The Pass Rush with Stevie Lee, Clynch, and Mike Hardge talks #HookEm baseball & softball

We bounce from the Thunder vs Spurs playoff chess match to the long wait for Texas football, where summer work and staying clean matter as much as any depth chart. Then we get real about transfer portal academics, break down Texas postseason baseball and softball, and end with nostalgia and a reminder to choose community over online performance. 
• Spurs physicality and coaching plan against OKC 
• Why summer workouts shape Texas football success 
• Sark’s point on transfer credits and earning a real degree 
• Rasheem Biles on nearly missing Texas after a number change 
• How Texas’ strength of schedule changes CFP expectations 
• Longhorn baseball postseason outlook, roster strengths, pitching concerns 
• Mike Hard’s take on young arms, bullpen roles, and top seeds 
• Texas softball’s path back to Oklahoma City and what could stop them 
• Field day ribbons, cafeteria square pizza, and a summer lunch program memory 
• Gratitude, family time, and the Eric Church commencement message about community 
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Transcript

Cold Open And Postseason Energy

SPEAKER_07 0:30

I am easily amused. Little things like that. The concert in northern Oklahoma, there's uh one Texas fan. I'm sure there were plenty that went up to Gaylord Memorial Stadium to watch that concert at OU's football stadium, and of course, joint effort there. Someone filming it by phone, and him leaving the stadium, horns up, all the glory, hocum horns, and then a big universal FU. Alright, I'm Sean Clintz, the uh co-host of The Pass Rush with Stevie Lee, producer and host of the Stories Inside the Man Cake Podcast. And Stevie's waiting, and we've got a loaded show coming up. It is postseason baseball time for college baseball, uh, the road to Omaha, if we want to be very cliche about it, but it's exciting. May and June madness, if you've never experienced, I encourage you. And if you live in the Austin area, you will have opportunities to do just that.

Memorial Day Delivery Sponsor

SPEAKER_07 1:34

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Where To Follow And Subscribe

SPEAKER_07 3:24

Stevie Lee, my brother, I always get excited. You know, whenever it takes us two weeks to see each other, I get a little bit excited to see you, man. It's it's it's it's a it's a pure brotherhood, loving brotherhood. And hey, by the way, do you follow us on all of our social media platforms? I should be, yeah, I think I do. Yeah, you do. Well, why don't you tell the fine folks if they haven't done so already, where to go, how to do it?

SPEAKER_09 3:54

Uh go to Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, TikTok, Stories Inside the Man K. Uh, look us up, follow us. Uh, subscribe. Subscribe is a big one. Go and go to YouTube and subscribe for free. For free. Absolutely. It's not gonna be free for long. We're gonna put it behind a paywall after a while. Uh, and you can help us, you can compensate our talents. No question, but go and subscribe, man. Help us out a whole lot.

SPEAKER_07 4:22

Thank you. That was well done. I did not pay him for that. Um, maybe hard rove roofing, they could. We can get on that. Um, you know, they they have been so good to us, and they're big supporters of Longhorn Athletics, and they're a big fan of Stevie Lee. And I I I'm somewhere on the ladder, somewhere. Here's Stevie. I'm way down here. Not at all. I haven't been on a roof yet, but that's a nice segue.

SPEAKER_09 4:51

I I haven't been on a roof either, so you need to call Hargrove Roofing and know who's on your roof.

SPEAKER_07 4:59

Stevie, I think you know that I I I have an undying love for one T north of the Red River.

Thunder Vs Spurs Chess Match

SPEAKER_09 5:11

Oklahoma City.

SPEAKER_07 5:14

That's a segue.

SPEAKER_10 5:26

What if he's gonna pull it through?

SPEAKER_03 5:36

If it's an ox series, come on, boy. If it's an ox series, we're gonna need this win.

SPEAKER_07 5:43

Stevie, uh I I'm just gonna say it. I'm gonna give him my flowers. Hey, the the Spurs took three or four from the Thunder in the regular season. OKC, the defending champs. I I'd never thought that the regular season was a good indicator of what could happen in the postseason. It's not because I'm a fan of the Thunder. I have all due respect for San Antonio and the Spurs. I just didn't think that they could go into OKC and do the same thing that they did in the regular season. Wimby, 40 and 20 type night. Caruso for the Thunder, a 30-point night.

SPEAKER_02 6:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 6:26

But the entire Spurs team is physical. Wimby is I he's not human.

SPEAKER_09 6:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 6:35

Does this continue to game two?

SPEAKER_09 6:37

Yeah, it can. They tried to beat him up, uh, Wimby. They tried to beat Wimby up, but uh, and they did. They they they got into him uh a few times, but uh they I think their plan is might maybe to wear him down the whole series because they're gonna they're gonna continue to beat him and beat on him and beat on him and then everything. But um I the way I saw it last night, man. Um I I I'm a I'm a Wimby fan now.

