Episode 357: The Pass Rush with Stevie Lee, Celebrating March Madness and the Heart of Austin: A Deep Dive into Texas Basketball and Local Vibes

As the buzzer sounds on another electrifying season of college hoops, Stevie Lee and I share the court once again for our 357th episode, where we navigate the rollercoaster ride that is March Madness, celebrate personal milestones, and savor the heart and soul of Austin. We kick things off with a full-court discussion on Texas basketball, including an unflinching look at the Longhorns' tenacious defense, a toast to my own triumph over alcohol, and the communal passion that fuels our beloved city.

Setting up the play, we dissect the Longhorns' season with the precision of a well-executed game plan. From Brock Cunningham's unwavering spirit to the poignant departures of talents like AJ Johnson and Ron Holland, we analyze what shaped the team's trajectory this year. The episode is a slam-dunk of insights as we assign a B-minus grade to the season, acknowledging the shifting sands of college sports and the recruiting challenges that come with building a powerhouse program.

Wrapping things up, we take you beyond the hardwood with stories of Austin's legendary burger joints and the electric atmosphere of women's basketball that's igniting the city. We pay homage to local eateries that have stood the test of time, dive into the anticipation surrounding spring football, and connect the dots between family ties and the madness that March brings. So lace up your sneakers, listeners, and join us for an episode that's as rich in spirit and stories as the stands at a championship game.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey, it's your two unofficial favorite guys of your unofficial favorite podcast. We're back, stevie Lee and I, march Madness. We'll see if the Cowboys have done anything. Probably not. What are your thoughts, man? What are you excited about for this episode? I?

Speaker 2: 0:16

think everything, man March Madness is going on, but the Cowboys.

Speaker 1: 0:23

That's exactly crickets, baby. Let's ride you. Here we are Stevie Lee. The past rush was Stevie Lee, episode 357. That's a lot of episodes, I don't even know. I don't know how we got to this number, but I'm proud, and I'm proud to be Sitting here virtually with these Stevie Lee. He's at his lovely place just north of God's country, austin, texas, where he is too. But it's the Sunday Afternoon, sunday evening, man, how's your weekend?

Speaker 2: 1:25

Weekends going well. Man volleyball was in San Antonio. We're back in town now hanging out Getting ready for the week.

Speaker 1: 1:34

As one thing you know cuz our girl group and we are family with them. Have they? Are they into the youth volleyball scene at all? I think they should be. It's become such a big deal.

Speaker 2: 1:45

They should be man, all these parents. It should be now. I'm spreading the word while I'm there, so I just walk up to people and say, hard girl roofing, know who's on your roof and then walk off.

Speaker 1: 2:02

Hey, before we get rolling and Giving shouts out to our hard-grown family, I gotta give a shout out to the creator of Ginger ale. It's been my drink of choice a lot the last seven weeks. I haven't had a drop of any adult beverage in almost seven weeks, mainly because of an antibiotic I've been taking. Almost done with it. But man, I don't think I'm gonna be drinking much anymore, seriously, oh good. Huh yeah, man, I feel a lot better. I'm feeling, I'm healthier, everything and it just Feels good.

Speaker 2: 2:33

That's good stuff, man. I'm just not there in my life yet.

Speaker 1: 2:37

I don't rush it. I'm not here to influence you or judge you either.

Speaker 2: 2:42

I feel attacked man, you feel attacked.

Speaker 1: 2:45

Oh man, well, let's amp this thing up, man. There's a list of madness going on out there.

Speaker 4: 2:57

I'm happy for Texas and the staff they have because one I know how much those guys love that University. I mean that guy right there, born and bred at Texan, you know and and I know how much it meant to him to Give up a head coach and job to go back, because they wanted to build on and really try to put the family back together. That was there for 17 years and I think they saw that. I think TJ was here tonight. There's a love affair there than a family that and I'm part of that family and I and I always will be and and. But I'm just thankful that God has blessed me with the opportunity to be at a lot of great universities and 17 years there. Now I'm not here at Tennessee and honestly I couldn't be in a better place than I am right now.

Speaker 1: 3:39

So Rick Barnes, the winningest coach in Texas basketball, men's basketball history they had to fight to beat Texas Saturday night in the round of 30, or, yeah, round of 32.

Speaker 5: 3:51

Yep.

Speaker 1: 3:53

Tennessee didn't have a great night shooting, but Texas, I think. I don't know man, I felt like they got every ounce out of that team, the way it was constructed that they could. They ran into a good opponent, although some of that their shooting woes were caused by Texas defense. What did you say?

Speaker 2: 4:12

Texas playing defense Even in the first game holding. Who do we play? First game? Colorado State.

Speaker 2: 4:19

Yeah holding Colorado State to 11 points in the first. Yeah, that was why first half, that's wow. And so you know. You said Tennessee had shooting woes. I just I created our defense man. I did that man, because Holding them to 11 points in the first half, I have never seen that in college basketball. Now I don't know why they didn't talk about that more during half time and things like that at that first game. And then they coming out on fire Playing great defense against Tennessee.

