CB, Gary and Coach Finny chat about upcoming rule changes, non-conference opponents, Monarchs in pro ball and a stadium construction update. Beau Cowan checks in to say hello and the guys breakdown the new additions to the 2027 roster.

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I was waiting for it.

Yeah.

Hello, Monarch fans.

Welcome to Hudson Homer's Podcast.

CB and Coach Finny here as always.

Another off-season update for you all.

We have a ton of stuff.

Uh, we talk about our guys in the minors, the draft, how the roster's

coming together with recruiting.

Got a special guest here in about 26, 27 minutes that I know you'll be excited

about, and a whole bunch of other things.

But, uh, Coach Finny, you're in the new digs.

How are things going?

Yeah.

You can get a shot of my new chandelier right here.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So we have, uh … Yeah,

we moved over to Larchmont from West Ghent,

and, uh, been in a couple weeks now, so just about out of boxes

and- Nice, nice little spot.

Close, a little closer to the field actually.

Not that we- Yeah … were far before.

But, um, I like being on … I lived on this side of campus before I moved

to West Ghent, and it's a little less busy actually trying to get home.

Mm. Because when they put that Rail Yard District in, they added,

like, six frigging stoplights.

It is, like, just forever to get down Hampton Boulevard there.

So I, I don't even have to go down Hampton.

Mm-hmm.

I can cut through Powhatan and, uh, shoot up Magnolia, and I'm right over here.

So, uh- That's

great.

Yeah.

Yeah, so we're, we're hap- excited about it and, you know, getting

used to all the new creaks and groans of new houses and things

like that.

That was the first time it was windy at my condo, and like there's like

a spot at the window right in my bedroom where it makes like this

insane whistle if it gets windy enough.

And I was like, I was like, "Are there banshees? Am I dying?

What's happening right now?" The

haunted condo of CB.

Yeah.

The

haunted condo.

Oh, bro.

If the ghosts can't figure it out, we're, they- I'm not leaving.

They're gonna have to- … make it work.

Yeah, man.

Yeah.

Well, CB- What?

… you've been running around all kinds of baseball.

How have you been the last month or so?

Yeah,

we've been good.

Yeah, a lot of baseball.

Got to see, uh, got to see our guys at the Pilots a bunch, see some of our, our

guys with the, uh, the Norfolk Mermaids, which is, I, I don't know why they

didn't go with mermen, but whatever.

Hey, it works.

Uh, saw, saw Blake Morgan.

We'll bring, we'll talk about that maybe a little later.

Yeah, got a lot of baseball, man.

It's been great.

Yeah.

That's cool.

And the, and The

Avengers trailer came out today.

All my nerdy stuff is going on.

Oh.

When does the movie come out?

Not till December, but Spider-Man comes out next week, so-

Okay

… that, that's important.

Anybody seen The Odyssey?

I did, yeah.

It's really, it's very good.

How is

it?

It's very good.

All right.

It's, uh, it's apparently not as historically accurate to the story

as it could be, but whatever.

I'm sure.

It's a movie.

It's, it's nice, it's well made.

Well, Matt,

Dave- It's, it's got Spider-Man and Punisher in it.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

That's great.

I'll, I'll probably, I wanna go see that.

Yeah.

It's pretty cool.

Um, so where'd you go see it at?

Uh-

Uh, I did not go to IMAX.

I just wanted to make everybody upset.

I just saw it in like a normal, the normal Regal Theater- … that

I see the, all, all the movies at.

Yeah.

That's what I do, too.

Yeah.

Uh, I like… I will probably go out.

It's playing at The Narrow, I think.

Might be,

yeah.

Yeah.

That's

a

great, that's a great spot to see

a movie.

I like that old- Yeah … old spot, man.

Get the old school popcorn maker and-

Yeah.

One of my favorite things about The Narrow is if you go to the restroom then you

can still hear the audio for the movie.

You never, you don't really miss anything if you have to go to the restroom.

Oh, okay.

Yeah.

That's cool.

That's just like my house.

I just leave the door open- … and let it keep g- going.

100%.

Absolutely.

So the World Cup, we had a- Yeah … you know, that was, that was … I'll tell you

this, I watched more soccer in the last month than I've watched in my whole life.

Mm.

And it was, it was exciting.

You know, I think the USA making the final 16 got more

people, like, interested in it.

Mm-hmm.

But then you saw some really good teams, I mean, down the,

down the stretch right there.

So I was flipping around watching some of the British Open final yesterday, and,

uh, then rolled on to the soccer match.

But I think the best team doesn't always happen, right?

But I think this year- Yeah … the, the, this time the best team won.

I think Spain was clearly the best team.

Their,

their defense was just suffocating.

Could score on them.

They had seven shutouts.

Yeah.

Like, think about

that.

What'd they say, they had two shots on goal yesterday?

Is that what it was?

Total, yeah, and- Two shots … only one of them was, like, a legit shot.

Yeah.

Yeah.

They out, they outshot them was, like, 24 to two.

Oof.

Something like that.

Yeah, that, that poor goalie for, uh, Argentina.

I mean- Oh, yeah.

… played his guts out and still lost.

Yeah.

That was, that was tough.

He did.

Mm. He did.

So I know, and then when they w- when they got a man down, I mean, they weren't

gonna be able to come back from that.

No way.

They were trying to play for penalty kicks, I know.

Mm. Um, so that's, uh … It's, like, to me that's like playing a baseball game

that ties and then you roll a L screen out there and decide to play home run.

Yeah.

You know?

Exactly right.

Like, God, these guys played 120 minutes, and then you're gonna go to … I

mean, a penalty kick's a coin flip.

If the- Yeah … if the guy guesses right, he gets it, he gets, guesses

wrong- Yeah … he doesn't get it, right?

I don't think there's … You know, once in a while they shoot it

over the bar, but they shouldn't.

Um, Malcolm Gladwell did a, a study on penalty click, pen- pen- penalty kicks.

And he said they came up with the best thing to do is to

kick it right at the goalie.

He never stays there.

Doesn't think it's gonna be there, yeah.

But nobody's got enough guts to do that.

'Cause then if he decided to stay there, they'd be like, "What are you doing?"

You'd look like an idiot, yeah, if you kick it straight at him,

he just goes- Yeah … just

bounces off of him.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, it's funny.

Oh.

Yeah, it was, it was entertaining at least.

I mean, there were some really good games in there.

And I think even the third place game the day before, it fin-

they finished six to four, so if

you like offense.

That might've been the most entertaining game.

Yeah.

That was like, uh, that was like arena soccer, man.

It was like they- I mean,

like- That's like soccer how I want it if they want them to get rid of

the offsides rule to make it actually- Yeah … like scoring happen.

Yeah.

That's where I would be much, like I, like I go out, I watch the ODU soccer

'cause, you know, gotta root for our, our players, but it's, it's not my

favorite and it's like every single time something interesting is about to

happen, like, "Oh, offsides, can't do it."

Offsides.

It's like, come on,

guys.

Yeah.

The flag goes up.

Yeah.

I

think the whole body should have to be clear of the guy,

not just any part of their body.

I, uh, to me, it's just like a fast break in the basketball, like, "Hey, sorry you

lost." Like, you're getting beaten now.

