean, even when they were up seven to three on Friday, six to two as well, I I had no confidence that they were going
3:04
3 minutes, 4 secondsto win. I I mean, and it’s I think that is especially going up against the likes
3:11
3 minutes, 11 secondsof Georgia, Texas A&M, and Mississippi State, the last three real SEC teams they’ve played, excluding South Carolina out of that.
3:21
3 minutes, 21 secondsThey were not they were nowhere near where those teams were. I mean, how far they have fallen is astonishing.
3:29
3 minutes, 29 secondsIt is. It’s it’s amazing. Um, you know, and they they uh I I thought it would have been better to put Zack Cowan in
3:37
3 minutes, 37 secondsthere, but you know, I don’t know if it would have made a a big difference. And and you know, they almost lost the last two games by the 10-1 run rule. They
3:45
3 minutes, 45 secondslost 12-1 on Sunday, and they were close to losing the by the 10-run rule on uh on Saturday, but uh you know,
3:53
3 minutes, 53 secondsother other national champion teams in the SEC have struggled mightily the next year. Uh Old Miss um had just six wins
4:03
4 minutes, 3 secondsafter they won it all in in 22 in the SEC. LSU is is just just has uh nine
4:11
4 minutes, 11 secondswins right now, but a but a school record 18 SEC losses. They haven’t had
4:17
4 minutes, 17 secondsthat many uh in a in a season. Uh tying record, they had 18 in 1978
4:24
4 minutes, 24 secondsand they’ve been playing since 1933. And if they lose one game out of three against Florida, that that’s a new record. I mean, that’s an amazing record for a Jay Johnson team to set.
4:35
4 minutes, 35 secondsI’m just not I I’m not one to buy any of these excuses. Hey, other teams have
4:42
4 minutes, 42 secondsstruggled the year after they they played or won the national championship or hey, they didn’t have enough money.
4:49
4 minutes, 49 secondsAll all these things that have been thrown around there, they were still ranked number one or two in the preseason, right? they are
4:57
4 minutes, 57 secondsto have 18 conference losses and to be out of it as far as NCAA contention by the time you play your final home
5:05
5 minutes, 5 secondsseries. It’s just flat out not acceptable. And there’s and I know Jay Johnson’s obviously been thinking and
5:14
5 minutes, 14 secondsand I’m sure there’s a lot of things he’s ready to implement once that final out is made and this team packs up the helmets and bats until next fall and he
5:23
5 minutes, 23 secondsyou know he he begins trying to rebuild this thing. But something seriously went wrong here, Glenn. A lot of things, obviously. It’s
5:31
5 minutes, 31 secondsjust not like, oh, they didn’t get this break or, you know, if they would have won this game, uh, maybe this. No, no, they just we’re not a good team.
5:39
5 minutes, 39 secondsRight. Right. Yeah. And and you know, the the deal about the, uh, the team struggling the year after the national championship. I think that’s more of a a
5:46
5 minutes, 46 secondsstatement about the portal and how baseball probably as much as any sport even before the portal. They just
5:53
5 minutes, 53 secondschanged their roster every year. But you’re right, uh LSU was still supposed to be good. They still returned a lot
6:01
6 minutes, 1 secondfrom their national championship team last year. They lost a lot too, but they they they returned uh you know a core of
6:08
6 minutes, 8 secondsthat team like Derek Curiel and uh for one, you know, probably their best one of their best players last year. And
6:15
6 minutes, 15 secondsthen and then I thought the key thing that went wrong this year was players that were showing promise and playing well last year did not re repeat that
6:25
6 minutes, 25 secondsthis year. Kase Evans, he he was not good before he got hurt. William Schmidt has not developed. Gavin Gidry was
6:32
6 minutes, 32 secondssupposed to be good, you know, after the year off from injury, after his first two good seasons. Uh Maverick Rzzy did
6:40
6 minutes, 40 secondsnot uh develop from last year. And then then the uh the portal additions, most of them were disappointments. And you
6:49
6 minutes, 49 secondsknow, and then the the none of the freshman pitchers really, you know, they they usually have one or two freshman pitchers that do well. That that didn’t
6:57
6 minutes, 57 secondshappen. No. this this year, you know, and you know, the only bright spot is that some of the other some of the freshman position players have played
7:04
7 minutes, 4 secondswell of late. But but you know, the the disturbing thing, too, is the the uh the coaches haven’t gotten the players
7:13
7 minutes, 13 secondsbetter as the season has gone on. And it’s a long season. You got plenty of time to get them better. And that particularly has not happened with the
7:20
7 minutes, 20 secondspitchers for whatever reason. whatever Jay Johnson, Nate Yesi, uh the rest of the coaches tried to do with this team, it
7:29
7 minutes, 29 secondsdidn’t connect. It it might have been maybe some of those methods worked with the 2025 team and that’s why they excelled the way that they did.
7:36
7 minutes, 36 secondsYou know, a part of it was Kate Anderson and Anthony Ison were darn right unbeatable by the time the end of the season occurred. So that that
7:45
7 minutes, 45 secondsmade it a lot easier. Uh but still there was uh a lot of I mean Ethan Fry and Jared Jones a lot of guys had terrific
7:53
7 minutes, 53 secondsseasons as well. Derek Curiel, Chris Stanfield, uh you know, Milm got hot in the postseason like he he tends to do.
7:59
7 minutes, 59 secondsSo there were a lot of things that went well.
8:03
8 minutes, 3 secondsI I still go back, you know, some of my theories and these are just my theories.
8:07
8 minutes, 7 secondsI’m not around there every day, so I I I don’t know. But I felt like when this team was starting to hit a mental wall, they were starting to struggle early on.
8:18
8 minutes, 18 secondsI instead of just continuing to work them as Jay Johnson did, maybe taking a day off or two here or there from pre
8:26
8 minutes, 26 secondsand I know they have to take certain days off, but maybe just backing off of them a little bit instead of just pushing the gas pedal even more. Let’s
8:34
8 minutes, 34 secondspractice three hours before our Tuesday night game. Maybe they shouldn’t have done that.
8:40
8 minutes, 40 secondsMaybe they should have just lessened the workload. And then sometimes, Glenn, I feel like with all of the technology
8:47
8 minutes, 47 secondsthey have to help these pitchers, the pitching lab and whatnot, I think that works very well in the professional level when you’re an experienced pitcher
8:56
8 minutes, 56 secondsand you’ve been pitching for a long time and you’ve been pitching against really good hitters. But when you start throwing that stuff on an 18 and 19 year
9:03
9 minutes, 3 secondsold kid, sometimes that just that overloads them. It gets them thinking too much. The team erra for LSU 5.49.
9:15
9 minutes, 15 secondsI mean, just as you mentioned, there’s not, you know, there’s no one that you look at um and
9:24
9 minutes, 24 secondssay, man, you know, you know, William Schmidt’s RA is 422. I feel like that’s a that that seems okay, but you know,
9:31
9 minutes, 31 secondshe’s 31 walks in 64 innings. That’s certainly not okay. Um Kase Evans an erra near six. Gavin Gry 6.81.
9:41
9 minutes, 41 secondsYou know, other guys that you thought might make an impact this season. Jaden New Cooper Williams, their ERAs are seven and eight. You talk about no
9:50
9 minutes, 50 secondsfreshman really made an impact. Marcos Paw’s ERA is 828. I mean, just some brutal numbers there.
9:57
9 minutes, 57 secondsYeah. And, you know, I think I think, you know, players uh in the major leagues in the NFL, they
10:04
10 minutes, 4 secondshave an off year every now and then. I think coaches can have an off year, too, you know, because, you know, I’m sure everything that Nate Yesi has tried this
10:13
10 minutes, 13 secondsyear has worked in other years with with different freshman and stuff, but some sometimes it it doesn’t work. And maybe they they did do something wrong uh that
10:22
10 minutes, 22 secondsthat worked in in past years. You know, they they can have an off year, but but you know, if you give those guys credit for the great seasons they have, you
10:30
10 minutes, 30 secondscan’t just give them a pass because they used to be good when they’re having a bad season. I mean, they neither Jay
10:37
10 minutes, 37 secondsJohnson or Nate Yesi got these guys better. You know, the the wild pitches kept happening. They set the school record for for wild pitches this season.
10:47
10 minutes, 47 secondsThey’re they’re close to the school record for erra. It’s like over six. They’re probably not going to get it.
10:52
10 minutes, 52 secondsThey don’t have enough games, but I mean they’re pretty close to a to a six erra, which is which is not good. Um, and it’s
11:01
11 minutes, 1 seconduh you know, it’s it’s it’s been hard to watch for sure because because they keep doing the same things and and you know, they have had key injuries too, but the
11:09
11 minutes, 9 secondsinjuries kind of came after they were already bad. Yeah. You know, except for Chris Stanfield. That that that was a big one.
11:16
11 minutes, 16 secondsYeah. but he’s not a he wasn’t a big numbers guy. He was a steady player last year. And you know, Steven Milm kind of had an off year. He’s been hitting
11:25
11 minutes, 25 secondslately. Tanner Reeves is another one who who didn’t really develop like you thought he would. Uh it just all
11:31
11 minutes, 31 secondshappened at the same time. Um and they they could not put out the fires.
11:38
11 minutes, 38 secondsNo, they could not. The there was and Nate Yoski told us last week there they they tried a lot. There was a there was a quote that I pulled for one of my
11:47
11 minutes, 47 secondssports guests. He says, you know, it’s not like we’re not out here. And I agree. It’s not like they’re not tr and I I mean Nate Yesi hasn’t forgotten how
11:54
11 minutes, 54 secondsto coach. He’s he’s taken four different teams or he’s been a pitching coach on four different teams that have gone to the College World Series, but there’s
12:02
12 minutes, 2 secondsgoing to be some serious and I know it’s already started uh serious evaluations on on what they did and why it didn’t
12:10
12 minutes, 10 secondswork and what they got to do differently. and we’ve heard Jay talk a little bit about that. Maybe play a little bit less in the fall, work on the
12:18
12 minutes, 18 secondsstrength and conditioning and so forth like that. So, um, you know, I saw one report that, you know, Jay’s going to
12:27
12 minutes, 27 secondsreally hit the transfer portal hard and and and maybe he will, but he he’s also talked about how he wants to build this thing a little bit more through the high
12:35
12 minutes, 35 secondsschool ranks. I I really think he he looks at two guys in in Ryan Costello and Mikey Ryan that are both freshman on
12:43
12 minutes, 43 secondslast year’s team that are excelling at other locations now and just saying, “Man, if I had those two guys, my infield situation would have been a heck
12:51
12 minutes, 51 secondsof a lot better.” Uh instead, you you kind of went out and you you you tried to go get the the the the flashy toy in
13:00
13 minutesthe transfer portal and it didn’t work out this time around, right? I think he he’s still going to need to go into the portal though, but maybe maybe not as heavy and and maybe
13:09
13 minutes, 9 secondsgo with more freshman next season and and obviously play the sophomores who are who are freshman this season, but
13:17
13 minutes, 17 secondsthey’re definitely snake bit. You know, I heard a lot over the weekend, oh, oh, well, Georgia hit just hit all those home runs off of curve balls. Well,
13:24
13 minutes, 24 secondsearlier in the season, the the opponents were hitting home runs off of fast balls, you know. So, I mean, if if you’re playing Georgia in that park, I
13:32
13 minutes, 32 secondswould try a curve over a fast ball, but you know, either way, they they weren’t going to win.