SPEAKER_07 7:09

Oh, I have that he's yeah, complete player.

SPEAKER_09 7:12

Yeah, complete player. Uh pulled that that three that you showed. Um that for basically from the logo. I mean, what's 7-4-7-5 dude?

SPEAKER_06 7:21

You know 10 yards away. Put it put it in perspective right there.

SPEAKER_09 7:25

Yeah, so um that it's crazy, man. Um, it's gonna be a great series. This this is uh actually, I think, the uh NBA champion that you all are watching, who whomever win out of there. So um this it's a good series, and it's right up and down 35.

SPEAKER_07 7:42

So it really is. And you know, Wemby and STA were neck and neck for the MVP. STA shy get you know get Gillis Alexander. Um he won it for back the second, you know, back-to-back years. And he deserved it, but here's the here's the beautiful part for basketball purpose, not as a fan. That defensive game plan that the Spurs not only devised but executed on against the Thunder. Beautiful. They shut SGA down, and that one shot, it it pained for it pained me to laugh at the end when SGA couldn't get that shot off against Wimby, and he's uh behind him like that. He's a holding also with Wimby bent over, and Wimby's laughing. I think game two, expect another game like that. Hopefully it's not too overtime, but it could be, but I think the Thunder will have something. It's two, it's two great coaching staff. They'll get something. Yeah, so game two coming up, and I I'm I'm I'm unlike the Dallas Cowboys, I am emotionally invested into this. Big time, it's quite obvious. But you know what, Stevie? Regardless of who wins the NBA championship, we can still daydream about what's gonna happen September 5th.

Football Offseason Nostalgia And Work

SPEAKER_07 9:34

We gotta wait until September 5th. I I know people, hey, listen, you tell tell the five folks who are watching and listening, what's it like for you as a former player and a fan beginning now until late August?

SPEAKER_09 9:51

Well, it's hard. It is hard, but um my summers stay busy with my girls, so I stay busy with that. It starts a little bit earlier for me, man, because I get to go out to practice and and see it and um see the product before it's wrapped into a nice bowl for everybody else to see. So uh I'm I'm really looking forward to going out there and see, and and it feels really good. It's like nostalgia when you go out there and you smell the freshly cut grass and then you see yeah, practice and you see the um the uh the crisp lines on the field, and I was like, it's football season again. It's all coming back. So right now it's hard work season, though, man. They are out there busting their humps, um, doing uh well, I guess they finished their finals. They'll be back for um for summer workouts, and this is where you win in the season right now in the summer workouts. Absolutely. Uh it's gonna be a fun season to watch. Hopefully, these guys understand what's the stakes that are on the table and they put in that work this summer.

SPEAKER_07 10:55

It's it's and in the off season is where a lot of things that you don't want to happen happen. Where yeah, you keep everybody uh accountable for their own actions, behave, and go have fun. But remember, you know, stay out of trouble, be smart, and don't get injured, and all of those great things. Uh, but it's also the season we're in right now between now and SEC Media Days, Big 12 Media Days, whatever conference that you follow, or maybe you're like us and we love all of them. Hell, we all we also like the Southland Conference Media Days, but a lot of things happen, a lot of sound bites, a lot of stories. Then you have all these preseason polls, you have all these preseason awards, everybody's predicting things.

Transfer Credits And Real Degrees

SPEAKER_07 11:41

Well, you know, recently Sark was asked about you know things that are going on at other schools. You know, you had Will Muschant, the DC, already tell, hey, look, our kids go to class here, you have to go to school here. And then Sark uh released this statement. So this is the quote, Coach Sark on the student athlete dynamics in Texas. It's much different here and in other schools, but he even he went as far as to go into detail. He says, You may be a now, this is true. Now, this is one thing I've heard at some schools that transfer in to certain places, and it's no different at Texas. You may he Coach Sark said this, you may be a semester from graduating, but you're going all the way back to 50% if you play here and you want a degree, but at Ole Miss, they can take you, and all you have to do is take basket weaving, and you still get an Ole Miss degree. So, like I'll know this firsthand from the powers that be, even at Stephen F. Austin, one of the problems that they have is transfers coming in, they lose a lot of their credits. And that's tough. I mean, put yourself, Stevie played five years for Texas. Imagine coming in and you have 36 hours, or even 60, and you and you go back down to 30.

SPEAKER_09 13:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 13:05

What would that do? What is that mindset for you? Does that change your mind about coming to Texas?