Speaker 2: 4:53

What we got to work on is office. You know holding on to the ball when we drive, you know. Know. You got to know what you're gonna do before you go for a drive, if you're gonna go to the layup or you're gonna go to a dunk or you're gonna go to a pass when you leave your feet. So that that's that's what we have to work on or get better at. But I'm proud of the guys, man. They will talk about it here in a minute. We had a bunch of. We had two guys. They're supposed to be here and you can get into it if you want to. But From what we did not have, I think we did really well.

Speaker 1: 5:33

I think I think Rodney and I know from a Person as close to the program Said that they were every day Rodney and that staff were working on becoming tougher. It was a constant evolution throughout the year and to get to nine wins in the big 12 and and our people can argue now and say, well, maybe the big 12 wasn't as strong as we thought it was, because a lot of the teams are no longer in the tournament, but I still think it's regardless if it's one, two or three, you're still playing against the top competition in the country. But as far as you know, they lost 62 to the big 12. But as far as you know, they lost 62 to 58. They did have their chance within a minute to win that game.

Speaker 1: 6:19

Yeah, but I think going too deep is great for this team. This is not a knock on this team, what I'm saying. I thought they reached their ceiling For this team, for what they had, and those guys fought their asses off and they got better. Yeah, they played a lot of great teams. But as far as what RT his first full season, you know, obviously it's tough to end your year. This man has a, has set faith number one and he told his players a couple of things in the locker room after the game that maybe we should start utilizing, implementing in our lives.

Speaker 6: 7:00

I said to our guys just in the meeting this morning it's bigger than basketball. You know the three people you don't ever want to disappoint in life. You don't ever want to disappoint God. You don't ever didn't want to disappoint your family. You don't ever want to disappoint your friends and I live by that every day. Also gave him a 999 rule. You know it's gonna have nine people like you, nine people dislike you and nine people on the fence. So more of the story is you're not gonna. You're not gonna please everybody.

Speaker 1: 7:28

He's damn right about that.

Speaker 2: 7:31

Man, this is my, my, my rule. I got it.

Speaker 1: 7:37

He's not wrong man and I think there were a lot of people who criticized him Right here. Oh, he's not the guy, but I think now it solidifies and I want you to hear so you know you had max ace miss, who transferred from war Roberts, great shooter has over 3000 career points. Dylan the Sue, healthy For the most part of this year in productive, and Brock Cunningham and God forbid I forget another name or two, but I Think Dylan the Sue really, really just encapsulates what this team endured this year, including him who you know. He ends it up as a longhorn, but he started out at a at Vanderbilt.

Speaker 7: 8:25

I mean I wasn't even originally recruited by Texas. Coming out of high school and max was a very under recruited player went to say, or Robert's arm shirt means a lot to him as well. To be kind of an underdog and then throughout the season, just the way the media talked about us and and their disbelief in us and the fact that they didn't even think that we would actually get to the tournament when we had a rough one and three start to the conference slate. So to be able to, to push through as a team, come together, be as connected as we were down the stretch I'm gonna get to this point. I mean means it means the world to all of us.

Speaker 1: 9:07

So he's a Flugerville or Hendricks in high school product in Flugerville. I remember him when he was. It's a great player and it's not how you start, it's how you finish. I think it was great and it was just fate to him to have the opportunity to come here and finish it out. What's your thought on what he said and really how it all ended with? Because these rosters and Kyle's basketball Stevie they change every year drastically.

Speaker 2: 9:35

Yeah, that's true. What I heard him say without him saying it was RT did a good job putting the team together A bunch of no names to actually compete in the best basketball conference in the country and get to the NCAA tournament when people thought that they weren't gonna make it. Rt did a really good job of putting this team together and making them jail and he's probably a couple of pieces away from being really great and going deep into the tournament for next year. So give him some grace, give him some time. This is his first full year of coaching and he did a really good job and you can tell that the players buy into him. I love his intensity when he coaches and the players aren't mad at him. They just know his style of coaching and they like it. So us as the outside guys looking in the alumni guys and everything people like that we just need to get out of his way and let him do his thing. Let him cook yeah, let him cook.

Speaker 1: 10:45

Let him cook. That's the problem, in my opinion. At Texas there's too many voices and a lot of people really don't have any idea what they're talking about. Yes, it's just. Everybody wants one thing win.

Speaker 2: 10:57

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 10:58

And just because there's money doesn't always equate to overnight winning. Sustainable success is what you want and I'll say it right now. I think they got the right guy to do it as long as they worked that portal. But Brock Cunningham, the son of Ed Cunningham, who was an offensive lineman in the 80s, early 90s I think 90 was his last year Ed's a great guy. Good family Brock, he's a glue guy. I mean that guy was so tough but he stayed for I got a joke. He's real smart. He's one of those adventure guys. I think he was here for 10 years. I remember when he played at Westlake but he did what a lot of us wish we could do and that's just playing. So many years of eligibility. Yeah, brock. If anyone questions what UT and that team and that program means to him, these are all motions right here.