They would figure part of the strategy, for sure.

Yeah.

Yeah, just gotta figure out how to put a blue line down like they

do in hockey, 'cause at least you know where the line is, it doesn't

move, and the rules are simple.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That would be a good, that would be a good, uh, that would be a

good compromise, I think, for sure.

Mm-hmm.

So

we'll see.

I'll let

Gary, uh-

Well, speaking of rules- Yeah

uh, if any, so we, there's a pretty big one that happened in college sports that I

think is worth talking about a little bit.

So the, the, the what do you call it?

Five and five.

I'm sure they might have some official name, but that's the, so

the idea now is that players have five years to play five seasons.

Yeah.

Um, and then there's a, there's a limitation on, is it, I think it's

either starting right after their 19th birthday is like the latest

it can be, is, isn't that it?

And, but a few exceptions are, what, military service, um, religious,

which probably talking about Mormon mostly, and then pregnancy.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

So basically now you get rid of the, uh, five to play four, it's five to play five.

You gained a year of eligibility- Mm-hmm … so you, there's no

reason to red shirt anymore.

Um, the medical, quote-unquote, "red shirt" is built into that.

Mm-hmm.

Um, I think the- The one potential waiver would be a kid that, you know,

like a baseball injury where it's an 18-month deal like Tommy John

where you could potentially miss two seasons, uh, instead of one.

But-

So they still, so a guy like, um, people might remember, um,

Brett Smith that played for us.

Yeah.

Played for seven years.

So someone like him- Yeah … they might, they might be able to do that still

They might.

Yeah, I think, I think there'd still be a chance of that, but it, but it

wouldn't… And the, and the thing that went along with that, um, is also

the one-time transfer portal is back.

Mm-hmm.

Okay.

So you can transfer once in the portal without sitting.

Um, I think that was part of that package.

So that's a good thing, you know?

Yeah.

Um, things happen, you can transfer, no penalty, blah, blah, blah, but

you can't just go hopping around, you know, seven schools in five years now.

Now does that one year sitting count as part of your five years?

Yes.

Yeah.

It does.

Yeah,

interesting.

Yeah.

Yeah, so you would lose it.

Yep.

So you don't get a, you don't get an extra year to just do that.

So I think that'll, you know, make some guys, um, think twice, you know?

Yeah.

Um, you're gonna have to make sure, uh, just to, just to go through that.

So we'll see.

Of course, there's a whole new band of lawsuits about all that.

Right.

'Cause

they, 'cause now all the players that just finished want their

fifth year that they didn't get.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

There's also a bill in the Senate right now that's being negotiated that's a

little bit bigger picture college sports.

Um, I saw some of the things that were being put into that bill.

One of them would be that if you're in a power conference and you wanna go to a

different power conference, you have to do five years as an independent in order to

make that move So that would essentially eliminate, you know, the SEC stealing from

the Big 12 or any other conference again.

Um, I would assume if that becomes law that we will see the SEC and the

Big 10 say, "See you later, NCAA.

We're gonna go do our own thing now."

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

Which probably needs to happen anyway.

Yeah, honestly.

Might make our lives easier for sure.

I mean, it, it's, it's just the way it's going.

Like, what, what in the world are we competing against, you know?

Yeah.

It's like, it's like s- it's like single, you know, it's like the, uh, the, uh,

you know, what's a Carolina League team?

Like

the- Like the Mudcat, the Carolina Mudcats

… that's what it's like the Carolina Mudcats trying to beat the Yankees.

Right.

Yeah.

I mean, that's basically what it just boils down to.

Like,

and it might happen on a day.

You know, that's baseball, but over the course of the season-

One day … it ain't happening.

No.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Um, so we'll see.

We'll see how all that goes, but yeah, so that's the, that's the eligibility rule.

You know, we still got a… There's some of these bigger packages coming.

Yeah.

Um, which this needs to get legislative, you know, um, teeth behind it because-

Mm-hmm … eh, everything the NCAA does just ends up in court and challenged.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Just they don't have any.

They don't have any.

They've, they've kinda, they backed themselves in the corner where they

don't have any legitimacy anymore.

It's like they say something, and it's like, "Yeah, until we go and sue you."

Yep.

Yeah.

Um- I mean, they, they couldn't prevent the, uh, quarterback from Texas

Tech who bet on his own team- Yeah

and against his own team from playing.

Yeah.

If they can't stop that, what can- Yeah … they actually stop?

Yeah.

That was more peer pressure that he stopped showing after than anything.

Oh,

yeah.

Yeah, and then the NFL rug pulled him, which I thought was- Yeah … kind of a

fitting end to that- Right … that story.

Perfect.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, karma caught up with,

with

that.

Yeah.

One,

one thing I do like about the, the five and five, and like you said, there's

no more real point in redshirting, 'cause that's… It's nice 'cause

that, what that means is you can play guys in that freshman year.

I mean, I know, like, uh, uh, for instance, the last couple years

you've had, like JJ Hand was a catcher, uh, Alex Gomez was a catcher,

and they're there and they're…

You know, JJ particularly this year was there catching bullpens every day, and

I'm sure it would've been nice at some point, like on a Tuesday or something

like that at a midweek game, be like, "Hey, go get in that bat. Go catch the

last inning." But if you do that, you are doing him a disservice 'cause you're

taking away a year of his service time.

Yeah, because we don't have the good rule like football has.

Right.

Right.

Um, which is ridiculous, like one at bat-

Yeah,

takes your whole

season

… across the entire season.

Yeah.

Right.

Like, nobody ever been able to explain that to me.

They changed that rule.

Unless you're hurt.

Um, it used to be 30%, you could play 30% of the season- Mm-hmm

as long as it was in the first half of the season.

Right.

Whether you were hurt or not, and then they changed that rule, and,

um, yeah, that was too bad, so.

Yeah.

Um, you know, but that, but it's gonna be better and, you know, it's just gonna

have to- We're gonna have to remember that that old rule isn't in place, so-

Yeah

you know, you get at the end of a blowout or you get in- Mm-hmm … you know, now

there's no reason not to rest some guys.

Yeah.

Throw those guys in there and let them play, and I think that,

I think that's a good thing.

I think so too.

I think it's a good thing.

Yeah.

They gotta get their feet wet somehow, and why not do it in situations where

there isn't a lot of pressure on them?

And you're gonna see, you know, some things.

And, um, I think it, I think it'll, I think it'll be helpful.

I also think it, it's interesting too because between that and then you

have it's the 34-man roster limit.

Is that… Now, and that's, you have to correct me, is that happening

now or is there, there still like-

Yeah, no

timeouts and?

Now, um, there's, there's still waivers involved in that.

Mm-hmm.

The designated, the DSAs, the designated student athletes

from- Mm … two years ago.

Okay.

When this rule went into effect, um, you went through your whole roster

and you had to designate w- which guys were gonna be those type of guys.

Mm-hmm.

Which basically meant you left them, uh, unprotected.

Okay.

Uh, anybody, you know, 'cause i- i- and so, um, they could go anywhere and not

count against anybody's roster- Mm-hmm … for the length of the- Which is a big

plus

… they're eligible.