SPEAKER_09 13:11

It it gives me pause uh to say, yeah, I gotta uh this is gonna be the game plan. Like coming in with all my credits and then have to go back down to one now in this day and age, let's uh let's use Cam as uh an example. Right. You know, he came from Auburn. Um going back down to 50%, we all know that he's a one and done guy, right? He's one and done. When he goes back to if he doesn't graduate here this semester, when he comes and and get done playing football, wherever that may be, will he just go back to Ole Miss to get a degree because those credits will still be under his belt, you know? Or will he try to get his degree and finish here in Texas? The smart thing to do is if you just want to get a degree, go ahead and get that old Miss degree and do a graduate program here at the University of Texas because it doesn't make sense for someone to go start at start at 50% of what I already had. So uh just to get uh the University of Texas degree. It is worth something, but uh I I I don't see someone starting all over. So that that has that gives me a pause to think about what my future is gonna be uh uh off the field. But uh when you got a coaching staff like Sark and a team like the University of Texas right now playing in a stadium, uh a home stadium uh like the like DKR and the allure around the city from this. I mean, I mean, you think about the academics, but you think I can come play in Austin, Texas. So uh, you know, it's it's something to think about though.

SPEAKER_07 15:00

No, it is, it's serious consideration. And it's sorry. What I love about him, even when talking to him in person, he he legitimately an advocate for not only academics and and pursuing those degrees and and really learning about what you're gonna do after football, and uh, and obviously cares about developing these players because they're you know he's here to win championships, win a lot of games. But Sark, that dude is a huge fan of the game, college football. Yeah, you you won't find many people, and that's what I love about it. He loves to talk about it, how he's passionate about college football, because it is so much fun. I mean, it is very much a business now, but it's it is still college football and the beauty of it. But yeah, I I hate it how certain schools you certain things you would think that it would transfer everywhere like that. But I I do respect the fact that if a player transfers here, okay, okay, I know. I I want to go to Texas and get that opportunity, even if they aren't NFL caliber, which a lot of them are.

SPEAKER_10 16:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 16:08

So hey, so speaking of why do certain people come to

Rasheem Biles And The Number Change

SPEAKER_07 16:12

Texas? Well, Rasheem Biles was one of those transfers from Pitt, the linebacker, and he gave us some in-depth, about a 55 seconds worth of why he chose to come to Texas, and it almost didn't happen, Stevie, because he changed his cell phone number.

SPEAKER_04 16:28

Well, actually, it was kind of uh funny because uh they had reached out to me like later, but then I had got down here for dinner and stuff, and Muschat told me he was like, Man, I've been trying to get uh reach out to you. But yeah, I showed me like the phone, he was texting my old uh phone number. So it was just like dang. Because I was probably been up here, but then it was just like once I got to meet him, Coach Nansen, it was real, like, it was real nice. Like those guys is real, they don't really sugarcoat too much. So that's like how like I like to be coached by real uh individuals, real people who I can really like trust and stuff. So mush champ been it's been great. So he made it real easy. Like you you're not gonna turn down playing with Mush Champ, and I ain't turned it down.

SPEAKER_07 17:13

That kid listen, there's we don't know until all these guys get together and start playing. Um But that's that's a funny story because it was an opportunity that almost didn't happen.

SPEAKER_09 17:26

Yeah, yeah. It's um you gotta be careful with that, man. Especially uh when even in my line of work, man, you gotta have your phone on you. If you if you if you change your phone number, you gotta communicate because you can miss out on opportunities. That's a great lesson.

SPEAKER_07 17:43

That's a great lesson. Great lesson. Or change put on your profile, and hey, listen, hey, hey, this is what happened. But God, man, I I honestly think that guy, and I you know, we're we're both friends, you're closer to him. DJ, uh Derrick Johnson, one of the best linebackers ever played the game in college football history. Uh he's he's talked about him. About that linebacking room, linebacker room, could be the strength of that defense. Could be. Yeah, could be. Could be.

Brutal Texas Schedule And CFP Paths

SPEAKER_07 18:14

Well, I there's you know, we talked about this, Stevie, about how strong this Texas schedule is. But CBS Sports came out with it, and then what they did, they had a top 25 that they did across the country of post-spring camp. All right, and they they did a top 10. I didn't want to do a full 10. I just wanted to show you their top five and the number of top 25 teams post-spring camp that each of these teams are facing on their schedule. Texas, eight of their 12 regular season games against CBS Sports.com's post-spring camp top 25 teams. Oklahoma, seven. Ohio State, six. There's a host of teams with six, so of those six opponents, they were measuring the strength of those teams, of those six to determine the ranking. So one, two, three, four of the top five, or three of the top five are on UT schedule.

SPEAKER_09 19:18

Yep. We play them.

SPEAKER_07 19:20

Yep.