Speaker 5: 11:58

Hard to say Texas for the last time. Be hard to take the Jersey off. Love the team, love the university. It's been fun. A lot of fight. I heard us with that bad, bad foul in the first half. Such a close game, but team fought all year. It's a family. It gets ripped from you, you don't want it to end and a whole new way of life is ahead for a lot of us and it's a hard pill to swallow.

Speaker 1: 12:31

Do you remember your last?

Speaker 2: 12:32

Yeah, I was just gonna say that's very emotional and he said it best. I couldn't put it in the words but the last time you take the shoulder pads off. And he was saying you know it's hard to take that Jersey off. You know, in my mind and I kind of knew I was like 90% sure that I wasn't gonna play football again after that Rose ball. And so when I took those pads off I was like this is the last time I'm gonna take my shoulder pads off. And it actually was. It was the last time and I remember saying that in the locker room at the Rose ball and it was. So I still got the helmet upstairs in my Good for you, yeah but you put it back on.

Speaker 1: 13:22

You put it on one.

Speaker 2: 13:24

I put, my head grew a couple sizes man.

Speaker 1: 13:28

That's an added brain matter you put in there.

Speaker 2: 13:30

Absolutely, man, absolutely. But yeah, that is very emotional for him, but he has a father that can walk him through that, because his dad won't went through it, you know, yeah, his dad played with Texas across his chest too, and so hats off to that family, for I mean, you can obviously tell that they raised a good kid, you know, a passionate kid, and whatever he does, and so whatever he does later in life is not gonna be basketball anymore. I think that kid would be successful for sure.

Speaker 1: 14:02

I do too. I loved him because he's physical, threw his body around and he was good at getting flagrant files Loved it.

Speaker 2: 14:13

Yeah, he played with passion.

Speaker 1: 14:15

He did. So you referenced it. What could have been and I'm not a big what could have been, should have could have been. What happened was what we saw. But AJ Johnson and Ron Holland, two extremely talented guys who were gonna sign with Texas this time last year. They backed out and I believe it's. Aj Johnson signed out of high school to play in the Australian professional basketball league and Ron Holland entered the NBA G-League draft and he's playing. Both of them are playing in their respective leagues. I think and I'm not giving excuses or just coming up I'm pretty sure RT and that staff and that team, their plan for this season was included. These two, and what do you do at that time when? Okay, what are we gonna do? How are we gonna replace what we thought we were going to have? What do you do?

Speaker 2: 15:20

Yeah, we don't know what you're gonna do or what you do, but RT did as best as he could and I think that this was a successful season for what they had, you know. So those are two big names that you lost to pro basketball. Right, you know it's not the NBA, but they could have gone to the NBA if there was a rule that they could go. So you lose NBA type talent and still do as well as you did and competing in the best conference, like again or. Rt did his job. He'd have done it a little bit better if he'd have found some kind of way to keep Johnson and Holland.

Speaker 3: 16:00

But you know that's neither here nor there, but you know it's.

Speaker 2: 16:08

He did his job for what he had.

Speaker 1: 16:10

I did say that. So before we move on, are you prepared to give a letter grade?

Speaker 2: 16:16

I'll say a, b, ooh ooh, ah man, I'm gonna say a, b minus. I wanted to say C plus, but C sounds negative.

Speaker 1: 16:35

There's nothing negative about this season. That's why you feel that's a.

Speaker 2: 16:38

Yeah, but it wasn't anything negative about this season. It was one RT thrown into the fire last season and then have the shake out, this whole contract controversy, beginning of the sea or at the end of the last season, and then having to focus on those kids not coming, actually coming in and things. I don't wanna be negative on them, but I also gotta hold everyone's feet to the fire, like I do with everything else, like I don't like what Nick Saban is going around the country talking about when this is just now the game, the name of the game it is the name of the game is you're gonna get some recruits, spend a lot of time and money on recruits and they may not even come. So that's the name of the game RT, and we gotta play it, you know. So we always gotta have contingency and backup plays. So that's the only negative part, and so I don't wanna go deep into being negative.

Speaker 2: 17:47

But I will just say a, b minus. Okay, yeah, it's not negative. C plus is negative to me, b minus. We still have room to improve. Getting to round of 16 would have been like a B for me. Then getting into the elite eight final four, that's fair, that's fair. You know what I mean, b plus.

Speaker 2: 18:11

You get to the final four.

Speaker 1: 18:12

That's A plus for that.

Speaker 2: 18:14

That's A plus. No, that's A. Getting into final two is A plus.

Speaker 1: 18:21

The reason why I say B. First of all, they didn't have any true big men presence.