Yeah.

So we have a few left on the, in the program, I don't

know, maybe three or four-

Mm-hmm

um, from that time.

So you could have 34 plus your designated.

Right,

okay.

Got

you.

Um, and, but that's it.

But it'll be- Right … you know, each year it'll be getting down

more towards the 34, and that has to go into place by December 1.

Mm-hmm.

So your fall you could have more than that.

Right.

But then December 1st comes, you gotta have your 34 guys plus- Mm

whatever designated, and those other guys, like they can't do anything with you.

Right.

Um-

Hmm

… and they, they're, they're not a part of the team.

And so there'll be some guys that, you know, if you have more, uh, if

you're a… I, I would love to, for us to be at 34 plus the designated guys,

um, and not have to cut somebody and-

Yeah

just,

um.

It's a tough thing, 'cause then you're telling somebody, "Stick around and do

nothing," or you could transfer out to go to a JUCO if you're eligible for it.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, it's, it's a tough deal.

Yeah.

It is.

It's, it's a lot worse than having somebody that's gonna- But something

that's gonna happen

yeah

… you know?

Um, so yeah, it's all this new stuff we're trying to navigate and figure out.

But I, but I do think that with the five and five and the 34-man

roster limit, that's really gotta make it hard on freshmen.

I mean, just, it's already hard enough to get, come in, get some playing

time, but now you're competing against, you know, "Hey, would I rather…"

And just for a roster spot, would I rather have a freshman who's completely

unproven or a guy in his fifth year?

You just hit, you hit it on the head, man.

It is.

It's hard, and I, I think those, I think those, the freshmen that

you get, you gotta really like 'em.

Yeah.

You gotta really like 'em because the odds say you're not getting a

bunch out of them that first year.

Mm-hmm.

'Cause they're gonna be playing, if you're doing your job correctly, they're

gonna be playing behind some guys.

Now, maybe they become an outlier and beat some guys out and they're, they're good,

you know, by second half the season kind of thing, Nick Feltman type deal and-

Yeah

… all of that.

So it's, it always can happen.

Um- But you're not getting as many either, like, you know, um, I

think we got five, uh, excuse me, five hitters, um, in that class.

You know, maybe five pitchers.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, four or five, you know, that kind of thing.

Yeah.

You know, the '27 class might have less, um- Right … on

the position player side even.

So it just, it just, I don't know, it's a, it's an interesting dynamic

where you're at on, on all this, so.

And then you wonder if by the time you figure out what works well for

that, will they change rules again?

That's that constant problem of you can't ever, you don't ever have enough

years under the system to figure out what works best in the system.

I mean, we're going on five straight years where they've

changed the rules every- Yeah.

Yeah

So.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You just go with the flow, man.

Yeah.

And sp- you know, speaking of r- rule changes, Gary, you said you had up, uh,

some of the playing rule, uh, s- you know, suggestions from the committees.

You know, we went through that two-year cycle and I glanced at that and, uh, you

know, the base one always cracks me up because when I first read it, I was like,

"Yes, we're going to the bigger base."

Like- Yeah … you know, and then it said it's allowed or something,

but- … they're using the double base.

So now we have the double base that's a bigger base?

Like, what?

I don't under- what are we doing?

Yeah.

They worded that kind of weird, like you can have an 18-inch base instead

of the standard 15, but it's optional.

However, you have to have double bases.

So are we gonna go on, go to games where there's an 18-inch

base and a 15-inch double base?

Like, how's that gonna work?

Yeah, I, uh, that one was totally confusing.

Again, we don't do- Right … the common sense thing, which is just go to the

bigger base, like the, like pro ball-

Mm-hmm

and get rid of the double base.

But they all think the double base is saving injuries,

and I think they're crazy.

I think they got stock in some double base company, 'cause otherwise-

Oh, I think you're right.

They got, the Rawlings, whoever made that double base- Yeah … they, they're

on the beach in Bora Bora right now-

ha- happy as they can be.

Yeah.

Well, well, we've seen the double base go wrong.

I mean, we were in Montgomery in about a 30-minute delay.

That was-

Ted was narrating his version of the Odyssey with that gentleman

who was trying to fix it.

Uh, and it was, it was pretty good, but, uh, yeah, I think we

can a- avoid that in the future.

Yeah.

Um, the, the headline grabbing one is that ABS, the balls and strikes

challenge system, is approved, but that's under the impression that everyone can

actually have that system in place.

Like, if you have it, cool, you can use it, but if you don't and your conference

doesn't- Uh … sorry, you're out.

Which maybe the SEC tries it, but I don't see the Sun Belt

going to that anytime soon.

I don't, yeah, I don't either.

I mean, that's, that's, that's gotta be- Pretty expensive … expensive,

yeah.

Yeah.

Um

I, I did like that the SEC tried it in their conference

tournament last year, though.

Yeah.

It was kind of fun, and you started seeing the catchers with some gamesmanship

of framing strikes as balls to try to use up the other team's challenges,

and I thought that was pretty smart.

Yeah.

Where were … I think we were watching a game on the bus riding back or riding

there where, where the, there was like two or three of those challenges in the,

in the Auburn game we were watching.

The, that was pretty interesting.

Yeah, the one game ended on the challenge, remember?

Yeah.

Yeah.

What was that, Auburn, Texas A&M?

Yeah.

Ended on the challenge.

That was cool.

Interesting.

Um

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

And then, um, got three, I think they're giving you three additional

offensive timeouts that the players can use- Mm-hmm … um, for a reset.

I like that rule, actually.

So you have six on defense, three by the coach, three by the players.

Now you're gonna have six on offense.

The coach can use three.

The players can use all six, but- Mm-hmm … you have to be careful on that.

Like, you know, you're gonna have to explain to your guys, like, you know,

"We, we can't use all our, all our resets in the first inning." Like-

Yeah

… but if you get down to it, um … And I think the main reason for that

is some of the pitch clock stuff.

Like, if the guy, you know, you get inside of that and he wants to

call it a strike, you can use one of your visits to alleviate that.

Oh, interesting.

Okay.

The voice pitch clock.

But it's cost, cost you one.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You really find out who's, uh, good and bad at that.

That's, 'cause when, when like the Yankees, I mean, they told Judge, Judge

Chisholm that he can't challenge anymore.

Yeah.

You get, you get some guys who are just really not good at it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No.

Seen a- Right … seen a few of those in the MLB this year, and it's been kind

of funny to watch teams just drain them both- Yeah … in a first inning at bat.

Right.

Um, yeah, some of the other changes, a 30-second timer could be used between

batters as well as during mound visits and offensive timeouts, so actually

putting a countdown clock on that.

I think before it'd just been kind of kept-

Mm-hmm

… somewhat by the umpire.

A little- Yeah … in- incon- inconsistently

Yeah, man, 30 seconds just doesn't seem like a lot of time

Seems very short for, like, going to the plate maybe, but like a, yeah,

a mound visit is like, you can't even get a … I mean, Mike runs,

so maybe he'd be all right, but.

Yeah, I mean, you, I don't know when, when does that start?

Does it start when he gets to the mound?

Yeah.

Then that

… Um, it's just- So

we get, uh, Wayne Graham out there taking a 25-minute walk

to the mound.