SPEAKER_09 19:22

Don't miss. That's a that's a that's a tough schedule, man. And you know, not to mention going to LSU and going to Rocky Top in Tennessee, you know? And not to mention uh going to the Texas AM, right? We this is this is a tough schedule. We got two, three, and four. I'm sorry, two and three. I'm sorry. We got two and three and five that we want to play, and then five.

SPEAKER_07 19:46

Yep. And then AM almost made the cut. I think they're at seven. I'm gonna go ahead and say it, man. I think AM makes a drastic improvement this year. I mean, they're pretty good last year. I think. But I also say this Texas fans, that's why I'm so hesitant on putting out our top 20 or top five, top ten, because it doesn't really matter anymore. Because of the CFP, um, I still think Texas can still lose a game or two this year. Yeah, and I think they still get in. I just if you get down to that third loss again, I think it's risky. But with that type of schedule, if it pans out the way that uh we think it will be as far as the strength of schedule, who knows? They may have their first three loss team.

Longhorn Baseball Outlook Before Omaha

SPEAKER_07 20:42

Stevie Lee, man, college baseball postseason, it's one of my loves and passions of my life. I I literally, so I got I reached my height five foot eight on a good day back in eighth grade. So when when I was about this tall, that's when I started going to Dish Fall watching the regionals, and that's back before super regional. So if you won your region, regional, you're going to Omaha.

SPEAKER_10 21:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 21:10

And it was only 48 teams, now it's 64. So it's a special time. It's not for everybody, but the dish, the dish is a very special place for the postseason. A lot of memories. And here's the good thing they finished number two, I think, in the SEC. So they get a double bye. The SEC tourneys underway. They won't play until Friday. What's your take on this season? They've had some 40-win season. And they get to rest with the double bye. From an outsider's point of view, of someone who watches college baseball every now and then, what's your take on this team?

SPEAKER_09 21:49

I I feel like um we learned our lesson last year. So we can correct our mistakes and things like that. We had during the postseason last year. So I'm feeling really optimistic. You can see that I'm not really confident with my answer there, but I'm feeling really optimistic that they learned their lessons from last year. So it wasn't, it was up and down season uh last year, kind of like it is this year. But then when the um the big lights come on for the tournaments, then we are we come to play. Come to play.

SPEAKER_07 22:33

Well, they upgraded the roster. Obviously, the hitting uh man top to bottom that team is stacked as far as you know, hit for power, hit for you know contact, whatnot. They'll move the base runners around. Actually, I saw a bunt or two this past weekend. We uh got to see them uh sweep Missouri this past weekend. Uh the pitching to me, I really want to see what happens. Is Ruger healthy? Dylan Vellantes has done a phenomenal job. And I want to see if Harrison continues the growth there, and I just want to see the bullpen develop more. They do that. Things going Omaha, and no telling what happens because the beauty of baseball is that cliche lightning strikes in a bottle. That's what happens. You get that momentum, you plow through. Hey, I know somebody who knows a little bit more than most people, actually knows a lot about the great game. We call them hardball hards. Let's bring them in.

Mike Hard On Pitching And Top Seeds

SPEAKER_07 23:43

All right, it's been a minute. It's so good to see my brother, Mike Hard. Hardball harge is what he goes by if you were not aware. Product of the great, we call it K-town, and I love doing this every time I have them. See, make sure I say uh the area code correctly. 254.

SPEAKER_10 24:01

There it is. There it is.

SPEAKER_07 24:03

There it is.

SPEAKER_10 24:03

The Caucasianist is yeah, just for a little bit, just for a little bit. That's what it said. That Austin Anderson pronunciation is where that comes from. That's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_07 24:26

Well, Horge is the thing I love about him, he he's he's kind of that I know the term's overused, a Swiss Army knife guy. He, after his baseball career, you know, on my tail end of my TV career, he got into the business, Sports Talk Radio. And we all know how that's evolved, and he's just made himself so valuable. Does you probably seen him on the ESPN broadcast for UT baseball games, some Texas state? Um, but he knows a lot about the Texas baseball program. And you heard us mention it was another 40-win season for the Longhorns. I guess going into this SEC tournament where they have the double bye, that's great for them. And once again, we're questioning maybe what about this pitching staff? Is that a concern for you?

