Stabbed By A Sumarai Sword (8-4-23)

This is The Drive with Josh Graham Podcast.

Three internet sensations guys. Tune into The Drive weekday afternoons three to seven on WSJS. We've made it to a Friday Drive. You are listening to WSJS News Stonksports for the Triad where we are once again broadcasting live from the Wyndham Championship. Just like round one, Russell Henley, he has tamed Sedgefield and with a 4-under 66 today, he leads the tournament at 12 under par. However, it's been hard to focus on the golf today given what's been happening around us and around the country in college sports.

Not just today, but really all week. If USC and UCLA leaving for the Big Ten last year was a bullet to the chest of the Pac-12 Conference, consider Oregon and Washington leaving today for the Big Ten a bullet to the head. And this comes a couple of days after Florida State threatened to leave the ACC. Now we'll see if they're able to do so given the grant of rights and trying to figure out a destination, but as that is all happening, about a hundred feet from where I'm sitting right now at Margaritaville is the players clubhouse at Sedgefield, which used to be the Sedgefield Inn. And on the second floor of that building 70 years ago, a couple months back, was where the ACC was born. And when we rolled up to Grand Over before shuttling over to the golf course today, we saw a next to vacant ACC office building. This month is the last month that the ACC is going to have headquarters here in Greensboro.

There have been moving trucks here all week long and they hope the day after Labor Day to officially call Charlotte their home. It's hard not to think about all of this together and what the future of the conference is going to look like, talking about the ACC now. It almost seems like this week is a preview of the end of the ACC. It's doubtful that's going to happen now or even in the next five years, but in the next 10 to 15, maybe it's the ACC that's in the same position that the Pac-12 is today. Florida State just listening to their Board of Trustees and listening to their president, even if they can't leave the day, they're going to leave one day. That seems inevitable.

It seems like there's no pleasing them. And when that happens, how can you justify to a television network getting more from your TV contract without Florida State in it, without that national brand, without a program that invests the way they do in football? And if you don't get more from your television agreement, and I'm talking about beyond 2036, wouldn't it be prudent for North Carolina for its survival, for Clemson and Miami to do the same? It seems like that is an inevitability unless something changes dramatically, not in the ACC, but in college sports as a whole. And if North Carolina and Clemson were to lead the ACC, you can't have an Atlantic Coast Conference without North Carolina in it, without Clemson in it.

It just hits harder because of where we sit today. Just in the last hour, I had a chance to catch up with Erwin Smallwood, who, if you don't know the name, is a legendary sports writer in the Triad, a former longtime sports editor for the Greensboro News and Record. He is 97 years old, and his biggest claim to fame is, at that what was then the Sedgefield Inn, now the Players Clubhouse, a short walk away from where I'm sitting right now, he was in the room the night that the ACC was created in June of 1953.

That smoke-filled room that he sat outside of until 1.15 in the morning when they emerged, and as he put it, the deed was done. So I just wanted to ask him, with the moving trucks being next door and the ACC moving out of Greensboro, if that moved him at all? And here's what he said.

It's their loss, not ours. I can see that there's a bucket full of reasons why they're challenged with a better place to have the ACC office now. Perhaps. I don't know it. I don't run the ACC.

I don't know what I do. The airport alone is a pretty good reason if you're traveling. But, you know, this will always be the home of the ACC. I mean, that's just basic.

That was Erwin Smallwood, 97 years old, in the room when the ACC was created here at Sedgefield. College football, college sports seems to be headed in this direction that we saw NASCAR headed in a couple decades ago. Forgetting about your roots in Rockingham and in North Wilkesboro, expanding out west in places that don't really care as much, just assuming, taking for granted that the places that loved you when you were at your truest state, your formative state, are just going to follow you no matter what. Eventually, fans are going to say no more, just like they did with NASCAR, what NASCAR discovered. When we're at a point where North Carolina is not in the ACC, when you don't have any drivable road games. People are going to call BS eventually when you have university presidents and ADs telling you that part of being a fan now is having to root what your school's revenue distribution is going to be.

When really we all know what that is, it's greed. So it seems that's where we're headed, and it's hard not to think about that as moving trucks emerge, come and go next door here in Grand Over, and Florida State is trying to get out, as Oregon and Washington now join a conference with Maryland. Make it all make sense. On Twitter, at WSJS Radio, if you want in today, that's kind of a somber note to start the show here at Margaritaville. Such a happy place.

Will Dalton, the executive producer of this show, is the one running our video stream that you can watch on Twitter, Twitch, and on YouTube. W.D., how can we liven the mood up a little bit? Well, for starters, today is a Rhinestone Cowboy, so that thought alone. Rhinestone Cowboy Friday.

Absolutely. I already told the band that you might be able to see behind me here. Hey, we do Rhinestone Cowboy, so if they perform it live, that's great. If we get them on set, maybe we can work that out as well. We also have to mention, there was a big signing in the NFL that you might have missed last night. Yannick N'Gokwe, a free agent, Edge, signed with the Chicago Bears. Over the weekend last week, Danneel Hunter extended with the Minnesota Vikings, which means the Panthers' options are dwindling at Edge to try and add before the start of the season. It seems like there's only one option for them at this point that makes the most sense for the player and makes the most sense for the Carolina Panthers, and that's J'Davion Clowney. It's time for the Panthers to get J'Davion, because that's their one glaring hole. Sure, you'd like to have more depth at corner.