And Mike's done a good job of that too sometimes, those little

baby steps going out to the mound.

Well, I, again, we're splitting hairs for seconds here, like- Yeah

it just makes … You know, the, the 30 seconds in between batters,

that's been optional for a while.

Like the SEC kind of uses that, um, in lieu of the 20 second pitch clock.

Um, the, you know, once the play is over, that 30 second clock starts and it … I,

I don't know what the, the … It, it's kind of, to me, it's confusing because

the 30 second clock, so we're doing that instead of the 20 second- Mm-hmm

you know, in between batters.

That's just the in between batters.

The guy hits a double, you know, ball's thrown back in,

we got … They go 20 second.

But then in between pitches it's just 20.

Mm-hmm.

So in between plays, I guess offensive plays that happen, then it, then

it would be 30 in between batters.

Mm-hmm.

When

the new batters come in, I suppose.

Yeah.

So what- whatever it is, we'll get used to it and we'll

Yeah, it's … Yeah … what else can you do other than be like,

"Okay," and just keep on going.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We gotta, we gotta time everything, you know?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Uh, I mean, nowadays you're gonna … The dude running the, running the

clock, man, he's got like five, you know, seven different settings he's

gotta have ready to punch in there.

Yeah, it used to be the shot clock in basketball was the hard one,

'cause you have to tell from the sideline if it hit the rim or not.

Now it's- Yeah … I mean, uh, what situation is this

or what button do I push?

That's gonna be interesting.

I,

I ran the clock in middle school basketball a few times, and I was so

glad there was no shot clock because there were plenty of times where

the play started and I forgot to start the clock or the play stopped.

I was like, "It's middle school basketball. This doesn't matter,

guys. We'll be all right."

Yeah.

Well, that happens sometimes too, you know?

And I mean, you got some places, you know, you got an intern running

that thing, and then I think-

Yeah.

Yeah

… it, it can affect the game.

I, I think it's an important part.

Yeah, for sure.

Um, for sure.

And we'll, we'll have a nice press box set up, you know-

Oh, yeah

… to keep going.

So any more of those new rules?

Was that about it?

Uh, the other big one was, uh, any fair foul call and any tag play can now be

reviewed, so there's not a restriction on

those anymore.

Finally, they finally- Yes … put that in.

Yes.

You know, it used to be if it was on the ground, if it hit the

ground in front of the fielder-

Mm-hmm

then you couldn't review a fair foul down the line Mm-hmm.

Crazy Which makes no sense to me at all.

Yeah.

'Cause the ones that are in the air are usually pretty easy to see.

Right.

It's the ones going over the bag or not.

Yeah.

And now you can.

Mm-hmm.

Um, so that's, that's better.

But again, we'll see how many of those get changed, you know?

Oh, it's always the, the relying on- Still it does get- … the camera work.

Yeah, yeah.

It is.

And I… And we'll be in better shape there with the, you know,

the, the cameras in the new stadium- Mm-hmm … as put constructions on.

Um, so.

Yeah.

And then there's-

And safe, safe out as well, right?

Um.

Yeah.

Safe out, and then tag plays as well.

So basically, uh, finally doing the common sense thing and letting replay be used

for more than just- Yeah … a few things.

Uh, then the other potential change is to just be an experimental one.

Uh, if leagues want to try out the two pitcher disengagements per batter,

they will be allowed to do that, but you have to do it as a conference.

So again, I don't know if the Sun Belt will implement that,

uh, but it'll mimic the MLB rules where you can disengage twice.

On the third disengagement, if you don't pick the runner off, it's

a balk and the runner advances

I really thought college had that.

We had that for a minute, like, a couple years ago.

Maybe I just completely forgot what was happening.

They had the thing where you could s- uh, step off, but you had to, like, fake-

Yeah, you had to do the … Yeah, the- Yeah.

Then, then it didn't count and that- Right … then it went to one step

off, doesn't matter what you do.

Yeah.

I, I'd be okay with it.

I mean, it c- it, it's gonna

You know, it takes a part of the game away, you know, which

used to be a part of baseball.

You pick off a bunch and get the guy tired and dive at the

back if he's a good runner.

Mm. But, you know.

Yeah.

There's some strategy there now, too.

If you've got a good base stealer that can get a lead and

get back quick, to try to- Yep

draw those two disengagements and take a bigger lead on the third one.

Yep.

I mean, if you've got a fast guy, you're almost gonna automatically steal second.

Then it's like the cat and mouse of, am I going over or am I going home?

And it kind of, it just changes that decision point, I think, a

little bit, but some strategy there.

Yeah.

I, I'd be okay if our league … We'll have our co- uh, coaches meeting

in August, and I'm sure we're gonna go through all of these, and I'd

actually be okay with that one.

Wouldn't bother me.

Yeah.

Wouldn't bother me at all.

Well, I wanted to talk about, we had a couple of Monarchs,

uh, sign pro contracts.

Yep.

Um, I think Gary might have a couple image- yeah, a couple of

our guys, uh, went out there and, and got themselves real jobs.

Uh, yeah, Bailey Matela signed with the independent Washington Wild Things, so

he's joining- Mm … uh, Kyle Edwards.

Uh, and then, uh, Hunter Baynes, just the other day, he signed a non-drafted

free agent contract with the, uh, St.

Louis Cardinals.

So he's gonna go there, probably down to Palm Beach to start his career.

So that's-

Yep

… that's pretty great.

I mean, that's pretty awesome, especially for Bailey, a b- kid

who, you know, was, was a walk-on and then ends up playing pro ball.

I mean, that's pretty awesome.

Yeah, really happy for Bailey.

Great kid, great family.

You know, the family, their family's been amazing, you know, and they've been

through a lot in the last year or so.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Really happy for Bailey.

Um, Hunter, I, you know, I got … I, I love Hunter, and I'm happy for him, too.

Just have mixed feelings about that.

You know, I always think guys- I, I, I like to feel like they're ready, you know,

when they go try to play professional baseball at any level, um, uh, if

they're, if they have eligibility left.

Yeah.

Um, you know, we just never got to see Hunter healthy.

Yeah.

Uh, and I get he wants to play.

I, I think he would've been better off, you know, having a, a good

solid college season under his belt.

But, um, we're wishing the best, man.

He's a great kid.

Yeah.

And he, he did, you know, a lot of good things here.

Uh, he was a fantastic teammate.

He d- you know, the, he, he hel- he helped our program even

though he didn't pitch much, so.

Yeah.

You could tell, and being someone that's there around it, you could,

you could tell that for sure.

He was- Yeah … definitely a leader without being able to-

Yep

… contribute.

Yeah, he created a home for himself here, without a doubt.

And, um, yeah, I would've liked to see, you know, selfishly too, I'd like to see

Yeah, yeah.

I wanted to see him throw a 98, 99 for us.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So, um, but you hope, you hope he can do well.

You know, what you don't hope with these undrafted free agent guys is

they go out and, and don't perform well, and they're done playing

before their college season- Yeah

was over.

Uh-huh.

Yeah.

I've seen that happen before, and it's sad.

Yeah.

You know, 'cause you're going, "Man, he could've just played for us and

then done this, then done this."