SPEAKER_10 25:15

Yeah, I mean, obviously, this is the time of year that last season you lost Jared Spencer. And some guys had to really step up in that bullpen to eat up a lot of those innings. You know, that's when you got a chance to see Ruger Riojas move into the starting position. You also got a chance to see uh Luke Harrison do his thing in that position. And a little bit now, Max Grubbs is a little banged up, and they're trying to figure out what's going on with him. And they said he's out for the rest of the year. And he was somebody that really stepped up last year to help Texas advance and and try to get through that regional. This year, you you have Dylan Valantis on Friday nights, which is going to be outstanding. I believe he's gonna get a start this weekend just to get some more work in to be on a schedule. But as you look at this pitching staff as a whole, you you see a lot of young pitchers getting that opportunity. You look at Brett Crosslin and how many times he's been used. And you you look at Brody Walls, a guy that has done so many different things in that pitching staff. And then, of course, you got Grizzly Adams, big Sam Kozart closing out the games on that back end, and this the maturity level of those young freshmen on the mound has been evident because that is why Coach Slosnagel uses them so much. Go back and look at how much those guys have been used this year as true freshmen. It it is something that they've been grooming them for this moment, and they're gonna need to pitch well moving forward. I think some of the middle relievers are gonna have to step up. You've seen Cody Howard get an opportunity. You saw uh Hayden LaFew come out, the lefty out of the bullpen, and of course you've seen Burns as well. So this is going to be this is where he starts to shrink his pitching staff. This is where some guys may not be used near as much, but they start shrinking a lot of people and making sure that they get what they need moving forward.

SPEAKER_07 27:26

Stevie and Harge created this graphic, our good friend Kendall Rogers at D1Baseball.com, who does a phenomenal job. And he's a stories inside the Man Cave VIP alum, maybe twice. I don't know. He he hasn't been on as much as Harge. You know, Harge still gets the shout-out at the end as the OG Man K boys. But uh Stevie, you've seen it, you have a small sample set just because of how busy you are. These are the projected top eight seeds, Stevie. And you look at this. I mean, when you you see that it was similar last year, there's some similarities. Stevie, what do you see? And what is it that maybe from this do you want to ask our resident expert, Mike R.

SPEAKER_09 28:13

Um, I it seems like all the uh the top the the blue bloods of uh college baseball, besides uh rice, is not in there right now. But um, do you feel like that? This is a good top eight. How what do you think about it?

SPEAKER_10 28:29

Oh, yeah, absolutely. I think this is a strong top eight. If you go and look at obviously, you got five of the eight teams coming out of the SEC. Texas pretty much has handled uh all of these teams except for didn't get a chance to play Georgia and lost two games to um to uh Texas AM. But you start looking at what they were able to do in the SEC, they're the number two seed behind Georgia in the SEC tournament. But as long as Texas has an opportunity to be in that top eight, but I think they're gonna make it to the top, I think they'll be in the top three uh once this tournament and once the seedings come back out. I think it's good for Texas because uh I know everybody talks about last year and they ran into UTSA, and that was a tough get. I mean, as you see, UTSA continues to play good baseball, they're not getting worse, you know what I'm saying? They're still out there balling. But I think last year was one of those situations where it was a fluke that Texas didn't get through. They got beat. Don't get it twisted, they got beat. But when you have home field advantage and it's set up for you to get through that, you need to make sure you lock in. And I think a year, another year of experience with this team is gonna help them a lot.

SPEAKER_09 29:48

So we talk about we hear about and talk about a lot about um pitching, but you got to get on base to run some to score some runs. How are how are the bats swinging in these top eight? Well, it's interesting.

SPEAKER_10 30:02

Oh, well, you look at UCLA, they've been start to finish all year. But who are they playing? That they don't matter, you still gotta go out there and hit. You know, baseball is baseball, and it don't it it does not care who you are, what your rank is when that game starts. So, but they've been able to go wire to wire. You look at Georgia Tech, Georgia Tech has got a bunch of guys that are probably gonna go uh in the first round of the draft. Georgia's only challenge is if they get away from their own ballpark, are they gonna be able to hit the way that they hit because they have a small ballpark and the ball just jumps out of there? UNC has always been a talented team and they can continue to get better. Uh, Alabama is a squad that interesting enough is if they can get their pitching down, they're gonna be okay because their offense is gonna play everywhere. Uh, same thing with Auburn and Alabama, uh Texas AM. Texas AM's only problem is their pitching. Yep, their pitching is not going to sustain where this team has to go out and score 16 runs in a game. They they can't do it. And this is the time of the year that if your pitching staff is lined up properly, you got a chance to make a real serious run uh to the college world, well, to the super regionals first.

Softball Repeat Bid In OKC

SPEAKER_07 31:20

This softball team, they're great, they're good, but is there anything that's going to keep them out from winning that super regional, the defending national champions? Is anything going to hold them back from not only getting to OKC but winning it again?