Speaker 1: 18:29

Okay, At all, they had the transfer for Virginia, but with what they had body of work, players I mean there were kids. There were players whose roles changed this year. They lost a lot from last year. Yeah, a lot of leadership, but you're not wrong by any stretch of the imagination. Yeah, I just feel like what they had. But now they have to add pieces, players leaving or recruits. I mean you got to find out if these and this is just me assuming, I don't know anything. You got to figure out how strongly these guys kids are. You go? I like I'm recruiting you, stevie, what are the chances you'll go and enter a non-NBA professional league? Or are you serious about playing college basketball? Are you serious about taking college courses and doing what's expected? How serious are?

Speaker 2: 19:23

you, yeah, and that's just one thing that RTE needs to figure out If those guys that he's recruiting are going to be serious about coming to the 40 acres or they really thinking about, or they have one foot in one foot out. And if they have one foot in one foot out, you got to have contingency plans.

Speaker 1: 19:40

He's got to work the portal in this off season.

Speaker 4: 19:42

No doubt.

Speaker 1: 19:44

So Texas A&M did the unthinkable Listen under Buzz Williams. He's a great coach. Texas A&M has this tradition of just starting off this horrible start, but at the end of the season they just do this with this trajectory. They had a great SEC tournament, they got in the tournament and now they're in the round of 32. Tonight rematch with Houston, which was, if I remember correctly, a four point game. And Buzz was asked I can't wait for you to see his reaction. Buzz was asked you know Houston's number? Obviously one of the top, one of the four one seeds. Buzz was asked how different are you now as a team than when you were in December, when y'all played Houston in the non-conference game?

Speaker 5: 20:39

Yes, man, we're completely different. Whatever coach said, that's fine, yeah, I don't. We're way different.

Speaker 1: 20:52

And what he's referencing is Kellen Sampson said I would must rather be in the role of A&M than be us, the Houston Cougars. He says Houston or A&M has a better role because they're the underdog In this game. They lost to A&M or A&M lost to Houston first time. Got you Got you. I feel like Buzz was a little irritated by that. Well, I'm ready to watch the game now. It's too night, and keep in mind this is Sunday, late afternoon, early evening, when we're recording this.

Speaker 2: 21:28

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 21:30

That's Sunday night when this game. I can't wait to watch it Sunday. I have not watched this much basketball, but I always do the tournament so real quick. The POD's bracket challenge Stevie. Stevie, I know you were one of three or four others who didn't get a chance to put the bracket in. You didn't put a bracket in your own podcast, can't believe it? We had 74.

Speaker 1: 21:59

I'm except from the prize anyway. So you wanna know. So that's a good transition, it's that way. So the ante went up. Not only did Dirty Martin's Place, which is an iconic burger joint, you went to you in summer, probably went to all our students Yep, they donated a $100 gift card to the winner, plus the Round Rock Express donated for one game. Four. The four seats belong into the express president Chris Almanderis four seats and dinner for four at the Intel Club at the Dell Diamond for that same game.

Speaker 2: 22:40

That's awesome, unbelievable. I wish I wasn't exempt now.

Speaker 1: 22:45

Yeah, you can look in the mirror and that's the person to blame.

Speaker 5: 22:50

Hahaha, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 22:56

You know, with inflation, so that dirty, dirty gift card you probably get a lot. You get a lot still, but back then when I was in school, hell man, you could eat the whole semester off of a hundred bucks Hahaha.

Speaker 1: 23:14

Hey, was players was around when you played right.

Speaker 2: 23:17

Players was around Woo.

Speaker 1: 23:20

Yeah, so what's? Both places were great, but is it 50-50? Who had the better burger?

Speaker 2: 23:28

No, it's hands down to me, dirties.

Speaker 1: 23:32

I won't say Players, hahaha, hahaha.

Speaker 2: 23:37

By the way, I hate the school of business now because that's what took over players. Yeah that's right. The new school of business right on the corner of MLK and Waterloo is why players is not there anymore.

Speaker 1: 23:50

Sad day. Sad day, a lot of changes, but I love dirties.

Speaker 2: 23:54

I only well, I love dirties too, Don't get me wrong, you really do like dirties. But the reason I think players was the spot was location, location, location, right there. Yeah, we would leave downtown and come down. What street is that?

Speaker 1: 24:14

Red, not Red River. I was not Red River.

Speaker 2: 24:17

It's not Waterloo, but it's the next one over LaVaca. Lavaca, come straight down LaVaca and UT bone right into.

Speaker 1: 24:25

You see it right there to your right.

Speaker 2: 24:27

Yeah, so you go through the light and then pull in the parking lot, pull straight into that one parking spot and I got like eight giant men in my car jumping out getting burgers after we spent the whole night on six. I'm talking I guess I'm talking too much right now. I'm telling everybody. I think it's amazing we didn't have social media back then. So, thank God, thank God, right. So we would leave downtown half the football team and say everything would be closing down at two. All right, y'all hungry. Yes, y'all know where to meet and we'll be there.

Speaker 2: 25:08

And we'll shoot the whole place down and they'd stay open. They don't. They were 24 hours, but we would shut it down like nobody else was in there, it was just us.

Speaker 1: 25:17

I didn't know they stayed up in 24 hours Wow.