13:37
13 minutes, 37 secondsWell, rough rough season and it could come to an end next week. Actually, a week from tonight, uh could be the final game for LSU as they will play as if
13:45
13 minutes, 45 secondsthey finish 14, they will then play in all the as long as they stay alive, they would play in the late games every day next week in the SEC tournament. But
13:54
13 minutes, 54 secondsagain, it’s single elimination all the way through. So, this thing can end on Tuesday night. Uh, coming up on the show, we’re going to hear from Chris
14:01
14 minutes, 1 secondSmith. He works for Vanity Fair. He wrote the big profile piece on Lane Keifin that’s been making news over the
14:08
14 minutes, 8 secondslast couple of days. We’ll talk to Scooter Hobbs, who was the uh LSU baseball sid.
14:16
14 minutes, 16 secondsIs that right, Glenn? The last time LSU lost 18 conference games. We’ll get Scooter Scooter to compare and contrast
14:24
14 minutes, 24 secondsthat 78 team with this 2026 squad. Uh we’ll talk some basketball portal stuff and some baseball stuff with Cory Diaz
14:31
14 minutes, 31 secondsof uh USA Today Network as he covers LSU for them. And then Patrick Wright will join us. There will be postseason action
14:40
14 minutes, 40 secondsat Tiger Park this weekend as LSU softball hosting a regional and the voice of the LSU softball team will join
14:46
14 minutes, 46 secondsus to uh preview that. So, let’s take our first break and when we come back, we’ll we’ll get into some of the uh we’ll get into some football talk as uh
14:55
14 minutes, 55 secondssome news was made there and also start talking about some of the comments that Lane Keman had in that lengthy Vanity
15:03
15 minutes, 3 secondsFair article. So, stay tuned for that here on Tiger Rag Radio.
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15:32
15 minutes, 32 secondsNow back to Tiger Rag Radio live from Super Chevy Dealer Studio.
15:39
15 minutes, 39 secondsBack here inside the Super Chevy dealer studio, Jeff Polalmo along with the editor for Tiger Rag magazine, Glenn Gilbo. It was announced today that ESPN
15:48
15 minutes, 48 secondsCollege Game Day will be on LSU’s campus for the season opener against Clemson
15:54
15 minutes, 54 secondsand that game will kick off at 6:30. And really when you look at and granted obviously uh Lane Keifin’s first game at
16:02
16 minutes, 2 secondsLSU, the intrigue factor and a lot of eyeballs and wanting to see what that’s like and what will be an electric
16:09
16 minutes, 9 secondsatmosphere inside Tiger Stadium on September 5th. But the other thing is is
16:16
16 minutes, 16 secondsthat when you look at the schedule um for the opening week there there really weren’t like a bunch of great
16:23
16 minutes, 23 secondsoptions out there. Like the only other game that I thought was and it’s not even it’s not even in the same
16:30
16 minutes, 30 secondsstratosphere as LSU Clemson was Baylor Auburn. That gives you an idea of how these early season matchups they’re
16:37
16 minutes, 37 secondsgoing away now. You got Old Miss plays Louisville on a Sunday night. Um you got a game on Monday night. I know Florida State’s involved in that. and I forget
16:46
16 minutes, 46 secondswho they’re playing, but um still you have very few games uh now with the college football playoff uh the
16:54
16 minutes, 54 secondsnon-conference part of the college football season and these great non-conference matchups are starting to
17:01
17 minutes, 1 seconddwindle. So even if Brian Kelly was still the head coach at LSU, this still could be
17:07
17 minutes, 7 secondsan ESPN college game day uh game. But obviously with Lane Keifin, it makes it even that much more special. This is
17:15
17 minutes, 15 secondsgonna be the 40th season of College Game Day, Glenn. And this is going to be the show’s 500th episode, which is um
17:24
17 minutes, 24 secondsterrific for to me, in my opinion, still the best show on ESPN. Yeah. Yeah. It’s uh it’s it’s iconic.
17:31
17 minutes, 31 secondsYou know, people relate Saturday morning to that show. It’s it’s it’s really amazing how how far it’s come. And we got to get Reese Davis back on.
17:40
17 minutes, 40 secondsThat’s right. That’s right. We need to get Reese. Great guy. Um, but you know, I’m sure there’ll be a lot of Lane Keifin uh stories um
17:48
17 minutes, 48 secondsfor for for that game day and and uh yeah, L LSU still uh scheduling these tough non-conference games. Maybe that’s why they haven’t been to the playoffs
17:57
17 minutes, 57 secondssince since 2019. They need to they need to quit doing that.
18:01
18 minutes, 1 secondAnd they may they may we’ll see. I don’t know. It seems like that attitude is changing just a little bit as far as to try to ease up on these. But LSU is a 10
18:10
18 minutes, 10 secondsand a half point favorite going in this game against Clemson. And we also, as you mentioned, uh, Glenn, we found out that the LSU Old Miss game will also
18:17
18 minutes, 17 secondskick off at 6:30 in Oxford on September 19th. We’re gonna have Chris Smith on from Vanity Fair coming up in the next
18:25
18 minutes, 25 secondssegment. He wrote the lengthy profile piece on Lane Keifin, so we’re looking forward to hearing him. The comment that uh has caught a lot of attention and has
18:33
18 minutes, 33 secondsmade national headlines, I don’t think is a surprising comment to hear from coach Lane Keifin. Again, it’s it’s someone that is saying that the the
18:42
18 minutes, 42 secondsquiet part out loud in that out ofstate uh black parents did not want their kid
18:49
18 minutes, 49 secondsgoing to Old Miss because of the connections that university has to the Confederate flag and a mascot that was called Colonel Rebel. I mean to me that
18:58
18 minutes, 58 secondsis not that is not shocking to hear. Uh it’s not new. It’s definitely not news.
19:04
19 minutes, 4 secondsI mean they they they also play this the song the the their own band used to play the song Dixie at timeouts of basketball
19:12
19 minutes, 12 secondsgames. I remember I couldn’t believe that.
19:14
19 minutes, 14 secondsBut you know that’s something they’ve dealt with forever. I I don’t think Lane needed to to say that. Yeah.
19:19
19 minutes, 19 secondsUh you know I’m not really Well, I mean I I I guess I can understand why he he brought it up. I mean, he was answering
19:26
19 minutes, 26 secondsa question, but uh he he probably could have avoided that.
19:30
19 minutes, 30 secondsWell, Lane did give a response to on three today saying to the effect of, “Hey, this was a 4hour interview. I said a lot of stuff,
19:39
19 minutes, 39 secondsright?” And so, but he still didn’t need to say what he said is what I’m is what I’m saying.
19:44
19 minutes, 44 secondsPlus, he also he did what with what with people like he said, “I apologize if I offended one anyone.” Well, if you’re thinking you need to apologize. Chances
19:53
19 minutes, 53 secondsare you offended someone. People say that all the time. I think that’s so ridiculous to say that. Yeah. And and he really didn’t. And he just kind of
20:00
20 minutesrepeated himself after that. So, he’s definitely uh tugging the chain there, you know. Um but uh it was a great
20:09
20 minutes, 9 secondsfeature story. There’s a lot of there’s a lot of interesting things in that story about him and I I think that would be getting more attention had he not said that.
20:19
20 minutes, 19 secondsYeah. And then Old Miss gets blasted by Steve Sarkeesian today, the head coach at Texas. He told uh the USA Today, “At
20:27
20 minutes, 27 secondsTexas, we only take 50% of a player’s academic credit hours. You may be a semester from graduating, but you’re going all the way back to 50% if you
20:35
20 minutes, 35 secondswant to play here and want a degree. But at Old Miss, they can take you. All you have to do is take basket weaving and you can get an Old Miss degree.” Wow.
20:44
20 minutes, 44 secondsSo Miss getting it from both LSU and Texas. That might be because uh it was
20:51
20 minutes, 51 secondsin that story by Chris Smith that uh oh, I don’t know if it was in the story, but I’m sorry. It was it was in a tweet uh
20:57
20 minutes, 57 secondsin reaction to the story that that Pete Golding, again, this was just what somebody said on Twitter that
21:05
21 minutes, 5 secondsPete Golding allegedly brought up Steve Skarkesian’s previous drinking issues at USC to try to get a player over him.
21:13
21 minutes, 13 secondsThat’s while he was coaching under Lane Kein, by the way. No, I’m sorry. It’s while he was coaching under Nick Sabin in Alabama and Sarkeesian was a former Alabama
21:21
21 minutes, 21 secondscoach. So Golding also got some accusations from uh Dabos Sweeney too uh from from recruiting last year. So it’s going to get messier.
21:32
21 minutes, 32 secondsWell, it’s going to make the SEC spring meetings coming up at the end of this month. That’s right.
21:37
21 minutes, 37 secondsA little bit more interesting. Let’s take a break. When we come back, Chris Smith from Vanity Fair will join us.
21:42
21 minutes, 42 secondsWe’ll talk about his piece on Lane Keifin. Stay tuned for that. This is Tiger Rag Radio from the Super Chevy dealers studio.
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22:19
22 minutes, 19 secondsTiger Rag. Tiger Rag Radio.
22:22
22 minutes, 22 secondsLadies and gentlemen, boys and girls, you are tuned in.
22:25
22 minutes, 25 secondsTalk LSU sports interviews, opinions, and new calls around the Tiger Nation.
22:30
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22:40
22 minutes, 40 secondsJeff Polalmo back inside the Super Chevy dealers studio along with Tiger Rag editor Glenn Gilbo. Let’s go right to our first guest of the night. That is
22:48
22 minutes, 48 secondsChris Smith who wrote an outstanding article on Lane Keifin, one of the most interesting men in all of college football, really in all of sports. And
22:57
22 minutes, 57 secondsChris, thanks a lot for joining us tonight. How you doing? Jeff Polmo along with Glenn Gilbo. Thanks for uh being a part of the show. want to say thank you
23:05
23 minutes, 5 secondsfor having me, but I also want to give you all a more extended thank you. Uh, I was in Baton Rouge last month to interview Lane Keven. Okay.
23:15
23 minutes, 15 secondsAnd the first day I’m there, I go down to Poor Boy Lloyds for lunch. Yeah. Yeah.
23:21
23 minutes, 21 secondsAnd pick up a copy right there inside the door of the money issue. Oh.
23:26
23 minutes, 26 secondsAnd that helped with my research. All right. And I talked I talked to Kein that afternoon at great length about all
23:35
23 minutes, 35 secondskinds of subjects and then come back the next day, go to practice, then go back to his office to review some stuff and
23:43
23 minutes, 43 secondsthe first thing he does is say here and he hands me a magazine and he says this has a bunch of details in it that I
23:52
23 minutes, 52 secondsdidn’t even know and it’s the December issue with him on the cover and the uh
23:58
23 minutes, 58 secondsbig headline line, what’s next? Um, with the blowby-blow of his arrival. Um, and,
24:07
24 minutes, 7 secondsuh, so you all, you know, uh, thank you for the the help. Oh, that’s great, man.
24:12
24 minutes, 12 secondsAppreciate it. We need to have you on more often. And, um, tell Lane thank you uh, for reading our magazine since we don’t get to talk to him as much as you do. No, just kidding.
24:23
24 minutes, 23 secondsNo. Uh so uh you know it’s fun to to be talking with you now and uh yeah I mean
24:31
24 minutes, 31 secondsyou’re sort of joking uh I got to spend four hours ultimately with him and I was kind of the goal one of my goals of the
24:40
24 minutes, 40 secondsstory is you know a lot of people will never be in a room one-on-one with Lane Keifin and to try to give folks a sense
24:49
24 minutes, 49 secondsof who he is and what that’s like to sit across you uh and talk with them at length about all kinds of subjects.