SPEAKER_10 31:38

No, I don't think so. Uh, if you go and look at their lineup from top to bottom, you don't hear the name Reese Atwood, which is rare. Which is rare because of how special and dynamic she is behind the plate and at the plate. If she's not getting all the love, that means that something positive has happened for your team. Because last year, everything was Reese Atwood. Now you got Katie Stewart, SEC player of the year. You got Martinez coming back as shortstop, who had a phenomenal, phenomenal year. You look at what Caden Henry has been able to do in center field, top to bottom in that lineup. And the freshman, Hannah Wells, being able to display all the power. You start looking at this team, the only thing you can hope for is Tegan Kavon being Tegan Kavon and being efficient as she was the other night, where she only threw 75 pitches in a shutout. And if they can pitch like that and and put the ball in play, because they got the players, they got the playmakers. I think they got a great chance of making another run to uh what is that, Bricktown?

SPEAKER_07 32:48

It is well, it's actually on the east side of OKC, just east of 35. There it is, right there. And it has been renovated twice since I left.

SPEAKER_10 32:59

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 33:00

Upper decks.

SPEAKER_10 33:02

Well, I mean, it's the home, it's the home. You gotta make it nice. It's the home of college softball, man.

SPEAKER_07 33:08

The the they they do a fantastic job of hosting that and they keep pouring money into it. Taxpayers gladly pay for it, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 33:16

Because that's gonna help the economy anyway, because people are coming up there, they're gonna spend that money.

SPEAKER_07 33:20

And they know, and you've been there for two weeks.

SPEAKER_10 33:23

Yeah, they need to they need to have that one like in uh Omaha where they start buying shots, whoever drinks the most shots of the softball. That's right. See how that works out. Hey, we had that guy. Roccos, Roccos, gentlemen, caption

Field Day Ribbons And Cafeteria Pizza

SPEAKER_10 33:46

this pick.

SPEAKER_07 33:46

What does that remind you of?

SPEAKER_09 33:49

Oh man.

SPEAKER_10 33:51

I was gonna say that's straight up field day, man. And if you came, hey, if you came home with some of them greens, you you wasn't you weren't getting picked on the team after that, no more. If you didn't have no red or blue, you was out of there.

SPEAKER_09 34:06

So I had I had this conversation with my kids um hell Sunday on the way back from Houston. Field day was a competition back then. It was an event, it was an event all day. And in Louisiana and Shreveport, uh the classes compete against each other, so all the fifth grade classes competed against each other, the fifth grade classes, and so Ms. Ms. Wright was my fifth grade teacher, and she said, We getting them but blue ribbons all day. That was our motivational speech from uh older uh fifth grade. She looked like a lunch lady, but she loved her kids, loved us, yeah, she wanted to win, and she went out there with dominance and win. And so the fast she she lined us up um by speed, too. All the girls went first on the relay, and then um, you know, our fastest kids would go last, you know, to uh to to to anchor, and she gotta line us up and everything, and and it was the mostly relays and sack races and all that stuff, but we had to win for Miss Wright.

SPEAKER_10 35:26

What she said, uh we get nothing but blues, we get none but blues, right?

SPEAKER_09 35:32

And so we go to our kids' field day, and it's carnival rides, it's funnel cakes, and and yeah, and snow cones. I was like, what is this, man? I'm trying to compete out here, you know. Exactly. This is different nowadays, and these kids don't know how to compete with each other because everybody got to get a participation ribbon, you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_07 35:53

A bunch of greens, yeah. They got a bunch of greens. I'm just gonna be honest. I had a few blues, but mainly white and a little bit of red. There you go. At least it wasn't participation. Exactly. Exactly. The softball toss. Let's go. That's right. Potato sack, right?

SPEAKER_10 36:24

Yo, don't do it with another person in that either. You got to make sure that y'all are moving at the same pace.

SPEAKER_07 36:30

No, we need we need a lot of supervision. You don't want somebody in there with you getting caught in this. Exactly. Exactly. Now, Mrs. Reeves back in elementary school. I was gonna say I can't deal with that one. Harbs, my brother, much love, man. You tell your family we said hello, and uh we'll do. We'll do we're gonna see you soon because region, I know SEC tournament will end this weekend. Yep. We'll see you next week here in Austin at the dish. No doubt. No doubt. Hey, much love, my brother. Appreciate y'all. Hey, you guys mentioned um the we're talking about Phil Day ribbons on the other side of this break, TikToking in the man cave. We're talking about those delicious squares of pizza that we had in the cafeteria. Nothing ever duplicated that taste. Much love to Harbs. We'll see you on the other side of this break.

SPEAKER_05 37:27

Here at Hargo Roofing, uh, we try to think outside the box to kind of get the creative juices flowing. So I brought in my friend Stevie Lee, former defensive tackle for the Texas Longhorns. Um, he's gonna help the team strategize, really motivate them light of fire.

SPEAKER_08 37:41

This guy's gonna block down. This guy's gonna block down. You put your butt into that guard, and then wait, my mic linebacker gets free to do what?

SPEAKER_05 37:51

Not only are they gonna learn a thing or two, but they're gonna also leave with a great attitude and a bunch of smiles on their faces.