Speaker 2: 25:19

Oh, they were 24 hours.

Speaker 1: 25:21

Yeah, dude, that's awesome, yep, but our boy's Daniel, daniel Young, not the former running back at Texas, but Daniel at at players, not players. Good Lord, dirties.

Speaker 1: 25:34

And good partner of the podcast. Daniel's a great guy. We fought Project Connect together. I supported him and I will fight to the bitter end to say no to Project Connect. Don't tear up our Austin. Yeah, but Dirties is allegedly saved and great food, great people, the cooks. You talk about generations of being in Austin, but good food. But hey, 74 entries and tomorrow morning I'll have an updated. Who are the top five of the 74.? Probably gonna be a log jam for five. I'm just gonna say that. But Stevie's not on there.

Speaker 2: 26:17

Now I'm thinking about myself, because I remember Dirties having good corn dogs too. I think you're right. Yeah, yeah, they had good corn dogs too. I would get a murder and or more than more than likely it was, and a corn dog.

Speaker 1: 26:36

I don't blame you, it's that damn good. So the ladies man I have heard more people talking about as we're as we're, the ladies are playing the round of 32 game at the Moody Center against Alabama Crimson Tide. I've had at least three or four people go to a women's game for the first time this past Friday in the round of 64 game and said wow, but UT women's basketball, vick Schaefer, ought to be national coach of the year, because they have what they've done with this team lose perhaps their best player and then create a national player of the year candidate. I mean, right now they have everything to be a Final Four team.

Speaker 2: 27:32

Yeah, full disclosure, family. I'm watching the game as we're talking, yeah, so I keep looking, if you see me looking up, I'm looking at the game, looking at the score right now it's 22 to 27. So, yeah, but the stadium, the arena, looks electric right now and you're right, man, they are growing the game. They're excited about basketball here. The girls are excited about basketball here. Did you see Kevin Durant?

Speaker 1: 28:03

is at the game, kevin Durant and his. He's there to watch his female counterpart, who also 35 the freshman.

Speaker 2: 28:12

Yeah, exactly. So that says a lot. A guy that's in season right now Took time out of his day to fly down to Austin probably on a private jet, one of the UT planes, more than likely when to go pick him up and bring him down. He took time out of his busy schedule to come down to a women's basketball game. That turned him again and he's there in front of the cameras promoting the game. You know that's just in the University of Texas, just capitalizing off this momentum of the women's game growing and growing and growing at a very, very rapid rate right now. So hats off to everybody over there. Chris Del Conti, chris Blonsky and all those people.

Speaker 2: 29:02

Yeah, conrad too. Just putting Texas women's basketball or keeping them on the map right now, and that number one seed is huge.

Speaker 1: 29:11

Oh, it's significant. Yeah, they earned it they earned it.

Speaker 1: 29:16

So I'll tell you what one friend of mine I'll say her name's Rachel. She watches our podcast, by the way. What's up, rachel? What's up, rachel? She got the game right now. She said this she is. She grew up with Rodney Rodney, terry, cool and Angleton, but she said this about this past Friday afternoon that was the most fun I've had watching a basketball game. She said it was more exciting than the men, she said, and it was electric. And that just proves my point.

Speaker 1: 29:51

So somebody else had played a role in this Michael Huff, your former teammate. Yep, you know how generous that guy is. You recall, during COVID and then Snow Pelusa, he went out and spent his own money to buy food and food trucks, breakfast, tacos and coffee at other places and put it out there on social media hey, drop by this place if you need a bite to eat. So what did he do on Thursday? He bought up and if I'm wrong, somebody called me out on this. He bought up, scooped up, purchased all the remaining or all the student tickets, so no one would have to pay for that allotment, so they would be at the game.

Speaker 2: 30:38

Wow, that's good stuff. Man Michael's a good dude, he's a great human being.

Speaker 2: 30:44

I know anytime I can need to call on him, he's there for me. So he's a good dude. Whenever I want to go to practice hey, man, what time is practice? And he's like such a such time come on out, I let him know you're coming. So he's a good guy, man, and this is coming out of the kindness of his heart he didn't have to do all that. He didn't have to do that during snow bit. He didn't have to do that during COVID, you're right. And he didn't have to do this for the students, you know. But he did, and hats off to him.

Speaker 1: 31:15

I've always admired Michael Hoff. He's a great human being, funny, a family guy, and there's a nice collection of shoes that I'd like to see in person someday. Yeah, that's freaking hilarious One part that story that is really brewing. So Kim Mulkey one of the best to do it was a great player at Louisiana Tech back in the day when they won national championships, and she's won multiple master championships at Baylor now at LSU Listen, I don't know. The New York Post is supposedly going to release a story that's going to be damning of her. Well, they were preparing for their round of 32 game and she got wind of the rumors. And you know, mulkey, she's not going to back down. She did not back down as a player, nor is she going to do it as a mother or a coach, and this is what she had to say during the off day press conference.