25:00
25 minutesChris, um first off, where are you going to be on September 19th, 2026?
25:08
25 minutes, 8 secondsWell, I’ve had some folks in Oxford invite me to come on down. All right.
25:13
25 minutes, 13 secondsSo, uh I’m going to see if I can make that happen, but uh I’ll be in front of my TV if nothing else.
25:20
25 minutes, 20 secondsHey, I I did want to ask you the the quote uh from Lane where he he said that
25:26
25 minutes, 26 secondsgrandparents of players uh told them uh that told him that they didn’t want to
25:32
25 minutes, 32 secondssend their uh kid to Oxford. Um because of the uh image issues. Um what do you
25:41
25 minutes, 41 secondsremember what the question was that got him talking about that?
25:45
25 minutes, 45 secondsSure. You know, I had asked him about the factors that went into his decision to leave Miss for LSU, you know, and did
25:55
25 minutes, 55 secondshe was part of it? Did he think however much success he’d had at Oxford, you know, that the ceiling would be higher
26:03
26 minutes, 3 secondsin Baton Rouge at LSU? and he started out uh answering talking about sort of conventional stuff, you know, how he
26:12
26 minutes, 12 secondsfelt like the money available from LSU and its allies was going to be in his
26:19
26 minutes, 19 secondsphrase adult money. Um and you know for the portal he he was talking about for the portal there. Correct.
26:27
26 minutes, 27 secondsRight. Right. Right. and you know talking about the relative histories of the football programs and you know the images of the two places.
26:40
26 minutes, 40 secondsAnd then he volunteered uh to my surprise that anecdote about
26:49
26 minutes, 49 secondsuh recruits and their families regularly telling him at all miss that you know we like you coach but my
26:57
26 minutes, 57 secondsgrandparents are never going to let me come to Oxford and he doesn’t have he was not going to have that problem in Baton Rouge because it’s
27:06
27 minutes, 6 secondsdiverse and not segregated. So, I wish I could say it was some genius, you know, question that I I pulled this out of him. Um, but no.
27:18
27 minutes, 18 secondsWow. Yeah. And and you and you probably um I’m wonder if you you weren’t even thinking of that type of an answer. U I
27:27
27 minutes, 27 secondswould bet I was not it it was not a direction that had occurred to me. Um and so I was
27:36
27 minutes, 36 secondsreally intrigued by it. There’s obviously been a great deal of discussion about it for the past two days. And one of the things that struck
27:44
27 minutes, 44 secondsme immediately was not simply the the factual merits, you know, the relative
27:53
27 minutes, 53 secondsracial histories of the two towns or schools, but that I found it really fascinating that he was sending a
28:03
28 minutes, 3 secondsmessage pretty transparently that this was a angle he
28:10
28 minutes, 10 secondswas going to work on behalf of LSU. do in, you know, recruiting players.
28:16
28 minutes, 16 secondsThat’s right. That’s right. Uh and I mean that that’s that’s an issue Old Miss has always dealt with is is that
28:24
28 minutes, 24 secondsimage situation and their and their nickname. Uh so he’s going to um he’s going to use that as a strategy for sure. Though I I don’t know how much
28:33
28 minutes, 33 secondshe’s going to actually go against Old Miss that in in recruiting, but uh maybe maybe he will. Let me ask you this, Chris. We’re talking to Chris Smith uh
28:41
28 minutes, 41 secondsof Vanity Fair magazine and a best-selling uh author as well. Take me back to the uh to the story pitch. Uh
28:50
28 minutes, 50 secondsdid did an editor say, “Hey, we need something on Lane Keifin or did you uh bring it up or did it come up in a meeting?” How did it first start? Yeah,
28:58
28 minutes, 58 secondsI mean like millions of sports fans, I watched the drama unfold last November
29:05
29 minutes, 5 secondswith Kein ditching Old Miss and coming to LSU and you know that was plenty
29:12
29 minutes, 12 secondsintriguing in and of itself, but it it really seemed the whole episode really
29:18
29 minutes, 18 secondsseemed to strike a nerve with a lot of even casual fans and I was curious about that why there was such an outsized
29:28
29 minutes, 28 secondsreaction and some of it seemed to be about uh you know this was being maneuvered by
29:38
29 minutes, 38 secondsa bunch of insiders. You know, you had Jimmy Ston pulling strings and negotiating deals. And you had Nick
29:47
29 minutes, 47 secondsSabin out there, you know, on TV campaigning for Keifin to be allowed to keep coaching even if he was leaving Old
29:55
29 minutes, 55 secondsMiss. And that kind of thing, I think, grates on people. But also I it’s within
30:02
30 minutes, 2 secondsthe context of you know drastic changes in college sports where because of the
30:10
30 minutes, 10 secondsportal because of NIL the stability has disappeared and loyalty has eroded and
30:21
30 minutes, 21 secondsyou know even people who understand college sports has long been a big business it seems to trouble or they wish it
30:30
30 minutes, 30 secondsweren’t that way. And you know, Keifin became something of a symbol of all those changes or the excesses of those
30:39
30 minutes, 39 secondschanges. And the other thing that was intriguing to me, people frequently become centers of media storms and get caricatured.
30:49
30 minutes, 49 secondsAnd I’m always curious, well, who is that person really? you know, often people frequently people are more
30:57
30 minutes, 57 secondscomplicated than the the stereotype or caricature makes them out to be. And so that was my pitch to my editors at
31:05
31 minutes, 5 secondsVanity Fair that, you know, this seemed to resonate on a lot of levels. Um, it’s
31:12
31 minutes, 12 secondsabout money, it’s about power, and it’s about, you know, who is this guy who people think they know because he’s been in a lot of headlines. who is he really?
31:24
31 minutes, 24 secondsAnd you know what’s going through his head in this moment? And I’m not patting myself on the back by any means, but I
31:33
31 minutes, 33 secondstalked to my best friend uh earlier today lives in Slideel. He’s knowledgeable LSU fan, college football
31:42
31 minutes, 42 secondsfan, and he told me, you know, he felt like he learned a lot in this story about what created Blaine Keifin, not
31:51
31 minutes, 51 secondsjust biographically, not just, you know, his family background, but about the context of college sports that’s sort of
32:00
32 minutesproduced him. How do how comfortable do you think he is in being, you know, the face of the transfer portal NIL era?
32:11
32 minutes, 11 secondsUh he’s pretty comfortable being the face of most anything. Well said.
32:18
32 minutes, 18 secondsUh um I don’t know that he thinks of it that way. I think he’s extraordinarily comfortable and really well built for
32:27
32 minutes, 27 secondsthis era where it’s borderline chaos and you know you’re recruiting essentially
32:36
32 minutes, 36 seconds12 months of the year to keep guys on the roster to bring in new players and
32:43
32 minutes, 43 secondsboth because of all the changes and ups and downs in his life um and his
32:50
32 minutes, 50 secondstemperament you know the fact that he’s willing to mix it up on social media the and promote himself and be something of
32:58
32 minutes, 58 secondsa eager celebrity beyond the sports world.
33:03
33 minutes, 3 secondsThat’s all I think really well suited to this era in the game.
33:09
33 minutes, 9 secondsHow many um how many football coaches have been portrayed or on the cover of Vanity Fair uh over the say the last 10 years or so?
33:20
33 minutes, 20 secondsI’m gonna go out on a limb and say zero. Right. Right. Yeah. I have not done that inventory.
33:27
33 minutes, 27 secondsUm we certainly do, you know, a good number of sports stories. Not a lot. Um
33:33
33 minutes, 33 secondsbut this one, uh you know, our new as of a year ago editor is doing a nice job of
33:42
33 minutes, 42 secondsexpanding the subject matter, right? And so this fit in nicely.
33:49
33 minutes, 49 secondsum with that agenda and um yeah, I mean
33:56
33 minutes, 56 secondsI will never complain as a reporter. you spend a lot of time trying to convince
34:04
34 minutes, 4 secondspeople to talk with you and Keen, you know, once I got in the room with him
34:13
34 minutes, 13 secondswas willing to just keep going, answer any question at any length and even as
34:19
34 minutes, 19 secondsthis, you know, controversy has erupted, um, he hasn’t tried to do the thing of, you know, oh, that was off the record or
34:28
34 minutes, 28 secondsI was not quoted or any of that, you know, whether you think what he said is on target or not. It was just me and him
34:36
34 minutes, 36 secondsin the room. He had no, you know, press person holding his hand. Wow.
34:41
34 minutes, 41 secondsCool. even though even though the second day, you know, he seemed to recognize he certainly recognized that he said
34:48
34 minutes, 48 secondssomething that could be considered inflammatory, but I’ve had plenty of interview subjects, you know, call up
34:56
34 minutes, 56 secondsafter the fact and say, you know, please don’t use the Z. I’m taking that back.
35:01
35 minutes, 1 secondYou know, I’ll deny I said that. He didn’t he didn’t say any of that. you know, he wanted to add that he hoped
35:11
35 minutes, 11 secondsum this discussion about diversity wouldn’t be taken as a shot at Old Miss, but he said, you know, I said what I
35:19
35 minutes, 19 secondssaid, write what you want to write, and he’s, you know, sort of apologized today. Um, but he didn’t walk back.
35:28
35 minutes, 28 secondsNo, he did not.
35:30
35 minutes, 30 secondsHow difficult was it to to convince him to do the interview? you know, how how difficult was it to get to the room? Um,
35:39
35 minutes, 39 secondswere, you know, was he against it at first or were other people at LSU against it or how did that go down?
35:45
35 minutes, 45 secondsI don’t have any real sense of that. I mean, other than the fact that he’s plenty busy and he’s, you know, the new
35:52
35 minutes, 52 secondsguy still in a variety of ways and trying to get a very complicated uh
35:58
35 minutes, 58 secondsprogram, you know, up to the speed he wants it to be. you know, he talked to me about, you know, the day after he got
36:07
36 minutes, 7 secondshired, he was in a room full of the current players, you know, and
36:15
36 minutes, 15 secondsessentially pleading with them not to leave town, you know, so things were moving very rapidly and, you know, the
36:24
36 minutes, 24 secondsportal window was closing imminently. So I I as far as his
36:30
36 minutes, 30 secondseagerness or reluctance, I can’t measure that. He was just, you know, kind of busy. And sure, once he said yes and they invited me
36:39
36 minutes, 39 secondsdown to spring practice, he seemed to have no reluctance, hesitation, was eager to talk.
36:46
36 minutes, 46 secondsSo the Old Miss players were pleading with him to stay, you said a minute ago.
36:50
36 minutes, 50 secondsNo, no, no. Um when he left Oxford and and flew to Baton Rouge that very next morning, he was in a room with LSU players.
37:00
37 minutesOh, I got you. I got you.
37:01
37 minutes, 1 secondYeah. Trying to convince them not to bail. I got you. Fascinating stuff, Chris. Great article. Um it’s it’s certainly worth the read.
37:10
37 minutes, 10 secondsAs your friend from Slideel said, I think it’s it’s a must for LSU, every LSU fan to take a look at it. Uh I know fans are excited about it. Uh, I know
37:19
37 minutes, 19 secondsyou’re probably a little bit more intrigued now as far as what LSU can do in 2026 and we really appreciate your time here tonight.
37:27
37 minutes, 27 secondsThanks for having me, guys. Be well. Thanks a lot, Chris.