SPEAKER_08 37:58

I'm sorry, what does this have to do with roofing? Exactly. Get out right now.

SPEAKER_05 38:09

For me, that's what it's all about is just having fun, making our employees have a great time. Hardgrove roofing. Know who's on your roof.

SPEAKER_00 38:30

I don't care how many pizza spots you've been to in your lifetime. Ain't none of them beat this square slice of pizza from a public school cafeteria. Because for real, for real, that pizza had no business being that good. That's all magical. The crust, soft but crispy at the same time, like an identity crisis that made it work.

SPEAKER_09 38:53

She's not wrong, not wrong at all. Actually, it made me want that slice right now.

SPEAKER_07 38:59

And I'm craving one of those little square slices of grape.

SPEAKER_09 39:06

Can I can I share a little bit? Please do. This is not my tell me something good. This is my story inside the man cave. Okay. This is my story inside the man cave. So uh related to that pizza. Perfect, man. Perfect. So it's it relates to that pizza right there. Um, we were in high school, me and Philip Geiger, right?

SPEAKER_07 39:34

Okay, oh, perfect.

SPEAKER_09 39:35

Yeah. So we're in high school in Shreveport, Louisiana, and and uh we took because we became a lot of us became D1 football players because we took our workouts very serious in the summer times, right? And so uh we would go and work out at six o'clock in the morning uh with our coach uh every weekday morning. I think we're off on Wednesday, right? But every just about every weekday morning, and so we would do that, and then uh we have the rest of our days just to mess around and hang around in the city. It's Shreep, Louisiana in the summertime. We're doing everything that we can do, go to the mall, call some ladies, or whatever, don't tell my wife, uh, or my mama. Uh so but they have a school lunch program for kids that don't because you know, in the inner city, some of these inner city kids, the only time they eat is when they go to school, right? Absolutely, that's right. And so the um uh Cattle Parish School District, um they had a program to where the cafeterias of certain elementary schools within the district would open. Phillip lived in the same district of one of these schools that would open in the summertime just for lunch program, and so it was called Warner Park, Warner Park Elementary, and he lived around the corner from so we would leave practice, go to his house and hang around and wait for lunchtime because we went one time, we went one time, and the lunch ladies loved us up there, and all the kids in the neighborhood knew Phillip and loved Phillip, and so they loved us to come around and hang with the kids, but the lunch ladies would feed us. There were no principals involved, there were no permission slips or anything like that involved. It was two good kids, older kids, basically hanging out and playing around with the younger kids in the neighborhood that that Philip had already known, and I'm just a fly on the wall and hanging out with them and everything. But every Friday was pizza. Oh, that's why you guys showed up every Friday. Yes, that's we definitely showed up every Friday, but they would give us they would give us two slices and give the other kids a slice. But it was a great program. This is and I hope I hope they do this still in in some underprivileged uh areas.

SPEAKER_07 42:07

But they still exist in in some fashion, yeah, uh hopefully.

SPEAKER_09 42:11

And uh, and so it was something that the kids could look up to because Philip and I were on our way to college, right? And and and doing big things, and we were on the news and and local news with um, I forgot his name. I wish I can remember his name right now, but anyway, they would see us on TV, and it was something that they could look up to. And the lunch ladies would would love to see us coming down the line with the kids, getting food uh with the kids and sitting down at the tables and eating with them, man. It it it warmed my heart that the kids wanted to be around us, and we just wanted to be there and get some food. So yeah, so it that that that brought back that memory, that pizza right there, man. It was every Friday we had one of those pizzas.

SPEAKER_07 42:55

And remember, it was like a dollar, yeah, or or 50. And you get a plate, you got that you they you get those two square pieces, pieces of pizza, corn, applesauce, and you get a little carton of milk.

SPEAKER_09 43:09

Yep. Yeah, it was more expensive over here in Austin because I remember lunch back in my time when I was in elementary. Um uh full you pay full month lunch was like 75 cents. Yeah, yeah. But then there were some people that were on reduced lunch, and that was like 45 cents, you know. And so um, you know, it's it's it's just bringing back old memories, man. This that's good. Remember, what was that 30 years ago?

SPEAKER_07 43:38

Remember the cards, the little lunch cards. Yeah, yeah, sign-off.

SPEAKER_09 43:43

Well, we had um we had uh a badge that our teacher kept on the on a hook by the door. You when you go out for lunch, you put your lanyard on and you you uh scan your badge for um for the lunch. Line.

SPEAKER_07 44:01

Oh my god. Yeah. Great memories.

SPEAKER_08 44:04

Hey Ben, tell me something good.

Tell Me Something Good And Gratitude

SPEAKER_07 44:10

Stevie Lee, you know how we do it in a world of negativity. We love us some positivity. Yeah. Tell me something good, my brother.