I've seen that with some of the guys who signed out of high school,

where their pro career was over before their college career would've

been, and it's like, ooh- Yeah

that's a, that's a bad beat, man.

That's a bad feeling right there, for sure.

Yeah, you're right.

You're right.

So we wish them both the best.

Yeah.

You know, certainly, I mean, two great kids, you know?

They really are.

We want them to go out and tear it up.

Yeah.

Yeah, definitely excited for them to go in and, uh, you know, CB, you and I have

seen a couple of our guys in the pros.

Yeah.

I know you and I were together, got to see Noah Dean up here at Richmond.

Yeah.

Uh, he's with Harrisburg.

Uh, but you've got a really cool spot to go see Blake-

Yeah … uh, with his family there.

Yeah, went up on

the Eastern Shore.

Yeah, up, up on the Eastern Shore, up at, uh, Salisbury,

Maryland, Delmarva Shorebirds.

He was playing for the, uh, he still is playing for the Charleston RiverDogs,

which they've got the, uh, it's like the, the Holy City, uh, uniforms on

there, which I did not know they had.

That's pretty cool.

Um, but yeah, so he, he was, uh, he, he had a … And that was p-

uh, funny, it was, it was probably his worst outing of the year.

He threw five innings, gave up three runs.

He's still got a win, so it's funny to tell you how- … how well he's

pitching this year, that that was his worst one and still got a win.

Um, and yeah, he had his, his, his mom and dad were there, had a ton of

friends there 'cause that's about as, as close as they were coming to Jersey.

Um, and so probably that's probably, I think, a factor in why he had a little

bit of issues in, in the first inning is because he had too much energy.

We know that about Blake.

Uh, but yeah.

So it, it's pretty awesome to see.

I mean, he's, you know, obviously one of the, the best human beings

on the planet, so that was, that was really cool to get to, get to see him.

Hey, he's killing it, man.

Yeah.

Like, keeps going like that, he's gonna keep moving.

He's in the right organization too.

Yeah.

They value the, the skill set that he has, certainly, you know?

Oh, and Gary, can you put that back up?

'Cause he, he made a point to, uh, to make sure I knew that, uh, he's still

wearing his Old Dominion Monarch shoes.

Nice.

He said because, uh, yeah, he said because the, the, the Rays and

then also Charleston have the same, you know, navy color scheme, he's

still rocking the, the ODU shoes.

So he, he wanted me to make sure to, to tell Finny that, that,

uh, point that out to everybody.

Yeah.

He'll, he'll, uh, he'll be trying to raid the equipment

room again when it comes to that.

I was about to say, as much torque as he's getting on the, uh- Yeah … the

toe of that back leg, I'm surprised there's not a giant hole in it.

Yeah.

It is always funny seeing pitchers with holes in the top of their shoes.

Like, that's not where holes go.

Yeah.

He's doing good.

Yeah.

We're

proud of

him.

And I'm, uh, I'm excited to get to go see John Holobetz and Noah Dean again up in

Portland, Maine at the end of the month.

Yeah.

That's gonna be good, but, uh, you know, pay attention

and see where these guys are.

If they're near you- Yeah … go check it out.

Hey,

how are some of the guys, um- Just, just thinking out, out loud, you know, um,

like, uh, uh, Sam Armstrong, um, you know, uh, how has some of the guys, you

know, that graduated a few years ago, you know, got signed a few years ago-

Yeah

and what are they doing?

Like, where- So

Sam is, Sam Armstrong, he got traded from the Cubs to the Twins.

Right, I knew

that.

I keep forgetting about.

So he's playing for the Wichita Wind Surge.

Um, and he's, he's doing, been doing pretty well.

Been in the rotation most of the year, um, having a, you

know, a solid year in double-A.

Yeah.

Um, it's funny, uh, Hunter Gregory, who was with the Blue Jays, he got

cut out of spring training, actually pitched, I think he was with the York

Revolution, the independent team.

I didn't realize that.

But then he got signed by the Twins, so he's now a teammate there with Sam.

Um- God k- I don't think they ever played together here at ODU.

No, they

didn't.

Yeah.

So he's, so he's, he's- Okay … back in double-A, and he, last I looked,

he's still doing really well.

I mean, s- uh, Hunter's, he, he's killed double-A the last couple years, had

a little bit of issues in triple-A, you know, which is again, it, that's a

matter of making an adjustment 'cause he, he obviously can play really well.

Um, yeah, I think, uh, Andy Garriola, he's in double-A with

the, um, the Cubs of Tennessee.

Knox- Knoxville, yeah,

West

Tennessee.

Yeah, Knoxville, Tennessee.

Yeah, he's- Yeah … and he's been playing really… I think

he's got 17, 18 home runs.

Um-

Great

… Hunter Fitzgerald is with double-A Arkansas with the Angels.

He's got over 20 home- He, he's doing well, right?

Yeah, he's got over 20 home runs.

He's doing great.

Yeah.

I saw his l- we saw his little brother play up there when we saw

Noe Dean, uh, so that was- Yeah.

… that was kind of funny.

Um-

He's a good player.

Yeah

… trying to think of some of the… Carter Trice is there.

He's a teammate with, with Andy.

Yeah.

Um, yeah.

Off the top of my head, who else?

Who else am I missing?

Yeah.

Um- I mean,

Ryan Yar- Yarbrough got the, uh- Yeah … start on Sunday Night

Baseball last night- How about that?

How about that?

… which is really cool.

That's cool.

Yeah.

Uh-

See, our guys, we, we have a lot of guys.

We have, I think we have about 23, uh, former Monarchs

playing pro ball right now.

I mean, there, there's a lot of guys out there.

A lot.

That's crazy, isn't it?

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's great.

Uh-

It's been… And, what, Jared Young's up with the Mets.

I mean, yeah, we- Yeah … pretty consistently the last few years

had, had a lot of guys playing.

Yeah.

Is PJ back up with the Reds or,

uh- I think he was down right now.

Okay.

Yeah, he's been up twice this year, though.

Yeah.

M- usually for, like, the minimum amount of time, and then- Yeah … uh, he gets

pushed back down, but I mean, they're obviously depending on him quite a bit.

Anytime a catcher goes down, man, he's- Yeah … on the plane going up.

Yeah.

So and of course, the biggest news of the All-Star Weekend was Justin

Verlander announcing his retirement.

Like, that stole- Yeah … all the headlines, even from a- Yeah … you

know, great home run derby.

Yeah.

Uh, so you know, you know, pumped for him to, to be getting one final run

here with the Tigers he got drafted by.

Now the debate is, does he retire as an Astro or a Tiger for the Hall of Fame?

Mm-hmm.

I'm not biased in any way, shape, or form.

Just saying, you know.

I mean, he won a World Series there, right?

You know, so you gotta- He did … it's like, yeah, so, so hey, you know.

How, who, who did he win his Cy Youngs with?

I think he won them with both of them.

I'm pretty sure.

He won- He

did?

Okay.

Yeah.

'Cause he came back from Tommy John and won the Cy Young that year too.

Now, he might've won, like, two of them with the Tigers,

but- Right I don't know, but part of me just thinks he should go in as a Tiger.