37:30
37 minutes, 30 secondsYou, too. Uh, Chris Smith from Vanity Fair and we find out that Lane Keifin’s a Tiger Rag reader. How about that, Glenn?
37:37
37 minutes, 37 secondsThat’s awesome. And and I wonder how much of a Vanity Fair reader he was he was before that. It’s a great It is a
37:44
37 minutes, 44 secondsgreat magazine. And Brian Burrow is one of my friends from college. He’s one of their best writers along with Chris obviously. Yeah. All right, let’s take a break.
37:52
37 minutes, 52 secondsWe’re late for one. We’ll be back after this from the Super Chevy dealer studio on Tiger Rag Radio.
37:59
37 minutes, 59 secondsGet growing and reading. It’s May, the perfect time to fall in love with books.
38:05
38 minutes, 5 secondsThe East Baton Rouge Parish Library invites you to plant a seed and read from June 1st through August 18th. Visit
38:12
38 minutes, 12 secondsyour nearby library for exciting events, fun reading incentives, and familyfriendly programs designed to inspire readers of all ages. To learn
38:21
38 minutes, 21 secondsmore about all the fun reading can bring, visit ebrpl.com.
38:29
38 minutes, 29 secondsAnd we’re back with Tiger Rag Radio live from Super Chevy Dealer Studio.
38:37
38 minutes, 37 secondsWrapping up hour number one of the show.
38:39
38 minutes, 39 secondsGlad you could join us. Hope you caught that interview there with Chris Smith from Vanity Fair. If you missed any of the show or you’ve wanted to watch uh or
38:46
38 minutes, 46 secondslisten to previous shows, the show is uploaded to YouTube about 30 minutes after we get out of here at 8:00 and you can catch it anywhere you get your
38:54
38 minutes, 54 secondspodcast. But that was a good interview there with Chris Smith, uh Vanity Fair getting uh the exclusive interview with
39:00
39 minutesLane Kein and um so well and good for good for Lane to not have the u LSU people involved.
39:09
39 minutes, 9 secondsYeah. Yeah, I’ve always had a problem with that. When you’re interviewing a coach one-on-one, you got the SID standing there or something, you know,
39:17
39 minutes, 17 secondsand and and that to me that shows uh Lane’s uh has um you know, he’s he’s he’s a little fearless there.
39:25
39 minutes, 25 secondsYeah, he’s a big boy. He can handle it.
39:27
39 minutes, 27 secondsExactly. And and uh you know, and not that they you know, you know, cause any issues when the SID sitting in there. I
39:34
39 minutes, 34 secondsthink they just do that for a third party. But that is impressive that he didn’t feel like he needed one and and uh also you know gave him gave him a lot
39:44
39 minutes, 44 secondsof time and um you know just and and let him let him see uh how how the program’s going
39:51
39 minutes, 51 secondsand uh let him see Lane and then Lane didn’t come back oh don’t use that you know because that does happen all the time don’t use don’t use that part.
39:58
39 minutes, 58 secondsOh yeah yeah for sure for sure. Yeah, he stands by it and he he did make a comment to 03 or 03 on three today, but uh still he didn’t he didn’t apologize.
40:08
40 minutes, 8 secondsHe repeated it. Yeah, basically basically repeated it.
40:11
40 minutes, 11 secondsRepeated it. So uh you’ve you’ve read it. What what was your obviously the Oh, well I meant to tell Chris one of my
40:18
40 minutes, 18 secondsfavorite parts was was when uh Lane’s mother Robin nicknamed him helicopter as a kid because he would just go from room
40:25
40 minutes, 25 secondsto room causing havoc in every room which which is what he does at Tennessee, Old Miss, LSU, USC. Uh but
40:33
40 minutes, 33 secondsno, just kidding. Um, but uh that that was interesting that you know and and that that kind of fits cuz he’s he’s
40:39
40 minutes, 39 secondsalways had a lot of uh energy and makes his presence known where wherever he’s he’s been. You know, even when he was an
40:47
40 minutes, 47 secondsassistant at Alabama, you you could he was more demonstra demonstrative on the sidelines than Nick was. And Nick’s pretty demonstrative.
40:55
40 minutes, 55 secondsWell, yeah. I mean, it was always, especially when Alabama was on offense, you get the the camera would take a get a shot of of Nick and then you get a
41:03
41 minutes, 3 secondsshot of Lane. And a lot of times Nick was standing right there or Lane was standing right there next to Nick, but still you you you were very aware of him
41:11
41 minutes, 11 secondsbeing on the sidelines and calling plays for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
41:15
41 minutes, 15 secondsRight. Right. And uh boy, it’s uh all this is just leading up to uh Armageddon on on September 19th, man. But but you
41:24
41 minutes, 24 secondsknow it’s it’s funny, Jeff. This this has happened before. I mean, when Nick came back here Yeah.
41:29
41 minutes, 29 secondsUh in in in 2008, it it was very similar.
41:32
41 minutes, 32 secondsIt was very similar. I think this there’s a sharper edge to this. Sure.
41:37
41 minutes, 37 secondsIn my mind, obviously, because you’re jumping you’re not jumping to the NFL for two years and then coming back. Um I
41:44
41 minutes, 44 secondsAnd I think this is personal for Old Miss fans. I don’t know if it was Oh, it was personal. It was personal for LSU fans. And and
41:52
41 minutes, 52 secondsif he left for LSU directly to Alabama be there’d be a lot more a lot more inks. But but I’m telling you when I covered a lot of that when he went back
42:01
42 minutes, 1 secondto Alabama in January of 2007 you would have thought those two years disappeared
42:08
42 minutes, 8 seconds2005 and and 2006 for sure because there was a lot of people upset. There was a lot of people in the athletic department
42:15
42 minutes, 15 secondsat LSU uh very upset about that. And and the one thing that’s really in common about it is
42:23
42 minutes, 23 secondsAlabama has always been for the most part LSU’s daddy. Yeah.
42:28
42 minutes, 28 secondsAnd LSU has always been for the most part old Miss’s daddy. That’s why there was so much hate between both programs. All four.
42:36
42 minutes, 36 secondsThat wraps it up for hour number one.
42:37
42 minutes, 37 secondsWhen we come back, looking forward to the interview with Scooter Hobbs from the Lake Charles American Press. He was the baseball sid back in 1978 when that
42:46
42 minutes, 46 secondsteam lost 18 games. We’ll get Scooter’s perspective on where the LSU baseball program is now. And we’ll also talk some football with him as well. So stay tuned for that here on Tiger Rag Radio.
42:57
42 minutes, 57 secondsY’all ready? Y’all ready? Let’s go. Come on. Tiger Rag Radio is on the air. Let’s crank this thing up.
43:02
43 minutes, 2 secondsWe’re statewide breaking down the latest happenings with LSU athletics. Hear from the coaches. Our time is now with LSU basketball.
43:11
43 minutes, 11 secondsThe players having fun and we working, baby. That’s it, baby. The recruits.
43:14
43 minutes, 14 secondsOne way or another, we’re going to make history. and those who cover the Fighting Tigers of LSU and the SEC. LSU is the best job in football.
43:22
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43:24
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43:26
43 minutes, 26 secondsTiger Rag Radio is brought to you by Cumins. Cumins creates power solutions that the world depends on. Louisiana
43:33
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43:46
43 minutes, 46 secondsGet ready to talk Tigers with producer Andre Champine and our host Todd Horn, Jeff Polalmo, and Glenn Gildo.
43:54
43 minutes, 54 secondsThree great players that are better people than they are players.
43:58
43 minutes, 58 secondsThis is Tiger Rag Radio live from Super Chevy Dealer Studio.
44:03
44 minutes, 3 secondsYeah. Hour number two of the show from the Super Chevy Dealer Studios. Jeff Palmo with you. News and sports director, Louisiana Radio Network.
44:11
44 minutes, 11 secondseditor Gwen Gilbo inside the Super Chevy dealer studio with myself Todd Horn has the night off. And let’s get to our next
44:20
44 minutes, 20 secondsguest. Uh a legendary figure when it comes to covering sports in Louisiana and covering LSU specifically, another
44:28
44 minutes, 28 secondsHall of Famer on the show with us. Of course, you got Glenn and then you got his good friend Scooter Hobbs who’s been covering LSU for decades now. Scooter of
44:36
44 minutes, 36 secondscourse does terrific work for the Lake Charles American Press and he joins us on the show right now. And Scooter, thanks a lot for being a part of the show. How you doing tonight?
44:46
44 minutes, 46 secondsYou there Scooter?
44:48
44 minutes, 48 secondsOh, wait a minute. My fault again. Boy, that’s my second error of the night. Go ahead, Scooter. I got to learn how to hit the right rookie. You’re rookie. I didn’t I didn’t hear what you said.
44:57
44 minutes, 57 secondsWhat did you ask?
44:58
44 minutes, 58 secondsWell, I didn’t ask you anything. I just introduced you to the show. How you doing tonight? Oh, I’m glad to be here. That’s great, man. That’s great.
45:06
45 minutes, 6 secondsScooter. Scooters. I’m ready. Scooters just off a trip to Portugal.
45:11
45 minutes, 11 secondsJeff, the welltraveled and unbelievable. Unbelievable. How about How was that?
45:18
45 minutes, 18 secondsPortugal was great. Uh we went to Lisbon, Valencia, Spain, and Barcelona.
45:25
45 minutes, 25 secondsThe first two were great. Barcelona is over the top. That’s what I hear. Absolutely over the top.
45:32
45 minutes, 32 secondsThat’s what I hear. Barcelona is a is a mustgo place if uh you’re traveling over to Europe. So So uh so compared to uh say Starkville
45:41
45 minutes, 41 secondsand Gainesville uh a little below Starkville nipping at Gainesville’s heels.
45:54
45 minutes, 54 secondsWell, well, uh, well, Scooter, the, uh, the 1978 LSU baseball team, your sports
46:00
46 minutesinformation student assistant for them, they finished 12 and 34. Now, I didn’t realize this. That’s the worst winning percentage in LSU history.
46:11
46 minutes, 11 seconds28.
46:13
46 minutes, 13 secondsYeah. and and they were six and 18 uh in the SEC, which is what uh and LSU right now is is is 9 and 18.
46:22
46 minutes, 22 secondsThat that 78 team is getting a bad rap saying that LSU has tied them for the
46:30
46 minutes, 30 secondsmost losses, but LSU’s had more games to do it.
46:35
46 minutes, 35 secondsSure, that team only played what, 24 games. Yeah. I mean, 24 games, they’re going to get 30. So, they don’t
46:44
46 minutes, 44 secondsI don’t think they get credit for the most losses. My 78 boys are going to hold it.
46:51
46 minutes, 51 secondsWell, uh did did you ever think LSU was going to was going to fall this bad uh this year? I mean, they were six and six
47:00
47 minutesat at one point. Uh how surprised are you with how it’s ending up?
47:05
47 minutes, 5 secondsWell, I’m shocked. I mean, uh, you know, there was no reason to see this coming.
47:11
47 minutes, 11 secondsAnd I, you know, you know, they got kind of a rough start, you know, were great
47:18
47 minutes, 18 secondsup until pre-conference pretty much. And uh then they got off to this rough and
47:24
47 minutes, 24 secondsfor and it for half of the you know first half of the conference schedule I
47:31
47 minutes, 31 secondswas going with the theory well this team’s just snake bit but it never changed. Right. Right.
47:38
47 minutes, 38 secondsAnd I’m I’m you know now I’m I’m to of the opinion maybe they just weren’t that good.