Speaker 8: 32:15

Former players have told me that the Washington Post has contacted them and offered to let them be anonymous in a story if they'll say negative things about me. The Washington Post has called former disgruntled players to get negative quotes to include in their story. They're ignoring the 40 plus years of positive stories that people or they have heard from people about me. But you see, reporters who give a megaphone to a one sided, embellished version of things aren't trying to tell the truth. They're trying to sell newspapers and feed the click machine. This is exactly why people don't trust journalists and the media anymore. It's these kinds of sleazy tactics and hatchet jobs that people are just tired of. I'm fed up and I'm not going to let the Washington Post attack this university, this awesome team of young women I have or me, without a fight. I've hired the best defamation law firm in the country and I will sue the Washington Post if they publish a false story about me.

Speaker 2: 33:47

Wow so.

Speaker 1: 33:50

Stevie, I really don't know. I don't know what the Washington Post has. I'm not even going to. We can go different directions on this, but I'll say this the Washington Post, if they're going to publish anything that's damning or pop or potentially libel or slander you know they ran it through their legal team before publishing More than likely, and it could be a number of things. It could be nothing, it could be something that's petty, it could be something that's true and damning of Kim, or it could be a product of something that I don't like about our society that people are soft and are offended by being up front, hard coaching and constructive criticism. It could be that too. It could be that.

Speaker 2: 34:38

Yeah, I think we got to wait and see man, but from what I'm hearing, I think I thought that everyone liked her- she's a fiery human being on the sideline.

Speaker 2: 34:52

She gets in with her. She's in the foxhole with her players on the outside looking in. So let's see what they have to say. Maybe her rant, though, scared them off already and the report would never come out. But also I didn't know anything about the Washington Post wanting to put something out there on her, so her rant kind of got me intrigued, Like I liked her. So sometimes saying nothing is better than saying anything at all. Sometimes I don't know the situation now, but now it's on my radar and if it comes out I'm reading.

Speaker 1: 35:34

Well, I think she helped the Washington Post more than helped herself possibly by getting out in front of this.

Speaker 1: 35:42

But, I want to add to what you said about her. I know an individual who is tied to her family, oh, deeply devoted to being a mother, deeply devoted to her community and enjoys young people, that's what. So I just had to throw that out there. I'll be curious what comes out. I mean, maybe in her mind she thought doing this that it would kill it, but no one's going to work hard on something for two years and nothing come out. Yeah, hey, we're going to take a quick break. We've got Stevie. He was, oh man, you got pushed aside for a kicker. And I think UT Baseball finally found their number two pitcher and we may have something to talk about with the Dallas Cowboys or not. That's coming up after this break.

Speaker 3: 36:43

Today is going to be an exciting day at the Hargrove office as we bring in a local celebrity. Welcome to kicking phenom Bert Alburn, conference champion of the Texas Longhorn football team, all conference kicker. He's going to be our new spokesman. Bert's the best kicker in the conference. He plays for the Texas Longhorn. As you can see, you know Bert's awesome. Hey, stevie. Ooh, you're really replacing me with a kicker. No, no, not at all man. Hey guys, who wants a picture with Stevie? Anyone? Stevie almost won a Big 12 championship. Hargrove roofing Know who's on your roof.

Speaker 1: 37:29

The one. Two delivery Swing and a miss Got him Complete game from Ace Whitehead. So it's taken a long time. Pitching has not been the strength for the Texas baseball team this year. This hasn't been fun. There's a lot of potential. Ace Whitehead, the baller from Lampass, was one of the best quarterbacks in the state and Lampass is kind of a great athlete for baseball. They tried him out here and then I think he solidified the number two Saturday starter in the rotation. Finally they have a guy that's going to step up and take the ball.

Speaker 2: 38:11

Yeah, I haven't gone out to a game yet but I'm really looking forward to in the next couple of weeks I'm going to go out out there. But it's kind of tough breaks right now for the University of Texas baseball team. So any kind of bright spot, let's highlight that right now. Yeah, ace Whitehead.

Speaker 1: 38:36

Ace and his daddy were. They are Mankave VIP alumni.

Speaker 2: 38:41

Oh, that's awesome.

Speaker 1: 38:42

They had a great story with somebody who a really special story, a young person who was tied to their family, who passed away, and it was the Whiteheads are a beautiful family, great family and devoted baseball. It's awesome and go check that out. That was early on in Mankave existence, if you will. Texas Longhorn Spring Football it literally just started. Stevie, you haven't had a chance to go out there. You have those privileges, I don't, so I expect a full report for you, edited and contributed every two days this week.

Speaker 1: 39:29

Let's do it. What are you anticipating, man? What are you hearing that you can actually talk about? I know they have good calisthenics before practice. That's all I can really.

Speaker 2: 39:40

No, tory Beckham got them going through. Yes, stretching and weight room, and all that stuff going well, but no. What I am hearing, though, man, is you know we are feeling confident about filling the voids that left here.