I mean, that's why- I

think of him as a Tiger

… yeah, after-

I honestly kind of forget he played for the Astros, which is funny.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, it makes sense.

That's where he spent the most of his time.

I mean, that's, you know, where he came up, but, you know, I'll always

be a Homer for that one, no doubt.

Yeah, yeah.

We're, we're redoing our outfield wall for next year.

Ooh.

Um, they're rebranding it and they're gonna move some things around.

But I told them, I said, "You know, we, we need to wait and find

out-" "… if he's going in as a Tiger.

We gotta change the-"

Yeah

…" the logo." We gotta change some logos out.

We gotta change- Mm-hmm … you know, Macachero, we gotta change Yarbrough.

Mm-hmm.

Gotta change, uh, Young, we gotta change Higgins.

We got, we got some logos we gotta switch out, so.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Um, we will.

We will.

And we got some opportunities for some other stuff.

Maybe the team pictures go, um, on the pads that go down the side

or some, some version of that.

So we'll, we'll see how we're gonna … So, and, and 'cause they, you know

how it is, they wanna put advertising out there and mix that money too.

Yeah.

You know?

And I'm just like, "Well, how are you gonna pick which players

you're gonna take off of here?"

Yeah.

Like, I'm the one that gets beat up if you do that.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, there's only so many big leaguers, so it's like,

you know, it's not that hard.

I mean, it's

… Yeah.

Yeah.

So that, they don't, they don't understand that though.

They're just trying to make money.

Yeah.

So.

Yeah.

But we'll, we'll get it figured out.

Which is always funny to me, 'cause yeah, have you ever been to a ball game and seen

a sign on the outfield wall and thought, "Man, I gotta go buy that product"?

Nope.

Like, nope.

I ki- vaguely, a lot of times I forget it's even there, and then you see a

picture and you're like, "Oh, yeah, I guess that's, that's a thing."

Well, you know, if there was a pet with a nice Hudson homers logo out

there, you might tune in and listen.

I think that's a great idea.

I'll, I'll be happy to put that, put that in the, in the hopper.

Yes.

Sure.

Well, on, on that note, Finny, I, I told you there was a surprise coming for you.

Hey, before you get to that, though.

All right.

A little advanced teaser on the, the schedule next year.

Ooh.

Ooh.

Um, almost completed.

You know, baseball schedules are, you know, gentleman's agreements between

the coaches … most part, but … And sometimes there's, they're moving towards.

But we have, um, so our, our, you know, pre-conference first four weekends, um,

we are gonna, it looks like we're gonna play, um, open up with Bucknell at home.

Mm-hmm.

And then we go to Mercer the second weekend.

Mercer, wow.

And then we have, uh, St. Joe's at home.

And then we have University of Pittsburgh at home.

Interesting.

So getting a, you know, ACC team in here for a three game set.

Uh, we also have Virginia home and home this year.

Nice.

Nice.

Um, and, um- We got, um, I'm working on potentially playing a game at

Tech on the way to Appalachian

Oh, nice.

All

right.

After school's out, but we're trying to figure that one out still.

So yeah, so, um, you know, it's, it's … And then the usual East Carolina home

and home, VCU home and home, Richmond, William and Mary, that kind of thing, so.

Mm-hmm.

Um, but yeah, that's just a little sample size of what, what

we're doing, um, right there, so.

And we do have Penn State coming here in '28, um- Okay.

Nice

… early, early, so.

That's your math?

Yeah.

Penn State, I think, I think we said this before, that Penn State's

one of the teams, like, you're like, "Oh yeah, I guess they have

baseball." Like, you forget it.

Like, I, I feel like I've never seen a picture.

I'm, there's probably some big leaguers I'm not aware of, but I,

I feel like I've never seen a, a picture of Penn State baseball.

They probably got some amazing alumni that I'm not aware of.

Yeah.

Who knows, man?

Yeah.

I'm sure they'll be good.

I mean, they got- Yeah … well, they got all the money in the world, so.

Right.

Exactly.

But Penn'll be good.

They're a good club, and that'll be a good- Mm-hmm … you know,

challenge to get us ready, you know, to go into conference play.

M- Mercer's pretty damn good, too.

I don't know what, what- Yeah … how much of their roster's

coming back, but they're good.

Yeah, they, they, they lost their whole team.

Yeah.

Mm. So they, they'll get a bunch of guys in the portal, I'm sure, but

that's two, kind of two years in a row that's happened to them, and they,

they're still good both years, so.

Mm. Playing them down there, it'll be good, you know, just getting on

the road a little bit and then get, then get back and play at home.

So three of the first four weekends, uh, we're playing at home.

Nice.

And

good RPI, good RPI games.

Oh, for sure with, especially with Mercer, if they bounce back like they

did last year, that could be mutually beneficial since they were- Yeah

kind of left out this year.

Yeah.

You're right.

D-

David Aardsma is the biggest name I s- I, I'm seeing off,

off the- Oh, yeah … yeah.

Um- He was pretty good.

Yeah, he was pretty solid.

Oh.

Um, yeah, a lot of, a lot of, they, they, a lot of old time.

They did, they did really well back in, like, the '30s.

Yeah.

John Ward, a Hall of Famer from, uh, the 1800s went to, went to Penn State.

So there

you go.

There you go.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, yes.

Well, the surprise Finny definitely- There you go … the

hats, they are in production now.

I'm supposed to get them by the second week of August.

I've got 50 coming.

Love it.

Oh.

So there'll be quite a few showing up to your offices here, and

then we'll, uh- Thank you very

much

be doling a few out.

Yeah.

And in fact, we got a guest that I'm definitely gonna give one of these

to sitting backstage right now.

All right.

Mr. Beau Cowen.

Hello, Big Beau.

How's it going, Beau?

Hey, Big

Beau.

Hey.

Hey, guys.

Buddy.

I'm

sorry I'm late.

These, I, I said 6:30, and I joined, and you, and you already started.

I was like, "What the heck, brother?"

I'm okay now.

They just

get me out

of the way so, they get me out of the way so the good guests can come on, so.

They gotta get me done.

Oh, okay.

Okay.

Yeah.

Okay.

But-

Okay

… but I, I wouldn't mind hanging around if you guys don't mind for a little while.

Yeah, please.

Oh, yeah,

as long as you want, man.

Um, I'll bow out when Steph gets home, but I- There you go.

I always like to hang around and, you know, see what kind

of grief I can give Beau,

so.

I know.

Well, Beau, how are you doing?

I'm all right.

I'm in bed because the doctor told me to stay in b- stay in

bed and stay off my, uh, stay off my backside as much as possible.

Mm.

So I'm in bed.

So 'cause I know they- You're, you're listening?

They don't want me to…

What?

I said you're listening- I'll be quiet … to the doctor say what?

Come on.

Yeah, I don't wanna, but I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna end up in the

hospital with a wound VAC on my, on, on, on my- Yeah … uh, on my, on my, um, leg.

So I'm like, I have to listen to my d- to the doctor- That's, that's fair

'cause it's not,

I'm- That's fair.

Yeah.

But other than that, I'm good.

Good.

There you go.

Well, what have you been up to this summer?