47:44
47 minutes, 44 secondsYeah. And they they blew away the wild pitch record. They broke that like two weeks ago.
47:49
47 minutes, 49 secondsand uh they’re they’re they could get close to uh like 90 wild pitches um on the season. But
47:56
47 minutes, 56 secondshow how can a how can a team lead the SEC in strikeouts and walks? Explain that.
48:06
48 minutes, 6 secondsYeah. Yeah. That’s uh it’s it’s a it’s a crazy team for for sure. Uh it’s it’s funny when when they were at the uh in
48:13
48 minutes, 13 secondsthe middle of that ninegame losing streak in the SEC. Uh this this guy wrote on Facebook after one of my stories, “It’s all Scooter’s fault
48:21
48 minutes, 21 secondsbecause he was writing how great they were when they were nine and0.” Well, I I I did write a column, you know, kind of drinking the Kool-Aid.
48:34
48 minutes, 34 secondsIt was after that trip to Jacksonville.
48:36
48 minutes, 36 secondsYeah, they look good. That’s when they look good. Yeah.
48:40
48 minutes, 40 secondsYeah. And you know, then it just fell apart. Yeah. And uh if I remember what I wrote, it was uh it was basically based
48:48
48 minutes, 48 secondson what the uh Notre Dame coach was saying cuz he was blown away.
48:53
48 minutes, 53 secondsRight. I don’t That’s right. I quoted him too. Long before and so have you. Exactly.
49:00
49 minutesThey did though first eight games. U they and I was there for all three games in Jacksonville. They look so good. Um,
49:08
49 minutes, 8 secondsand what the opposing coaches would say, especially at the plate, they they controlled it was they did not swing at pitches out of the
49:17
49 minutes, 17 secondszone. You had to come in the zone. And if you came in the zone, LSU was ready to to to smash whatever you’re going to throw in there. And yeah,
49:26
49 minutes, 26 secondsthey they absolutely rolled through those guys. And I remember the next game was against MC. Zack York hits a two-run
49:34
49 minutes, 34 secondshomer in the first inning. And LSU’s up two to nothing. looks like they’re going to be rolling. And then McNiss brings in a freshman left-hander and just stymies
49:42
49 minutes, 42 secondsthem offensively and then LSU gives up a few runs and it was like they they were never the same after that
49:50
49 minutes, 50 secondsfor whatever for whatever reason. I mean, we kind of talked about at the beginning of the show there’s been a lot of reasons, but it was like that’s all of a sudden a switch was flipped off and
49:59
49 minutes, 59 secondsthey had a hard time ever really switching it back on.
50:03
50 minutes, 3 secondsYeah, they uh you know they uh their their pitching is was the story of the
50:11
50 minutes, 11 secondsyear kind of uh the the the hitting took a dive kind of in the middle but you
50:18
50 minutes, 18 secondsknow the last few weeks they’ve hit the ball a little better. Given this last disaster in Georgia, other than the
50:26
50 minutes, 26 secondsSunday game, I mean, whether scored seven, eight runs first two days, must be able to win. Same thing in Mississippi State.
50:34
50 minutes, 34 secondsGeorgia Georgia is best team I’ve seen this year. I I I’ll give them credit.
50:40
50 minutes, 40 secondsBut, uh I mean I the pitching is unexplainable.
50:47
50 minutes, 47 secondsOh, I know. And that it looks like they have good stuff when they throw strikes, right? Well, we we had Anthony Rnado on
50:56
50 minutes, 56 secondsa couple of weeks ago, Scooter, and he said, “Yeah, those freshman pitchers, they got electric stuff. They just don’t know where it’s going.” Is what he is what he said. Well, now that kind of helps.
51:06
51 minutes, 6 secondsYeah. Now, getting back to the 1978 team, Scooter. Yeah, that’s true.
51:10
51 minutes, 10 secondsHow How did their Portal players do that year?
51:16
51 minutes, 16 secondsThey went to the porta potty, but well, I don’t believe they had many portal players. They were a fun group, though.
51:28
51 minutes, 28 secondsThey didn’t play baseball very well, but they were fun to travel with. And I was a kid, you know, I was, you know,
51:36
51 minutes, 36 secondscollege student. And let me tell you how it’s kind of a story of how baseball has changed. And it wasn’t like I mean I I
51:46
51 minutes, 46 secondstold you I was kind of the poor man’s Bill Frank is at that team handling the PR. I even did the PA at the home games.
51:55
51 minutes, 55 secondsBut I mean again Paul Manass of the SID legendary was looking over my shoulder the whole time.
52:04
52 minutes, 4 secondsIt was, but he did, you know, let us, but plus nobody gave a damn about the baseball team anyway.
52:13
52 minutes, 13 secondsSo, you know, you go, “Oh, let Scooter do it, you know.” And uh but I but I had fun. I had fun
52:20
52 minutes, 20 secondswith I never traveled with a college team before.
52:26
52 minutes, 26 secondsWell, I had some stories. I can’t tell many of them on the radio. Well, it’s it’s amazing that that team, they were just three years removed under coach Jim
52:35
52 minutes, 35 secondsSmith of one of the best teams ever. In 75, they won the SEC and they still hold the record for fewest losses in the SEC with just three. They went 19 and three.
52:47
52 minutes, 47 secondsI did not know that.
52:48
52 minutes, 48 secondsSo, they both they they hold both of those records on both ends of the uh the spectrum.
52:54
52 minutes, 54 secondsThat’s like uh leading in strikeout Sam Walts, I guess.
52:58
52 minutes, 58 secondsThat’s right. But uh and Jim Smith was a good guy. I mean this is again the
53:05
53 minutes, 5 secondsdifference in college baseball now and then. Jim Smith’s main job. He was football equipment manager
53:15
53 minutes, 15 secondsand then he he was we’d be on the road trips. I and uh we weren’t staying in
53:22
53 minutes, 22 secondsMarriott Marquees, you know, just your basic, you know, roadside ends and
53:28
53 minutes, 28 secondsstuff, but you I’d knock on Jim Smith’s uh hotel room door. I need to ask him
53:36
53 minutes, 36 secondssomething. I go in there and there’s football shoulder pads and helmets and chin straps everywhere.
53:43
53 minutes, 43 secondsHe wasn’t studying film of the opponent pitcher the next night. No. No. Good guy though. Really good guy.
53:52
53 minutes, 52 secondsScooter, let’s get your thoughts on Lane Keifin. Uh we first time we’ve had you on since uh Kein was uh hired as the head coach. Uh as someone that has
54:01
54 minutes, 1 secondcovered LSU athletics as long as you have. How excited, how intrigued are you to see uh what happens?
54:07
54 minutes, 7 secondsI’m excited. I I wrote a column for tomorrow saying he uh he he he went to
54:15
54 minutes, 15 secondshe crossed the line which I know you know what I’m talking about but I thought he crossed the line uh with you
54:22
54 minutes, 22 secondsknow what he said about his problems with this image right uh that’s you know he’s got some make up
54:32
54 minutes, 32 secondsto do which I don’t know if he’s capable of that I really don’t know him that well I’ve only talked
54:38
54 minutes, 38 secondsuh met him one time. Uh so I’m but I am I mean I I think he’ll be fun. I I mean
54:47
54 minutes, 47 secondsI’m I’m too old to worry about whether they win or lose. I just want somebody’s fun to cover and I think he will be
54:55
54 minutes, 55 secondsthat. You know, certainly will be there.
55:01
55 minutes, 1 secondYeah, we’re here. Uh what do you think of the prospects of this team? Is this a team that you feel like with all that’s been invested in this year that it
55:08
55 minutes, 8 secondsbetter make the college football playoff?
55:12
55 minutes, 12 secondsI would think that would be the minimal requirement.
55:16
55 minutes, 16 secondsuh just because we’re assuming uh you know it looks like you know they
55:23
55 minutes, 23 secondsweren’t bad defensively last year and a lot of that is back and it you assume
55:31
55 minutes, 31 secondsLane Kein can snap his fingers and do offensive magic.
55:36
55 minutes, 36 secondsYeah. Yeah. It uh it’ll be intriguing to to see. Are you going to make the trip up to Oxford?
55:43
55 minutes, 43 secondsI probably will. Uh, I I’m wondering if Kein will dare go.
55:51
55 minutes, 51 secondsWell, well, we’re both going to have more money in the budget from baseball this season. We’re going to be doing any traveling.
56:00
56 minutesNo.
56:01
56 minutes, 1 secondYeah, that’s true.
56:05
56 minutes, 5 secondsWell, hey, Scooter, it was good catching up with you, man. We appreciate it. Uh, enjoy your summer. It’s going to be a little bit of a longer off season when it comes to LSU athletics, but uh
56:13
56 minutes, 13 secondsfootball will be here before you know it. No kidding. Thanks a lot, Scooter.
56:19
56 minutes, 19 secondsYep. Scooter Hobs from the uh Lake Charles American Press. Uh just a one-of-a-kind uh reporter.
56:27
56 minutes, 27 secondsGlenn, they don’t make him like him anymore.
56:30
56 minutes, 30 secondsNo. No. And uh I think they asked him to play a couple of times on that 78 team because he he was a good high school
56:38
56 minutes, 38 secondsfootball player. And I’m sure he could he could play some uh some good baseball and softball at some of the LSWA conventions.
56:44
56 minutes, 44 secondsYeah. All right. Well, uh let’s take another break. Uh we got a couple more guests to get to before we’re out of here tonight. Cory Diaz from the USA Today Network. We’re going to talk with
56:53
56 minutes, 53 secondshim about LSU baseball. We’ll also hear from Patrick Wright. The LSU softball team competing in an NCAA regional. Can
57:00
57 minutesthey get to a super regional and potentially play Alabama? We’ll talk with Patrick about that. And uh we’ll have a lot more coming up here. And
57:08
57 minutes, 8 secondsagain, anytime you want to listen to Tiger Rag Radio, just go to anywhere you get your podcast or go to YouTube. All our shows are posted up there as well.
57:16
57 minutes, 16 secondsSo, we’ll be back after this. Here from the Super Chevy dealer studio, this is Tiger Rag Radio. Chevy trucks have you covered when the road takes you from
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57:51
57 minutes, 51 secondsWe now return to Tiger Rag Radio live from Super Chevy Dealer Studio.
57:59
57 minutes, 59 secondsYeah, back here on Tiger Rag Radio from the Super Chevy dealers studio. Coming up, Cory Diaz from the USA Today Network. We’ll talk some LSU baseball
58:08
58 minutes, 8 secondswith him. Patrick Wright, who is uh the voice of the LSU softball team, will talk with him as well. Well, we uh last
58:15
58 minutes, 15 secondsweek when we were doing the show, that was the day uh that Will Wade had appeared on a couple of podcasts, so we
58:22
58 minutes, 22 secondsknew he was alive and well despite not really getting many commitments. And then we had a bit of a flurry of guys that finally announced their commitment.
58:31
58 minutes, 31 secondsI I thought we were going to have a stretch there like each day there was going to be somebody else like it was all orchestrated and that u you know one
58:39
58 minutes, 39 secondsguy will continue you know you’ll have a new guy commit every day and till you get to about eight or 10 guys or whatever it may be but we’re starting to
58:47
58 minutes, 47 secondsget some sort of a makings of a roster and what are some of your thoughts Glenn? Yeah. Um, you know, I I think he’s still got plenty more to go. Yes.