Speaker 2: 40:04

Like to hear that, yeah, I'm hearing that I don't want to be rude is going to be like at an amateur who you know yeah, xavier, who, like we got some guys coming up. That's going to make you forget those other names. Like, and that's what I'm hearing, this is what I mean. I haven't seen it yet, I haven't put my eyes on it yet, but this is what I'm hearing that we are, we are reloading at the receiver position. I think everybody wants to hear that Quinn and Manning is fighting for the starting position. I don't think that's the case. I'll go out there and see. I think Quinn is our starter. He's going to ride with them all the way through, in my opinion, but let's get out to practice and see. You know I'm a shut up until I go to practice. Then I'll report back to you guys.

Speaker 1: 41:05

You know what? We'll hold you to it. You're a great Internet reporter, along with selling homes, that's all. I'm going to. All right, dallas Cowboys the sound you hear of that right now. Crickets, we have nothing to report.

Speaker 2: 41:31

Nothing.

Speaker 1: 41:32

So I guess we should move on. One of my favorite segments can. Sometimes more often than not I learned something from Stevie, because I love it when I hear about his experiences in the culinary scene of Austin, because he and I both appreciate food. But more often than not I get it from Stevie and his lovely better half summer and their experiences. What do you got for us today? Food experience place.

Speaker 2: 42:03

I'm actually going to go. You know I had something in mind and I'll save it for next time. But talking to you earlier in the podcast about players and dirties, and I'm going to stick with dirties. I'm going to actually go with the experience One experience of going to dirties, but they also the experience of driving, you know, 40 miles north of Austin to the Dale Diamond, round Rock Express.

Speaker 2: 42:37

Guys, we have a really cool minor league baseball team here in the area, yeah, and for years has been ranked the number one minor league baseball park in the country. Players from other cities love to come here to play. There's a swimming pool in the stadium. Right, there's restaurants. It's a mini major league park. It is better than some major league parks.

Speaker 2: 43:08

So that's an experience you can do in Austin is go up to round rock to the Dale Diamond and when you get done that, just go across the street to Calahari. Calahari is the biggest indoor water park in the country. And then, but culinary side, you know, get back to Central Austin and go down dirties and have a burger man. And the reason why I wanted to switch it up, because when I got to Austin in January of 2000,. So I've been here 23 years man 24 years before that goes by. Oh my God. It's been here 24 years. When I got to Austin, austin was a burger town and you can write you grew up here, sean, so you know Austin was a burger town you had burger tacks, dan's burdens, dan's friends, players, I'm going to Sandy's, even flood ruckers.

Speaker 2: 44:07

At what flood ruckers? Yeah, and then and then. Now this is newer, but P Terry's. You know this was a burger town and I think in some ways it still is. So we got the new places like not a damn chance burger. You know Austin is now known for its really nice restaurants and food scene, but when I got here the burgers were number one. You know you can back then you can take five bucks and get a burger and fry, you know top not top notch?

Speaker 2: 44:44

Oh, and top notch has a new facility or a new restaurant in Hutto. Hutto, Yep, yeah, and Hutto, which is down the street from the Dale Diamond it's, it's perfect, and one that nobody talks about enough.

Speaker 1: 44:56

Yeah, off of Mesa, wallies. Ah yeah.

Speaker 2: 45:03

Yeah wallies.

Speaker 2: 45:05

Yeah, you know, when I first got here I my first time flying. My little story. First time flying from Shreveport, louisiana, to Austin is my first flight ever. It was on a little bitty one prop plane. Oh no, and this was when Mueller Airport was still open. Right, they're calling Miller here. What's your code? Miller, miller, miller Airport was still open.

Speaker 2: 45:30

We flew in on that little airport and we leave that airport. Around the corner was Burger Tex, yes, yeah, and so we we got off the plane with the Burger Tex, went over to spring practice because I was still in high school and my friend Cole Pittman was here as a freshman and I flew down with his dad on his dad's friend. I wasn't like a little Cessna remote control plane. I was sitting in the back, me and Phillip Geiger, and we go to Burger Tex and we have a burger that was like this is a really good burger man. And when I committed to go to Texas and I came to Texas, I hit up all all those spots that I just told you guys about. I hit them all up probably the first week I was here at the University of Texas University and the city of Austin used to be a burger town and I think that we're still there. Yeah, so much other stuff here, but this is a burger town.

Speaker 1: 46:32

So tick talking in the man cave, you know, you know on when you're on air TV talent. Sometimes you say things I've done it back in the day and a little Freudian slip every now and then. You know, I've always wondered how meteorologists stay maintained, especially when they're talking about anything to do with the solar system and alignment of certain planets in this half. So if you have a telescope, uranus is visible too Just near the?

Speaker 3: 47:03

did I say that near your, near the horizon? I'm going to stick with what he said at Uranus Uranus is visible.

Speaker 1: 47:15

Oh my God, cover that thing up.

Speaker 2: 47:18

Hey man, come outside.

Speaker 6: 47:22

Uranus is visible.

Speaker 2: 47:27

Oh, that's the best one, Sean. Oh my.