SPEAKER_09 44:19

Oh man, I was about to pull up Will Smith. It's summer, summer, summer time. Yep.

unknown 44:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 44:26

Summer time. My daughter gets my youngest daughter is in high school. She gets out of school on Thursday. That's two more sleeps. Two more sleep. Two more sleeps. And she's out of school for the summer. And man, that's something good. I get to hang out with the family, uh, extended period of time. Um, it's I'm excited about it right now, but I do know I'm gonna get tired of it and want them to go back to school. So uh, but this is good, man. It's summertime in Austin, Texas. Um, enjoy your town, guys. It's um it's uh and just be grateful. Be grateful that we're here. Uh we got some friends that haven't been here uh or are not here right now. So um be grateful that you're here. Be grateful that you're around family. I hope and pray that you are around family and uh enjoy this summer. Um, we gotta tighten our belt up. This this economy is not uh treating anyone very well, uh nothing but the ultra-rich. But uh us um us middle class people are getting uh dumped on right now. So just tighten your belt up and enjoy your family. That's what it's all about.

SPEAKER_07 45:35

Well said.

SPEAKER_09 45:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 45:37

Come on, man. We're we're part of the one percenters.

SPEAKER_09 45:40

Oh, I'm not. You may be.

SPEAKER_07 45:42

No, no, no, no, no, sir. That uh that was well said, man. And then you know you know being very real, but at the same time, there's always you can always create positivity, and you can summertime in Austin's amazing, and and there's so many great places within a 60-mile radius to go, or hop on a flight, a quick flight to Mexico, or traverse this countryside in an RV, or just travel, period, or go camping. There's great places in you know our Texas Gulf Coast as well. Um, my something good involves a piece of video. Uh, I don't know if you're aware, I love motivational speakers, and then and I have really grown over the last 15, 20 years to love some college commencement speeches. Um I I had just some not all of them are great, I'll tell you that. But but a lot of them I walk away, and if I see a certain person's going to be delivering a commencement address, I'll go to it.

Community Over Clout Online

SPEAKER_07 46:44

I haven't done that in three years. But country musician Eric Church, he's won a lot of awards, he's talented. He's not everyone's cup of tea, but he's a really talented, good musician, songwriter. Um, he delivered a commencement address at the University of North Carolina where he went to school in Chapel Hill. He called it the Six Strings of Life, and he had his guitar and described each string to what it represents in life and how those the graduates should they gain a new perspective. And I uh I chopped it up and for this part, and maybe this is something that you may relay to your daughter, maybe both your daughters. I mean, I thought this was profound and something that we'll always remember.

SPEAKER_01 47:37

Hemingway wrote it plainly, right in the sternum. The world breaks everyone. Afterward, the best of us are stronger at the broken places. Get back up, tune the string, keep playing. The beat string is about community. Your generation faces a temptation no generation before has ever faced. The temptation to perform for everyone and belong to no one, to be globally visible and locally invisible, to have thousands of followers and no one knows actually where you live. Resist this. Plant yourself somewhere. Put down roots with the full intention of growing there. Learn the actual names, not usernames, of the people around you. Volunteer. Coach the team. Build the thing your community needs, even if the internet will never see it.

SPEAKER_07 48:41

Perfect. I was blown away by that.

SPEAKER_09 48:47

100%.

SPEAKER_07 48:49

So for all of us, hey, social media is all part of all of our lives. We're not, and it's not going to become less. But we can something good, we can't control how much we consume each day.

SPEAKER_09 49:05

No question.

SPEAKER_07 49:06

And remind ourselves are we performing or are we trying to what are we doing when we post?

SPEAKER_10 49:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 49:15

No, but some of I I I would prefer, I think you and I both, we post to make people laugh.

Wrap-Up And Sign Off

SPEAKER_07 49:21

Smile. Hey, great episode, and big thanks to Mike Harbaugh for joining us to talk a little bit about Texas baseball and the Longhorn Ladies softball team. And hey, thank you for watching. Thank you for tolerating us. And please share and like on each of our social media platforms. And for the beautiful city of Shri Port Louis, Louisiana, the home of Hardgrove Roofing, and the home of Stevie Leave and his beautiful family, and to my college alma mater town, the great town of Nacadosis, Texas, the Red Brick Streets, the oldest town in Texas, and to my lovely, amazing hometown, Austin, Texas, and to all the destinations I've places I've been, Oklahoma City, San Angelo, you name it. I've been there, Lufkin, Texas, and to wherever you are across this great nation. Thank you. And bye by what Stevie said, be grateful. And to the OG Man Cave boys, that being Harbaugh, Big Mike, and the Coach Mo. What do we tell them, Stevie Lee? We out.