58:56
58 minutes, 56 secondsBut, uh, Marcio Santos of of U Brazil, um, who played professionally at, uh,
59:05
59 minutes, 5 secondsTel Aviv, Israel, uh, you know, seems like he’s a pretty talented player. Uh, I heard he’s very bad on defense. That’s what I heard.
59:15
59 minutes, 15 secondsRight. Well, the other the other players they signed are kind of focused on defense.
59:19
59 minutes, 19 secondsUh and uh the Michigan State guard, he’s coming off an injury, but uh you know, he looks like that
59:27
59 minutes, 27 secondscould be a good addition. Y and I like the fact that he played um you know, for Tom Isizo. Yeah, that was uh that that was impressive.
59:36
59 minutes, 36 secondsUm but uh he’s still he’s still got a long ways to go. You know, it’s good that he’s got finally got started. But, uh, you know, I I think we’re going to
59:44
59 minutes, 44 secondsfind out, you know, he he might get some of his best additions from guys who go in the second round of the NBA draft in
59:52
59 minutes, 52 secondsin a few weeks and decide not to play yet pro yet and and, you know, fall back on LSU. That would be good. Yeah. Yeah.
1:00:00
1 hourLike Allen Graves, right. Right. Allen Graves is one that they’re probably it’s between them and Duke is what we’re hearing.
1:00:06
1 hour, 6 secondsRight. Right. You know, that that would be an excellent addition. and and uh you know, he’s he’s lost some some good ones, but um you know, I think I think
1:00:16
1 hour, 16 secondshe’s going to uh he’s going to be able to find some some good players. I keep hearing we just haven’t seen them signed yet.
1:00:22
1 hour, 22 secondsAnd I’ll be it’ll be interesting to see how many guys, international guys, he brings in. It’s one so far, but there’s more coming.
1:00:31
1 hour, 31 secondsYeah. and and you know that was one of the reasons they hired Rick Stansberry because of his European contacts, but uh
1:00:38
1 hour, 38 secondsyou know um they they definitely need to get a couple of more of those and and that’s it’s not just going to be a one-year thing, but um they they still need some more players big time.
1:00:48
1 hour, 48 secondsI don’t want to sound like the cranky old man here, Glenn, but 23-year-old professional player,
1:00:56
1 hour, 56 secondsthat just doesn’t sound like college basketball to me.
1:00:59
1 hour, 59 secondsRight. Right. I know. I know. It’s uh it’s amazing what it what it’s come to.
1:01:04
1 hour, 1 minute, 4 secondsUm and you don’t really know how good they are. Uh you know, the the the
1:01:10
1 hour, 1 minute, 10 secondsrankings aren’t as um easily accessible as as when you get a transfer from a college player. Plus, when you get a
1:01:18
1 hour, 1 minute, 18 secondstransfer from a college player from a major program like a Michigan State or or North Carolina State, you know, it’s
1:01:26
1 hour, 1 minute, 26 secondsnot as big a a jump uh or or there’s not as much adjustment for those players.
1:01:32
1 hour, 1 minute, 32 secondsSo, um that’s it’s going to be strange, but uh Will Wade will continue. I would imagine maybe a couple more guys. Uh
1:01:40
1 hour, 1 minute, 40 secondslet’s see if uh if they’ll commit to this week and kind of move this process along, but it it it’s been slow. It’s it certainly has been and uh but that
1:01:48
1 hour, 1 minute, 48 secondsthat’s fine. You might as well be deliberate with it there. There’s not necessarily a rush. You’re right. I think there were some guys that he was
1:01:55
1 hour, 1 minute, 55 secondshoping to maybe make a a little bit more of a splash with. It didn’t work out. Uh you just move on to the next guy.
1:02:02
1 hour, 2 minutes, 2 secondsThere’s plenty of guys out there. There does seem to be a plan in place. Um the staff seems like it’s pretty much fully in place, right? I mean,
1:02:10
1 hour, 2 minutes, 10 secondsyeah, he’s done with the for what was supposed to be a skeleton staff. It’s kind of grown, hasn’t it? He he’s he’s got more coaches than players right now,
1:02:19
1 hour, 2 minutes, 19 secondsbut the uh you know the core players and he said you you only need about seven or eight. Yeah.
1:02:24
1 hour, 2 minutes, 24 secondsThat that’s going to go through the end of June and in early July and then filling out the roster to 13 or 14 or 15,
1:02:31
1 hour, 2 minutes, 31 secondsyou know, that could go right up until September, I think.
1:02:34
1 hour, 2 minutes, 34 secondsYeah. Oh, yeah. Probably right up right up until uh the time that uh school starts. And it seems like LS getting to
1:02:41
1 hour, 2 minutes, 41 secondsback to LSU football. They’ve gotten one junior college commit uh from a out of the quarterback position and it’s it
1:02:48
1 hour, 2 minutes, 48 secondslooks like they’re still trying to maybe grab a couple more guys as well. So uh I don’t know if they’re really done there
1:02:56
1 hour, 2 minutes, 56 secondsyet, but yeah. Well, he he definitely wanted a second portal window particularly because he’s a first year coach at a at
1:03:04
1 hour, 3 minutes, 4 secondsa school. Uh so yeah, that that and then he you know he had a couple of guys hurt. So yeah, I think he’s going to continue to uh maybe try to find one or two more there.
1:03:13
1 hour, 3 minutes, 13 secondsYeah. So all that uh to be done. I think women’s bet we’ll have Cory on coming up here in the next segment. I I don’t know if there’s any more additions that Kim
1:03:22
1 hour, 3 minutes, 22 secondsmay be looking at. He uh Corey obviously covers Lady Tigers basketball just as much as he covers uh baseball and football for LSU. So we’ll get his take
1:03:31
1 hour, 3 minutes, 31 secondson that if we can anticipate that. And then with baseball season um wrapping up here potentially next week, it does give
1:03:38
1 hour, 3 minutes, 38 secondsJay Johnson certainly much more of a head start here when it comes to the transfer portal and I think trying to secure his high school guys. But again,
1:03:47
1 hour, 3 minutes, 47 secondsthat really is you just don’t know until you get through the draft and the draft’s not till July. But uh he can at least start
1:03:56
1 hour, 3 minutes, 56 secondsreally making a headway there on the transfer portal if he’s looking to get a couple of impact guys. I don’t know if he’s going to necessarily get some fringe guys like he did a season ago. I
1:04:04
1 hour, 4 minutes, 4 secondsthink he’ll be looking for guys that going to certainly make an impact um out of the transfer portal. So, right. And and I think he he can’t wait to get started at that too.
1:04:15
1 hour, 4 minutes, 15 secondsI think so, too. I think it’s been at this point the writing’s been on the wall here for a couple weeks. They gave you a little bit of slight hope that
1:04:23
1 hour, 4 minutes, 23 secondsmaybe maybe they can win one potentially steal the series in at Georgia. But, uh, that thing fell apart pretty quickly
1:04:31
1 hour, 4 minutes, 31 secondsever since, uh, really after the, uh, the the controversial call on the double play of Kate Aaron Bey. That, uh, that series just went sideways after that.
1:04:40
1 hour, 4 minutes, 40 secondsLet’s take a break. Cory Diaz will join us when we come back here on Tiger Egg Radio.
1:04:44
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1:05:15
1 hour, 5 minutes, 15 secondsNow, more Tiger Rag Radio live from Super Chevy Dealer Studio. Continuing
1:05:24
1 hour, 5 minutes, 24 secondson here with uh Tiger Rag Radio as we bring in our next guest. He covers LSU athletics, in particular football and
1:05:31
1 hour, 5 minutes, 31 secondswomen’s basketball and baseball for the USA Today network. Corey Diaz joins us on Tiger Rag Radio. Jeff Polarmo along with Tiger Rag editor Glenn Gilbo. How you doing tonight, Corey?
1:05:42
1 hour, 5 minutes, 42 secondsHey, what’s going on, boys? Doing well.
1:05:44
1 hour, 5 minutes, 44 secondsDoing well. Can you imagine that uh a week from tonight this thing might be all said and done and we’re packing up the helmets and the baseball bats for another season?
1:05:56
1 hour, 5 minutes, 56 secondsUh well, I guess if you’d asked me that question in January, I I’d call you crazy. But if you’d as you’d asked me that question uh about the end end of
1:06:04
1 hour, 6 minutes, 4 secondsMarch, beginning of April, I thought that there would be a legitimate shot.
1:06:07
1 hour, 6 minutes, 7 secondsUm just, you know, we we saw Mississippi State do this a few years ago, right? like they win the
1:06:15
1 hour, 6 minutes, 15 secondsnational championship next year, they fail to make the tournament. So, this isn’t like a, you know, this isn’t completely unheard of. I just think for
1:06:23
1 hour, 6 minutes, 23 secondsme from what I’ve seen and watched from this team, this just really sort of screams the case of like what what
1:06:31
1 hour, 6 minutes, 31 secondscollege baseball is in the NIL rep share era now. I just think it’s harder for, you know, teams just to stay on top.
1:06:40
1 hour, 6 minutes, 40 secondsLike, you know, I don’t know if we’ll see, you know, uh, like South Carolina comes to right mind like in the early, you know, 2010s, you know, when they won back-to-back national championships. I’m
1:06:49
1 hour, 6 minutes, 49 secondsI don’t know if in this current era of collegiate athletics, I’m not sure on the baseball front, you know, if if
1:06:55
1 hour, 6 minutes, 55 secondswe’ll see that anytime soon. Um, just because I just think there’s more in terms of the spending, right? I just
1:07:03
1 hour, 7 minutes, 3 secondsthink there’s more parody across the board. Um, you know, as it as it relates to that. I mean, I think now, you know, maybe more than we have in the last
1:07:12
1 hour, 7 minutes, 12 secondshandful, maybe 10 years or so. I think there’s there’s more teams ranked in the top 10, you know, outside of the SEC that at this point in the season than
1:07:20
1 hour, 7 minutes, 20 secondsthan there has been in a while, you know, and again, I I sort of contribute that to, you know, teams being able to, you know, sort of spend what they want,
1:07:29
1 hour, 7 minutes, 29 secondsyou know, whether it be via the transfer portal or or maybe they can somehow in some cases outbid the, you know, major leagues in terms of getting kids to to
1:07:37
1 hour, 7 minutes, 37 secondssign and come to campus. So, um, it’s been a really, really, weirdly enough, it’s been a fascinating
1:07:46
1 hour, 7 minutes, 46 secondsseason of LSU baseball. Obviously, I know the results, the wins and losses hasn’t been what the fans want, but I just think I think from like those particular aspects of this, like I think
1:07:53
1 hour, 7 minutes, 53 secondswe really sort of see the effects of some of this some of the grand, you know, topics, you know, within collegiate athletics.
1:08:00
1 hour, 8 minutesWell, you know, you make a good point.
1:08:02
1 hour, 8 minutes, 2 secondsMississippi State went through that. Old Miss did as well after they won the national championship. They they only won like six SEC games the next year.
1:08:12
1 hour, 8 minutes, 12 secondsBut you look at Georgia, they’ve they’ve built steady like the last three years.
1:08:17
1 hour, 8 minutes, 17 secondsUh and you know, and Tennessee actually was was good the year after they won the national championship.
1:08:25
1 hour, 8 minutes, 25 secondsTexas A&M or excuse me, Jim Shanagel, wherever he’s going, I mean, they’re they’re one of a they’re they’re they’re a top eight seed every every year. Now
1:08:34
1 hour, 8 minutes, 34 secondsthey’re not winning he’s not winning national championships like Jay did two out of three years. That’s the thing.