Watching wa- watching, um, I've been watching, uh, Blake Morgan.

I've been watching everybody start.

Thank God when they, thank God they don't start, they're not starting on

every, um, on everybody's, um, on…

They're starting on different days.

So I watch Blake and then I watch Will Mor- uh, not Will Morgan.

I watch, um, Blake Morgan and then I watch, um, uh- Dylan

Brown … John Holobetz and then I watch- Yeah … um, Dylan Brown.

And I, you know, and then, then I debri- then I text them and say,

t- uh, tell them good job and then-

and then I just leave them alone.

Yeah.

That is nice.

Yeah.

You, you can make a full week if you had Sam Armstrong too.

You ma- make a full week out of watching guys.

Yeah.

Yeah, they don't… But I don't know when's he… I, I tried to look, I tried

to look at his schedule when he throws, but, um, the, they don't, the ML- MI…

Unless I'm missing something, MLB, M- the MIL, the, um, website

doesn't do the days they pitch.

I- Yeah … they used to do, do that, but I don't know now if

they- Yeah … or maybe I'm miss- maybe I'm missing something.

I don't know.

Yeah.

No, look, some teams are better about it than others.

Yeah.

It's a- I know, like, Dylan's team with Greenville is real bad

about the putting it ahead of time

No, the, but no, the stats, the, the stats on M- MLB ha- used to have the

dates when, when they pitch, but, and, but now maybe now they, maybe it's

somewhere that they moved it and I can't find it now, but I don't know.

But it's, it is, it, it is what it is.

I just, I just, um, either I just call them and find out

what, what, what they're doing.

I can't, I can't, uh, watch Noah Dean 'cause I don't

never know when he's going in.

Yeah.

You know, so I just, you know, I just try to- Yeah, hard luck or whatever.

… catch, catch, catch that in, catch that when he goes in.

But, uh, you know, he hasn't been pitching that.

He hasn't been pitching the past, like, two weeks.

I call, I texted him and I, he didn't even get back to me, so

I don't know what's going on.

Yeah.

Well I'll, I'll check him

out here in a couple weeks.

Oh, Beau needs to hear about some of the new rules.

We need to get his take on some of the, uh, the new poten- you know, potential

rule changes that look like they're coming down the pike and see what he thinks.

'Cause he, uh, usually has no trouble with his opinion.

Yeah.

Well, well Beau, it looks like, uh, the ABS system, the ball strike

challenge system, is approved if the conference wants to go and do it.

So I can usually hear you chirping the umpires over everyone else

that's out there, so just, uh, wondering what you think about that.

Accountability, accountability is good.

We- you, y'all have to keep everybody else accountable.

The, the pit- the catch- the catchers, the pitchers are accountable,

the coaches are accountable.

Why not hold on players accountable?

Good.

Yeah, exactly.

Let me reload and start back up.

Bo and I had coffee last week, and, uh, we were catching up on some of

this stuff too, so, you know, he li- he likes to hear about the new

recruits and some of those things, so.

Yeah.

Um, he's, he's got his, he's got his foot on the, on the heartbeat of

the, of the program though, for sure.

So the… I was gonna give a quick stadium thing too.

Oh, yeah.

So the, the, the seats are maybe tomorrow they go in.

They've, they've got the… It's a lot of layers, right?

Mm-hmm.

So they got all the decking down, they got all the facings down, then they put the

rails in that the actual seats clamp to.

Mm-hmm.

And I think they're just about done with that.

So now the seats are here.

There's gonna be, you know, 1,900 and change, whatever it is, 2,000

Navy chair backs going in this, this week, so that'll be really cool.

All right.

I'm gonna let you guys finish this up.

Do the b- do the best you can and take care.

Yeah.

All right.

Yeah.

Have me on, fellas.

Yeah.

Thank you so much, Finny.

Thank you.

Hope you have a good rest of your summer.

All right.

Go Monarchs.

Go Monarchs.

Yes Um Well, uh, let's hit a quick message from ODAF.

We'll come back, CB and I will wrap things up

Yeah The Old Dominion Athletic Foundation, or commonly referred

to as the ODAF, was established in 1964 as a non-profit organization.

The mission of the ODAF is to raise financial support for ODU Athletics

to ensure that our coaches and student athletes have the resources

necessary to compete for championships.

The ODAF is integral to the success of ODU Athletics and is the channel through

which our fans and alumni can partner with our coaches and student athletes for

the advancement of the athletics program.

Through the generous efforts of our donors, loyal fan base, and

community, the ODU alumni from around the globe, the ODAF raises money

for student athletic scholarship support and endowments, capital

projects, program-specific support, and athletic department operations.

Funds are raised through annual giving, multi-year pledges, events,

premium seating, and planned giving.

With questions about how to get involved in one or more of these initiatives,

reach out to an ODAF representative.

Gifts to the ODAF are investments in the lives of our student athletes.

ODAF members receive exclusive benefits such as priority points for post-season

and away game seating, parking, VIP, and hospitality experiences, and more.

Because of you, we create winners in the classroom, in athletic

competition, and in life.

Contact the ODAF and become a member today

Thanks, Blaine

Thanks, Blaine.

And thanks, Beau, for hopping on.

Had some technical difficulties- Yeah, right … with his audio It happens Um,

but you know, if you've been to an ODU game, you've undoubtedly heard Beau for

sure yelling at the umpires or someone.

Uh, not, hard, gonna be hard to find a more passionate ODU- Yeah

baseball fan than Beau.

He, he is someone that he, he is always there.

You know, he's there, um, certainly as, as many games as he possibly can be.

And, and frankly, he's, I think he's… I, I don't know, 'cause I'm not there.

I wish I was able to, but I think he's just around a lot, like during

the week and all kinds of, during all kinds of parts of the year.

So, uh, yeah.

That's, it's, it's… Again, we always love people who are passionate

about the same thing we're passionate about, which is, which is awesome.

Yeah.

He means a lot to the program, too.

Um, you know, Finny talking about grabbing coffee with him, all of

that, so love seeing Beau around.

Got to see him a good bit during this baseball season, and I think we're all

just excited to get back out to our nice, new, better be completed ballpark.

Sounds like it's on the right track, though.

Yeah.

It's, and it's one of those… I know people ask, "Any updates on the

ballpark?" I'm like, "I don't know, man.

It'll be February, what is it, 13th?

Is that a Friday?

It'll be ready." Like, that's, that's as much as I… Like, I don't, I don't know.

If it's, if… Who… Like frankly, it's one of those things, like aside, if you're

not one of the players or coaches, like who cares if it's ready on August 1st?

Like, what's the difference?

Like, it's like, yeah, that'd be nice.

It'd be cool.

It's a good… I'm sure it's good for recruits they're bringing in.

Um- Oh, yeah … but as far as our average fan, it's just like… Some people, people

have had such weird reactions to the thing, acting like it's, like personally

offending them and upsetting them.

But it's like, man, meanwhile, all the players and coaches are just like, "Yeah,

this is what we're dealing with. Like, it's not our ideal. It's like…" But you

know, that's, again, that's… Some people are winners, some people are whiners

Yeah, I mean, you know, if you live nearby you can drive

by and see it, uh- Yeah, yeah

from the road, road pretty clearly.