Speaker 5: 47:29

God, that's the best one Wallaby, wallaby and Uranus.

Speaker 2: 47:33

Oh, my goodness, I'm calling my mama after this man. Oh, go outside, look at the horizon. Uranus is visible.

Speaker 1: 47:42

Oh my God, thinking about what we talking about, the, the weak and brown eye, or the planet.

Speaker 8: 47:58

Hey, man, tell me something good.

Speaker 1: 48:05

In the meantime, the planet Uranus is involved in conversation. That's always good.

Speaker 2: 48:10

Always good.

Speaker 1: 48:11

Always good, always good to laugh, but, stevie, you always are uplifting. Is there something maybe you witnessed here recently that maybe the masses and the fun folks watching or listening can benefit from? Tell me something good, my brother.

Speaker 2: 48:27

Oh man, everything's always good. Everything is one day above ground. Waking up the next morning is good.

Speaker 2: 48:35

But what I'm really, really looking forward to this week and I'm not going to lie to you man is and I know I have a special privilege of doing this and it's going out to spring practice. Man, spring football is in the air. You know the buzz of what the season's going to bring. We're not in the Big 12 anymore, guys. I've already put down my deposit for my season tickets for next year. It hurt my pockets this year, man. They knew where they were going with this man. You know that Georgia game circled on my calendar is going to be fun. So I get the unique privilege of going out there and getting the sneak preview of the product that's going to be on the field next year. So that's something good. And you know what else is really good is. I'm going to come back and report it to you guys.

Speaker 1: 49:31

Oh my God, how did we get so lucky? You heard, it here.

Speaker 2: 49:36

You're going to hold me to it, okay, so let's do it. Tune back in During the off season. You guys know we do Every other week, not every week. So come back in two weeks and I have a full report. Maybe not a full report, because if I give you a full report they'll kick me out, but I'll give you a report, semi-full, of what's going on, what I think and what we can look forward to to next year.

Speaker 1: 50:10

That's. I think that's commendable, because I would say you're not going to be able to tell us everything I promise you that. That's why we got kicked out when I was in the media after 20 minutes. That was with every coach man, even Bob Stoops. And shoot Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State. They would let us set up our cameras behind the offense. Really, yeah, they'd be on way on the other side of the field going the opposite way. What you could go to the Houston Texans or Dallas Cowboys and do whatever you want.

Speaker 2: 50:45

Really.

Speaker 1: 50:46

Yeah, it's crazy, it wasn't just a Mike Brown thing, it was. Yeah, I'll tell you something. Good man, I just love it Because I have a very renewed perspective on life. I'm in the process of finding my biological family and I have met and connected with four cousins, first cousins of my biological mother.

Speaker 2: 51:11

Oh, wow.

Speaker 1: 51:12

Bob on the phone. I'm going to meet some of them Not too far from here in April.

Speaker 2: 51:21

Oh, dude, that's awesome. That's amazing man.

Speaker 1: 51:24

Dude, I'm excited. It's weird man. My mother, she passed away three years. My biological mother Three years ago, but her dad, he and I in a picture, oh my God, I resemble him Really. Yes, man, I'm in the picture, man that's awesome, they're handsome, they eyes the facial features it's weird. So are they all from Central Texas? No, they are from Texarkana, my neck of the woods Right.

Speaker 2: 52:02

That's why they're probably good people because they're from near you. No question, man. You know in them, texarkana, people go to Shreveport to get their groceries. Is that how close it is, shreveport?

Speaker 1: 52:12

Oh, my God, yeah, my goodness, there's a lot of them and they're all open arms, which I was very shocked. That's awesome, and we're. That's awesome, man. And on this platform I did record an episode strictly about that earlier last week, and periodically I want to drop episodes little 10 minute episodes about what I've learned about my biological family. That's awesome. Just, I want to inspire someone who's adopted on how to go about it and to just do it. Yeah, you may not get both sides, but if you find one side who's welcoming you, that's a win.

Speaker 2: 52:49

There, you go. There, you go.

Speaker 1: 52:51

Mama sees my mama, I'll say that yeah, no question. Oh my God, brother, it's been fun. Man March Madness is great. Right now, the Texas women are beating Alabama by nine.

Speaker 2: 53:04

Yeah, that's a little close for me, man. They're number one seed. They need to be up there some more.

Speaker 1: 53:08

Yeah, they do, but by the time you watch this they probably will have won this game and moved on to the sweet 16.

Speaker 2: 53:16

I would have put money on it.

Speaker 1: 53:19

I'll put money on the Texas women. Go to the final four. Wow, at least the elite eight.

Speaker 2: 53:26

You said final four, so we'll talk about that amount when you we get offline.

Speaker 1: 53:31

Oh, you're a dirty burger. Hey, for the our girl family, three port and all across Texas, and even coach and the beautiful family that is Stevie Lee's family, and for the OG man cave boys, that being our ball hars, big Mike and coach mo, what do we tell him, stevie Lee?

Speaker 3: 53:58

Yeah.