1:08:39
1 hour, 8 minutes, 39 secondsYeah. It’s it’s weird because plus he um you know he’s he was good at the portal before this year. You know it’s just
1:08:48
1 hour, 8 minutes, 48 secondsit’s just kind of a of a freaky year and um you know and some of his veteran players didn’t like like Schmid and and
1:08:57
1 hour, 8 minutes, 57 secondsa Evans and and Rizzy you know they didn’t kind of follow up what they did.
1:09:02
1 hour, 9 minutes, 2 secondsSo, I don’t know. It’s it’s it’s really hard to uh to fathom. What What do you think they need to do most as far as the
1:09:09
1 hour, 9 minutes, 9 secondsportal and and and non-portal recruiting uh for next year, Corey?
1:09:15
1 hour, 9 minutes, 15 secondsYeah. And Gilbo, I just that that last point you made there just real quick, you know, um you know, look, you can throw Cooper Williams and Maverick Rizzy, you know, sort of into that.
1:09:24
1 hour, 9 minutes, 24 secondsSure. you know, that group of of returning players that that did what I would categorize as pretty substantial
1:09:33
1 hour, 9 minutes, 33 secondsuh work for a national championship winning baseball team last year and came back. And I think you can make the argument that there’s been regression, right? They didn’t get they got worse.
1:09:42
1 hour, 9 minutes, 42 secondsAnd I think that, you know, for this team, I think that’s that’s what I think that’s one of the biggest points about it is that like guys that I think Jay
1:09:50
1 hour, 9 minutes, 50 secondsreally felt like were going to be significant key contributors to this team, two months into the season, I
1:09:58
1 hour, 9 minutes, 58 secondsthink he looked down at his list and said, “Well, we we can’t turn to these guys because we can’t trust them when we put them in the game.” And so, um, and
1:10:07
1 hour, 10 minutes, 7 secondsso to to get to the portal, you know, question there. I mean, look, you you’ve got to get you got to go out and you got to get pitching. And I think that I think you say that every year, right? I
1:10:15
1 hour, 10 minutes, 15 secondsmean, but, you know, you’ve got to go out and you’ve got to find some guys, especially some left-handed guys, you know, that you can that you can whether
1:10:23
1 hour, 10 minutes, 23 secondsit’s in relief starting role. Uh because I I do think uh you know even with William Schmidt coming back, Kase Evans
1:10:31
1 hour, 10 minutes, 31 secondscoming back, you know, I do think Jay and and Nate Yepski would would like to see some some competition for those
1:10:39
1 hour, 10 minutes, 39 secondsthose starting roles. You know, um you know, because a guy like Kase Evans to me has been really fascinating. you
1:10:46
1 hour, 10 minutes, 46 secondsknow, I thought he was tremendous in a relief role last year and um and just moved to that starting role and just
1:10:55
1 hour, 10 minutes, 55 secondshasn’t quite clicked for him. Now, that could just be, you know, this particular year, maybe another full off season with sort of a, you know, he’s never really
1:11:04
1 hour, 11 minutes, 4 secondssaid he sort of changed his work habits or anything like that in regards to being released pitcher versus a starter.
1:11:09
1 hour, 11 minutes, 9 secondsHe just goes about his work the same way, but maybe just another offseason, you know, getting ready for another year. Maybe it maybe it clicks for him
1:11:16
1 hour, 11 minutes, 16 secondsthen, but you know, I think you got to have options there and you got to have guys that can come in and push the guys that you have returning. And I think
1:11:25
1 hour, 11 minutes, 25 secondsthat may have been some, you know, some spots on this team that, you know, they didn’t really have that. Um, you know,
1:11:32
1 hour, 11 minutes, 32 secondsespecially, you know, in the preeason and, you know, you kind of just had what you had. You know, I think that’s that kind of is explained by, you know, Zack
1:11:40
1 hour, 11 minutes, 40 secondsYork starting the first 30 some odd games at first base. Yeah. Obviously, you brought the kid in, you know, don’t know what the NIL amount was, right? But
1:11:48
1 hour, 11 minutes, 48 secondsI’m sure you’re paying that kid somewhat handsomely and um you probably feel like you’re not getting return on investment if you bench him 15, 20 games into the
1:11:57
1 hour, 11 minutes, 57 secondsyear. But, you know, I think you just make the argument that he just wasn’t the best option at first base. Um so,
1:12:04
1 hour, 12 minutes, 4 secondsbut look, I mean, if you if you lose Stephen Milm, you got to get a you got to get a short stop. Um, I I think I
1:12:12
1 hour, 12 minutes, 12 secondsthink every position in the infield um is is something that LSU could benefit from from the transfer portal. Um, I
1:12:20
1 hour, 12 minutes, 20 secondsthink your outfield is is pretty set. I mean, I know you’re you’re likely going to lose Curiel and center, but uh I
1:12:28
1 hour, 12 minutes, 28 secondsthink there’s some guys that that that have gotten some good amount of at bats this year, especially late in the year.
1:12:34
1 hour, 12 minutes, 34 secondsplayed a lot of baseball and I think, you know, I think Jay and and his staff would feel good about what they have,
1:12:41
1 hour, 12 minutes, 41 secondsyou know, out in the outfield. So, to me, I think the two biggest needs for for LSU baseball next year would be pitching and that goes all roles. Um,
1:12:50
1 hour, 12 minutes, 50 secondsand I think every position in the infield is uh is something they would look out outside of catcher. They’re obviously very good at catchers. So, I think they got two really good guys
1:12:58
1 hour, 12 minutes, 58 secondsthere. Um, and who knows, like maybe you look at one of those guys. Maybe you play one of those guys at first.
1:13:04
1 hour, 13 minutes, 4 secondsYeah. Keep the bat in the lineup, you know? So, I don’t know. There’s there’s some things that they could do.
1:13:09
1 hour, 13 minutes, 9 secondsWell, Jake Brown probably not coming back. Well, he’s not coming back. And then uh Stanfield is uh is not coming
1:13:16
1 hour, 13 minutes, 16 secondsback. Courier won’t be coming back. So, who who do you think are the outfielders, the potential outfielders that are on the team now?
1:13:25
1 hour, 13 minutes, 25 secondsYeah. You know, I think, you know, Daniel Harden is a guy, right? you know, he’s got, you know, he’s got ability to play left or center.
1:13:32
1 hour, 13 minutes, 32 secondsUm, obviously a quick guy, but he probably projects, you know, probably projects left field, right? William Patrick is your center fielder, uh,
1:13:40
1 hour, 13 minutes, 40 secondsgoing forward. Okay. I mean, I don’t think that’s, you know, I don’t think that’s rocket science, right? He’s going to be the fastest guy
1:13:48
1 hour, 13 minutes, 48 secondson the team. And, right, you know, he’s made some really good plays out in right field, you know, in in the latter portions of this season. I’ve been really impressed with him defensively.
1:13:56
1 hour, 13 minutes, 56 secondsGot a really good arm on him, too. Um, so he’s your center fielder next year, next two years. Um, and and look, they they brought in Mason Braun to be an
1:14:05
1 hour, 14 minutes, 5 secondsoutfielder. I think Mason Braun moves out to right field next year. Um, so I I I think that’s probably your makeup uh
1:14:13
1 hour, 14 minutes, 13 secondsout there. Now, look, you know, they’re probably going to add at least one guy, right, that can, you know, certainly platoon in those positions. Um, and they
1:14:22
1 hour, 14 minutes, 22 secondsshould, but uh, you know, I I for one think that’s, you know, that’s kind of where the the outfield’s going to start, uh, for next year.
1:14:31
1 hour, 14 minutes, 31 secondsCorey, we appreciate your time, man. Uh, hey, before we get you out of here, is is Kim Moy done adding uh, through the transfer portal or is there um, anybody else that maybe they might bring in?
1:14:44
1 hour, 14 minutes, 44 secondsYeah, they they’ve got they’ve got one spot um, they’ve got one spot still open. Um there’s, you know, there’s
1:14:51
1 hour, 14 minutes, 51 secondsthere’s some talks of um you know, another international player. Um it’s not to the point to where, you know, I would feel comfortable talking about it.
1:15:01
1 hour, 15 minutes, 1 secondUm but I do know that they’ve, you know, they’re making some headway uh in that direction. Um and it it’ll likely be a
1:15:10
1 hour, 15 minutes, 10 secondsforward. Uh and so, but yeah, they’ve got they’ve got one spot. I mean, obviously, you know, she never uses her full a lotment of scholarships. Um, you
1:15:18
1 hour, 15 minutes, 18 secondsknow, there’s several coaches that that sort of, you know, prescribe to that philosophy. You know, Don Staley’s one, too. She never uses her full a lotment
1:15:25
1 hour, 15 minutes, 25 secondsof scholarships. Um, you know, obviously Kim, you know, she uses short rotations anyway, so why have 15 players on your team when you’re only going to play nine, you know, so yeah.
1:15:33
1 hour, 15 minutes, 33 secondsUm, so yeah, they’ve got one spot. Uh, it it likely will be another
1:15:40
1 hour, 15 minutes, 40 secondsinternational ad. Um and and that’s that’s where it stands at this moment.
1:15:46
1 hour, 15 minutes, 46 secondsWhen and when that could be announced uh is is kind of up in the air at this point, but uh but that’s that’s the latest on that.
1:15:54
1 hour, 15 minutes, 54 secondsCorey, thanks, man. We appreciate your time and uh we’ll see. We’ll see what happens here. Uh I’m sure it’s going to be some uh busy offseason news here when it comes to baseball.
1:16:03
1 hour, 16 minutes, 3 secondsOh, yeah. No doubt. Players leaving, players coming in every year, I guess. Yeah. Thanks, Corey. Corey Diaz at the USA Today Network.
1:16:11
1 hour, 16 minutes, 11 secondsLet’s take a break. Patrick Wright will talk with us when we come back from the Super Chevy Dealer Studios.
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1 hour, 16 minutes, 30 secondsyour nearby library for exciting events, fun reading incentives, and familyfriendly programs designed to inspire readers of all ages. To learn
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1:16:48
1 hour, 16 minutes, 48 secondsTiger Rag Radio is back live from Super Chevy Dealer Studio.
1:16:56
1 hour, 16 minutes, 56 secondsBack inside the Super Chevy Dealer studio, Jeff Palmo along with Tiger Rag editor Gwen Gilbo. Let’s get right to our next guest here as we’re winding
1:17:04
1 hour, 17 minutes, 4 secondsdown tonight’s show. There is some postseason action on the LSU campus this weekend. It’s NCAA regional play. The Tigers will be taking on Virginia Tech.
1:17:13
1 hour, 17 minutes, 13 secondsThey’ll be taking on South Alabama. And then they got Akan. That’s their first game. It’s the one versus four matchup coming up on Friday at Tiger Park at
1:17:22
1 hour, 17 minutes, 22 seconds5:30. The voice of the LSU Softball Tigers, Patrick Wright, joins us. Patrick, how you doing tonight?
1:17:28
1 hour, 17 minutes, 28 secondsHey, good fellas. Good uh good good to be back.
1:17:30
1 hour, 17 minutes, 30 secondsYeah, it’s been a while. Uh for sure. Um LSU softball’s kind of flown under the radar with everything else that’s going on with LSU athletics, but uh at first
1:17:40
1 hour, 17 minutes, 40 secondsduring SEC play, this it wasn’t a good start for this team. What did they do to turn it around? I know the schedule softened a little bit. That certainly
1:17:48
1 hour, 17 minutes, 48 secondshelped, but uh how did this team improve over the course of the year?