Sure, you want to see what Bryce Young is before you take it for granted that he's going to be great. However, when you're talking about Edge rusher, that's a starting spot across from Brian Burns that we don't know what it's going to look like today. We don't know, it doesn't seem like DJ Johnson and, you know, Marquise Haynes are going to be enough to cut it at a premium position. Meanwhile, Clowney, even though he wasn't great last year, he's the best free agent option available. He's the best remaining option available. He is a year removed from having nine sacks, and he's the best free agent option available.

Nine sacks in a season, this is two years ago. So, the Panthers, who are currently fourth in the NFL in cap space right now, they are in the perfect position to take a one-year flyer on a guy who's from South Carolina, hashtag two states one team, and a guy that also, if he were to sign somewhere on a flyer, wants to play for a team that can win. Carolina can win. It's close to home for him, and Carolina has the cap space, so it seems too good to be true. Make it happen, Scott Fitterer. Make the call, and bring Jadeveon Clowney to Charlotte.

Back to the drive with Josh Graham. We're back here at Senchfield, inside Margaritaville, where it is hopping. We've got Tim McGraw tickets that Ryan, intern Ryan, on the final day of his internship, is in charge of here. Getting people signed up, we'll raffle off our final pair of tickets at around six o'clock after singing Rhinestone Cowboy the entire deal.

You still need to learn that song, by the way. You gonna take care of people here, Ryan? Oh, let's turn your mic on. Yeah, that generally helps on a radio show.

Typically. Okay, well, I'll let you take care of people as we welcome Joe Giglio to the show, joining us from OVUS in Gileo. Here he comes. There are a few people in the state of North Carolina that I would like to chat with today as ACC headquarters are finalizing their move next door, and there are moving trucks.

Oregon and Washington move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten that was made official today. Joe Giglio from OVUS in Gileo. Welcome back to the show, my friend. Hey, buddy. How are you? I've been better. Why? What?

Why are you down? Just considering it's hard when you hear the Florida State stuff, even though there probably isn't much teeth to what they're saying. There's not much bite as what's happening to the Pac-12 right now and being 100 feet away from the clubhouse in which the ACC was born and seeing the moving trucks next door.

It's hard not to imagine. Yeah, it's hard not to imagine that the position that the Pac-12 is in right now is going to be the position that the ACC is in in about a dozen years. That assumes everything is on an upward trajectory, right? Like the TV money is never going to run out.

It's just going to keep going up and up and up and up. That is the assumption because you will agree. That assumes they'll never professionalize college sports, right? That's the... Don't you think that's coming? I do.

You would think, but then there are going to be schools in the ACC that don't sign up for that. Sure. Here's my hope, my sincere hope.

What is that? You know, I like this. It's Friday.

We're at Margaritaville. This is not the place to be in your fields or to be in the blues. No, let football break off. Tell me. Let it break off. Tell me the best case scenario for the ACC the next five years. All right, let football break off. How does that help the ACC? Let it be its own thing because once football is its own thing, you don't need... You just go back to being regionalized and everything else. Because the ACC, they will be the first one to tell you they won more national titles than anybody in the past year.

They're just not in the revenue generation. The sports that we normally care about. Yeah, but even think about the Big Ten, in the two sports we do care about, what do they have, an Ohio State title in 15?

Yeah. They don't have a basketball one since 00, if I'm not correct. Michigan State in 2000.

If I'm not wrong, it's 00. So who'd you rather be? We can sit here and rattle off all the national championships the ACC's had both in football and men's basketball in the last 25 years. And all of this happens already with an economic disparity. So I think the doomsday, you got to avoid the doomsday, Josh.

And... You got to. The grant of rights... Don't talk yourself into that stuff. The grant of rights guarantees almost that you're going to... I think the grant of rights is a great protection for at least the next five years.

It's going to protect them from the doomsday for probably another decade. I think having ESPN as the partner, I think the big mistake people make is thinking that the SEC is somehow not ESPN. They're one in the same entity. And the ACC is not ESPN. No, they are ESPN. They're run by ESPN. Yeah, so they're not going to take away one brand from a commodity that they need to be strong and protect to enhance one that, quite frankly, won't be enhanced by the addition of Florida State or Clemson or North Carolina or whoever else you want to put in there.

They want to stay... They love the deal that they have with the ACC is the larger point. ESPN. ESPN loves that deal that they have through 2036. If you send Florida State to the SEC, you're going to have to pay more to the Southeastern Conference, and you're also going to have to renegotiate with the ACC, which they don't want to do if rights fees are also going to go up for the NBA. And why would Alabama, Georgia, or Florida want Florida State in their conference? I'm not saying that the Big Ten wouldn't come calling, but... They would have to wage holy war with ESPN. Right.

Which they probably don't want to do. Correct. Correct. So you got to step off the ledge, man.