Yeah.

Um, you know, uh, we'll, obviously we'll have more of a presence on campus

as the fall sports start firing up.

We can get you some more photos.

But, you

know- Yeah, I mean, I'll be, I'll be over there for a soccer, a couple of

soccer games first week of August so I'll make sure to get some pictures.

So I mean it's, yeah, but I'm not… It's one of those where it's like

there, I didn't, haven't had a reason.

I, I live over here in Virginia Beach, you know, I'm, I'm not, I'm not

dying of curiosity and like I can't understand why it's not finished, so.

But yeah, if you are, just take a quick little drive over.

Like I said, it's not that hard.

Yes, yes.

And uh, I make the drive from Richmond to Norfolk enough through the monster

traffic that is 64 and then the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, but that'll

all come to an end here pretty soon.

I am shocked that, you know, w- we've got fall sports starting up

in what, like two and a half weeks?

Right.

Three weeks?

Literally, yeah.

The August 6th.

I, I think it's a exhibition, I think there's exhibition games of, of soccer.

But yeah, I mean it's, it's, it's close.

It's only a few weeks.

And within, by the middle of August you're rolling along with soccer and

men's and women's soccer and, and field hockey and volleyball, and it's all going.

And I'm sure probably other ones that I'm, uh, probably sailing or

something else that I'm not aware of.

Rowing, I'm not sure when they do swimming.

I, I don't know when they do those to be honest, off the top of my head.

Yeah.

Uh, but women's soccer, they will have an exhibition against Hampton at home on

August 6th, that's a Thursday at 7:00.

Uh, the men are playing in one on August 8th, which is a Saturday.

Uh, then there's a like blue-white scrimmage for the women.

But yeah, I mean-

Which I think is great.

As someone who likes taking pictures I think, uh, I think a scrimmage with

your own team is awesome because then

hopefully- Get everybody.

If

they go out in uniform it's even better, 'cause it's like, "Hey, we can

try to get a picture of everybody."

'Cause you know, sometimes there's some, some, someone don't get to play.

So, yeah.

Yes.

But yeah, I mean, uh, fall sports really it's like end of summer

sports, 'cause August, I mean, th- th- those teams are there now.

They, they're doing their pre-season workouts now.

I know, it's- And I feel like we just left Montgomery a couple weeks ago.

It's, it's, it's going fast.

I've, a- and still watching all the summer ball games, I feel like

I haven't stopped watching sports.

Been great- Yeah … because you get to see a lot of Pilots games.

I mean, the Pilots went from, the Peninsula Pilots is, is the team

o- over in Hampton that ODU guys pretty regularly play at, and right

now they've got Mack Dye, uh, Tyler Zedalis, uh, Efrain Morales and, and

Jackson Runyon are all on the team.

Um, and Robbie Heiser, one of our alumni is, is coaching with them.

Um, and they, I think they started out, I think at one point they were

like 7 and 18, and now at, they've won 11 of the last 12 games and they're

rolling along so they're actually like, they went from being basically

at the bottom to now they're fighting out to try to get a, a playoff spot

at the end, which is pretty wild.

Their last game is ac- which actually I, I need to maybe off-air talk

to you about next, next Saturday.

Yeah, I'll say here's a, here's a great one from Saturday night, um, that they

were, they had a real back and forth game.

Uh, they went to the ninth inning.

They were down, uh, five to four.

Um- I got a walk, a couple of walks, I think a walk, couple of walks,

uh, RBI single, intentional walk.

Uh, the three hole hitter to face a four hole hitter, which is Efrain Morales.

And Ef, uh, who had already had three hits on the day, hit a ball that any other

time is probably a three run double, but because of the end of the game, to walk

it off, it was just a one run single.

Uh, and yeah, so Ef is… E- I mean, we know he's, he's just like we call a, a

basketball player who's a walking bucket.

Mm-hmm.

He's, he's a walking bucket for football.

I mean, he's a walking hit.

Like, he just always is hitting.

He had, he had two more hits last night.

Um, it's been funny, you see Mac Dye is right there on the left.

Um- Yeah.

They're, they're, they're having a blast.

They're really, they're both having a good time.

They feel locked in.

I mean, it's, some of those games are hot.

It was pretty, it was pretty warm that night.

I, uh, I definitely left and it was, I was sweaty.

Yeah.

No, I, I understand the situation.

Second and third, you're gonna walk to load the bases to try to give yourself-

Yeah … the best chance to win, but-

Well, especially if they started out 3 and 0 on the guy.

Yeah.

That, that doesn't help either.

Uh, but yeah, it's, uh, it's a tough look to walk someone to get to Efrain

Morales, 'cause he's- So you're gonna get

Efrain Morales- … mostly gonna make you pay … who already has three hits.

Yeah.

Yeah,

yeah.

That's, uh, the first thing I said when I saw him at the end of the game.

I was like, it's… What's funny, 'cause usually I, you know, 'cause they're

over in Hampton, I'm, usually I, I leave around the seventh or eighth,

which I hate to do, but it's also like, "Hey, man, I got life and reality.

You gotta get-" Yeah … "get back over here." Uh, but it was like, it's

Saturday, I didn't have… You know, my parents weren't with me, so I was like,

"I'm just gonna hang out and watch."

It, it was a pretty good game.

And so I was like, that's, it's amazing the first one that I stayed for all, the

whole game was the, was the walk off.

But yeah, I told them at the end, I was like, "Yeah, they walked

the wrong guys." They sure did.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But it's fun.

And, and getting over to see the Mermaids, see some of the, uh, the upcoming guys.

You know, we, Jackson Okonkwo was over there just hitting instead of pitching.

Um, I've seen him play every position, uh, in, out in, in the field,

in the outfield, which is wild.

Um- Uh, you know, uh, people know Jack- you know, Jackson's every bit of

6'4", 6'5", and he's out there playing, like, second base and, and shortstop.

It's, it's- … pretty fun.

Makes some good plays.

Um, and hitting, and then Grayson Spars is, is, uh, pretty much

only DH'd the games I've seen.

Um, and they've had a f- four of the freshman players, um, three of the Jersey

kids a- and, uh, Jace Watson from Indiana.

And they've all looked really good.

They all look real, really good kids.

Um, which speaking of, do we wanna look at the, um, list of guys we know that

are, that are coming in, that we have?

Yeah.

Yeah,

definitely.

For real?

Um, do I, am I able to share or- Yeah.

I can share.

Hit that present

button.

I can share a screen.

Okay.

Let's see.

I did this last time and I… All right.

Okay.

I couldn't remember if I did this last time or not.

Oh,

yeah.

But yeah.

So you're seeing my screen now, is that what's happening?

Not yet.

No.

Oh, okay.

Oh,

wait, hold on.

I got you.

Oh, there it is.

Oh, okay.

Ah.

Uh-huh.

All right And where is my button?

All right, so I might wanna make this actually a little s-… All right, so

anyway, so this is the list of guys that we know or believe we know are coming in.

I guess, you know, that always could change.

Um, and you see this is kind of all the high school, JUCO, and transfer guys.

Um, just starting with freshmen, uh, so Jake Cozart, the only guy