1:17:53
1 hour, 17 minutes, 53 secondsWell, uh the hitting got better. They got and I thought this was going to be a team that was going to hit well this year and they got off to a really slow
1:18:01
1 hour, 18 minutes, 1 secondstart. It was even in some of the non-conference games, you know, against some opponents who weren’t great, you know, for example, they had a one to
1:18:09
1 hour, 18 minutes, 9 secondsnothing win over Howard. Uh so the offense struggled early early, but then uh after the 0 and5 start in league play
1:18:17
1 hour, 18 minutes, 17 secondswhen the pitchers were really having a rough time, it all kind of started to fall together. the hitters started to come around. Um, and then Jaden Heer had
1:18:26
1 hour, 18 minutes, 26 secondsa pretty good run, although she had a couple of rough ones at the end. But Pton Monoselli, the transfer from Oklahoma, who pitched a little bit last
1:18:34
1 hour, 18 minutes, 34 secondsyear, but just kind of blossomed. I mean, she, if you had to to name an ace of the staff right now, she’s probably it. Her last 45 innings or so, she’s got
1:18:43
1 hour, 18 minutes, 43 secondsan RA of under two. Um she’s been very reliable and uh her emergence along with the offense that just got red-hot for a
1:18:52
1 hour, 18 minutes, 52 secondslittle while uh especially in the home ballpark. Um so just some hitters who got off the slow starts like Tory Edwards and Macy Bajron got off to
1:19:01
1 hour, 19 minutes, 1 secondreally rough starts compared to how they did last year, but they’re both in a good spot I think going to postseason.
1:19:07
1 hour, 19 minutes, 7 secondsSo, it’s it’s better than last year when they finished the regular season with four teams that made uh that were top
1:19:14
1 hour, 19 minutes, 14 secondseight national seeds and that you just kind of had the feeling like they were beat down by that. I think that they’re refreshed and have a good positive feeling going into the postseason this year.
1:19:24
1 hour, 19 minutes, 24 secondsPatrick, uh what kind of chance do you give them of advancing out of the regional? And how do you think she handles her pitching? And I’m I was just
1:19:32
1 hour, 19 minutes, 32 secondswondering what what you thought of of the pitching in the SEC tournament when they had to use three pitchers in that game.
1:19:39
1 hour, 19 minutes, 39 secondsGeorgia is a team that is a that was just hot with the bats that night and they have been for a few weeks. Uh she
1:19:47
1 hour, 19 minutes, 47 secondswent with Heer I think to kind of counter you know Georgia was kind of a swing away team and you know even isn’t always in the zone but man they they
1:19:55
1 hour, 19 minutes, 55 secondsjust hit everything. Um, now going into the regional now, I would say Virginia Tech is a is a tough matchup. Um,
1:20:03
1 hour, 20 minutes, 3 secondsthey’ve got a couple of really good pitchers. They’ve got an offense that has some big numbers against not a great schedule, but then, you know, they played some some tough teams in the ACC.
1:20:13
1 hour, 20 minutes, 13 secondsI think playing Akan gives you a little bit of an edge because in that first game, she can probably pitch somebody a
1:20:21
1 hour, 20 minutes, 21 secondslittle further down the rotation like a Tatum Clapton who hasn’t pitched a ton.
1:20:25
1 hour, 20 minutes, 25 secondsUm, just because I I don’t think Akan is going to be a huge challenge and then she can save all of her big bullets for the weekend. But if I had to guess like you know if you if you win the game
1:20:34
1 hour, 20 minutes, 34 secondsFriday and you get to uh who Virginia Tech or South Alabama, I think Monoselli is probably the one unless she really
1:20:41
1 hour, 20 minutes, 41 secondssees a matchup she likes with one of her other pitchers against whoever wins that first game. I think Monaceel is the one you go to just because she’s been the
1:20:48
1 hour, 20 minutes, 48 secondshot pitcher here lately. talking to Patrick Wright, who of course the longtime voice of the LSU softball team.
1:20:55
1 hour, 20 minutes, 55 secondsHow is this team maybe better equipped?
1:20:58
1 hour, 20 minutes, 58 secondsYou know, last year was obviously a disappointing result, losing twice to South Eastern Louisiana. How is this team maybe better equipped to win this
1:21:06
1 hour, 21 minutes, 6 secondsregional and potentially advanced over to playing Alabama next weekend?
1:21:10
1 hour, 21 minutes, 10 secondsWell, I I think the the pitching depth has it can can be a a big plus for this
1:21:17
1 hour, 21 minutes, 17 secondsteam. If you get He even going, you got Monaceeli. Uh and then we haven’t mentioned CC Salura. She has experience
1:21:25
1 hour, 21 minutes, 25 secondsin regionals. She did it when she was at San Diego State. Um you know, if you need a pitcher who can come in and throw some ground balls, like she’s that
1:21:33
1 hour, 21 minutes, 33 secondsmatchup. And then as I mentioned, Clton, who might could get the start uh against Akan, she’s got four pitchers that she
1:21:39
1 hour, 21 minutes, 39 secondsknows she can trust. And if you happen, you know, to get into the losers bracket and have to win, you know, three games in 24 hours, you got the pitching to get
1:21:49
1 hour, 21 minutes, 49 secondsthrough it. And I think you got some hitters. Again, like I say, we’re we’re on a on an upswing this year going into the regionals. Last year, the bats had
1:21:56
1 hour, 21 minutes, 56 secondscooled off. Um, but so I think we’re on a different trajectory that way. This team has got enough offense. Hopefully, it can, you know, get by some of the
1:22:05
1 hour, 22 minutes, 5 secondsgood pitching they’re going to see. And I think they’ve got a deep enough staff that if somebody is struggling, she can get them out of there and put somebody else in.
1:22:12
1 hour, 22 minutes, 12 secondsWho needs to swing to bat well? Like if she’s swinging to bat well, the rest of the offense is kind of clicking right behind her.
1:22:19
1 hour, 22 minutes, 19 secondsWell, yeah. Jayla Aster at the top and and Kylie Edwards who has been quite a fine in the one and three holes. And then Daniels in the middle and two. I’m
1:22:27
1 hour, 22 minutes, 27 secondsgonna say the top three because when they’re getting on base, um Edwards and Franklin and Bajam behind them have done
1:22:34
1 hour, 22 minutes, 34 secondsa great job of driving them in and in the over the last three or four weeks, Lacier, Daniel and Kylie Edwards have
1:22:42
1 hour, 22 minutes, 42 secondslived on base. So if if they can get on base at the rate that they have been, LSU’s got the the people behind them who
1:22:50
1 hour, 22 minutes, 50 secondswho have been driving them in and uh and can put a lot of crooked numbers uh have come lately, you know, especially against Auburn. But even against
1:22:58
1 hour, 22 minutes, 58 secondsGeorgia, the two-run homer, um the Old Miss series, they just live putting more than single runs up in an inning. And I feel like the pitching is good enough.
1:23:08
1 hour, 23 minutes, 8 secondsYou can get a couple of those innings, it’ll be enough.
1:23:10
1 hour, 23 minutes, 10 secondsPatrick, thanks a lot, man. will be listening for sure and watching. We appreciate your time tonight. All right, sounds good, guys.
1:23:16
1 hour, 23 minutes, 16 secondsAll right, that is the voice of the LSU softball team, Patrick Wright. Tigers in action this weekend. Virginia Tech, South Alabama, and Akan. Let’s take a
1:23:24
1 hour, 23 minutes, 24 secondsbreak. More of Tiger Rag Radio from the Super Chevy dealer studio when we come back.
1:23:29
1 hour, 23 minutes, 29 secondsTiger Rag Radio is back on the air live from Super Chevy Dealer Studio.
1:23:36
1 hour, 23 minutes, 36 secondsWrapping up the show. Been a good show.
1:23:38
1 hour, 23 minutes, 38 secondsWe just heard from Patrick Wright. Then we heard from Corey Diaz from the USA Today Network. Scooter Hobbs from the Lake Charles American Press and then started off the show guest wise.
1:23:49
1 hour, 23 minutes, 49 secondsAnyways, uh Chris Smith from Vanity Fair. This is Tiger Rag Radio. Jeff Polmo along with Glen Gilbo. Glenn, you said you Chris texted you something.
1:23:58
1 hour, 23 minutes, 58 secondsChris Smith.
1:23:59
1 hour, 23 minutes, 59 secondsYeah, we had uh we had three sports writers, man. It was it was like a like the old show on on ESPN. Sports uh sports writers.
1:24:07
1 hour, 24 minutes, 7 secondsSport the the sports writers. Yeah, that’s right. It was called those sports writers. Yeah. But uh no, Chris, I thanked him for for being on the show and for the plugs for Tiger Egg. And he
1:24:16
1 hour, 24 minutes, 16 secondssaid he said, “Yes, Lane Keifin is not just a Tiger Egg subject, but he’s a Tiger Egg reader.” Yeah.
1:24:22
1 hour, 24 minutes, 22 secondsAnd he said, “One thing I give Lane credit for, he doesn’t resort to the coaching cliche of I don’t pay attention to what’s written or said about me.” Yeah.
1:24:31
1 hour, 24 minutes, 31 secondsHe said he said Kein’s upfront and he and he can tell that he pays attention to everything said about him. And uh it
1:24:39
1 hour, 24 minutes, 39 secondswas funny when he said he didn’t mind being the face of anything, you know, when you asked him about being the face of the of the portal. So that that was
1:24:46
1 hour, 24 minutes, 46 secondsinteresting that just to get that perspective on Lane for sure and and Scooter with definitely a unique perspective on the on the 78 Tigers.
1:24:55
1 hour, 24 minutes, 55 secondsUh the uh we got about a minute left here. The uh the debate over whether to expand to a 16 or 24 team playoff
1:25:04
1 hour, 25 minutes, 4 secondscontinues to rage. uh Greg Seni saying 16 is where they’re staying. They don’t want to make the regular season
1:25:12
1 hour, 25 minutes, 12 secondsirrelevant or less irrelevant or however you want to put it. Um I I would have to agree with him. I’m I’m not a big fan of the 2014 playoff for whatever it’s
1:25:21
1 hour, 25 minutes, 21 secondsworth. The ACC seems to be behind it, but again, it really comes down to the SEC and the Big 10 and can they agree to something? And I don’t know when that
1:25:29
1 hour, 25 minutes, 29 secondsmight occur, but they got to figure something out. They have they do not have a format yet for the postseason for the 2027 season.
1:25:37
1 hour, 25 minutes, 37 secondsWell, one way to make the regular season more relevant is to eliminate a game, I would say. And you have to get rid of
1:25:44
1 hour, 25 minutes, 44 secondsthe championship games. They they need to come some kind of come to a compromise.
1:25:48
1 hour, 25 minutes, 48 secondsAnd Greg Sinki said he they’re they’re not really behind the idea. They I think they want to make sure they have two
1:25:55
1 hour, 25 minutes, 55 secondsbuys. So, they’re still not necessarily supportive of the idea of starting a week early. They want to make sure they have the two buys. So, a lot to figure
1:26:03
1 hour, 26 minutes, 3 secondsout there. That does it for another edition of Tiger Rag Radio. For Glen Gilbo, I’m Jeff Plural. Have a good night, everyone.
1:26:09
1 hour, 26 minutes, 9 secondsTiger is everywhere. Online at tiger.com.
1:26:13
1 hour, 26 minutes, 13 secondsLike us on Facebook at facebook.com/tiger magazine or follow us on Twitter at tiger_reg.
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