It's okay. It's 2023. Yes. And all of this is going to change. All this is going to change. And I think all of what we thought of as the ACC, you know, died a long time ago. Here in Sedgefield?

Where are the bodies buried, Joe? 2019 was the end of the ACC as we know it. Roy and Kay and Zion and all those... We had recognizable players and we had electricity. And I think that era is over and that's fine. It keeps evolving.

It keeps changing. What ticked you off the most about what was said at the Board of Trustees meeting from Florida State? Nothing that Florida State has said has bothered me.

Really? They can say whatever they want to say. One of the trustees saying that they're going to be... They're so sad about this and that they're humbly doing this. Not the one talking about the student-athlete that they're thinking about that didn't bother you at all? No, I think Florida State...

I think this is a naked money grab by Florida State. I think why else would you go to WarChant.com? If you were about a serious piece of business about trying to spread your message, you wouldn't go to the fan website, okay? And that's not to denigrate whatever work they do on WarChant.com.

It's just the opposite. They know how to reach the fans. This is a fundraising tactic to their fan base. Yes, they're trying to... They are trying to rally their base. They're trying to get their...

Throw red meat to their masses to get them excited. See, look, we won't bow down to the ESPN overlords. The ACC, John... I just saw John Swofford. John Swofford, man, he did us wrong. Where's our guy?

We need to get Swofford over here to talk North Wilkesboro. He was following JT a little bit there. John and... He does like Justin Timm. He just likes Justin Thomas.

Just saw a little JT action, so... But they can say whatever they want to say. They have a right to be frustrated.

I can certainly understand that frustration. Like, wouldn't we like to have HD cameras and all these things? Like, 25 more people working on our respective shows. Wouldn't that be awesome?

Yeah, we all want more money to improve our situation. That Bubba Cunningham was the one to push back the way that he did as another one of those appealing brands that could leave if the grant of rights didn't exist. I think Bubba's frustration is knowing how the sausage is made, right?

Where did the Magnificent Seven even come from? It came from the Florida State AD talking to Brett McMurphy. So I think Bubba's kind of had enough of Florida State's bluster is what I think is happening. So that's North Carolina's position.

They're making life more difficult for him by making up, you know, basically coming up with these crazy stories. What's Clemson's position going to be when ultimately the ADs and the university presidents come to speak? Clemson has competed for the national championship, and that's kind of where I think this expansion is going, the playoff expansion. If you go to the SEC, an example, I can't wait to see what happens to Texas and Oklahoma. Are they going to regularly make the college football? Oklahoma regularly made the college football playoff in the Big 12. Texas didn't make it one time. I think Texas has a chance this year to make it, actually. But what's going to happen when you are no luck? Like I just said, would you rather be the ACC over the last 25 years, or would you rather be the Big 10 over the last 25 years?

What matters to you? Yeah, Northwestern's got a whole bunch. You're always going to remind me we have FCC things going on here. We do. They have a... Will Dalton, you got the dump button, right?

Darn right I do. They have a ton more money than any ACC school, but what has that gotten them? What have they won?

I appreciate it. Right? Don't get me started. What have they done? Don't get me started on the Big 10 rant. People get me going on Vanderbilt. Florida State fans are obsessed with Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt has a great baseball program. All Vanderbilt did was win the conference roulette back in the 30s. Like what are we talking about here?

Why are you jealous of Vanderbilt? They regularly get their teeth kicked in. See, I cleaned that up for you too.

They regularly get their teeth kicked in. Is that what you want? You want a bunch of money in your pocket to get your teeth kicked in?

No, thank you. I'd rather win. So what will Clemson's position be? I think Clemson wants to continue to win. I think they want to continue to kick everyone else's teeth in. I don't think they want to line up to be a loser.

I'd rather be a winner and have no money in my pocket than be a loser with a bunch of money in my pocket. Obvious and Jillio podcast. Joe Jillio with us here at Sedgefield. Who do you like here at Sedgefield? Well, my pick did not play well.

Is not going to make the cut. Was it Denny McCarthy like myself? It was Denny McCarthy.

You and I are on the same wavelength. Brendan Todd, top 10. Still in play.

So I'm happy about that. I'm all in on Billy Horschel, top 10. Billy Ho just eagled eight. I have Sungjae M to win.

No. He's at five under. No, it's not coming home for Sungjae.

It's not going to come home for Sungjae. I love JT. Post and playing well. He had a putt that lipped out on birdie. Lucas Glover has been balling recently. Clemson, speaking of Clemson, Lucas Glover has been balling. This is his type of course, too. A bunters course, par 70.

So I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up on top of the box on Sunday. What's your favorite place to hang out on this court? So I don't want to spend as much time in Greensboro as you do. But I do enjoy 15, 16, 17. That little stretch there. That little nook on the other side of the course there. That's nice.

And then the beach, of course, 18 is for the normal people. And as a par five, it's kind of fun to watch the pros just hammer that thing with a three wood down to the down to the creek. It's just kind of like they're playing a different sport than we do.

I need to give credit where it's due. Bobby Powell, the executive director of this tournament, he or the tournament director here at the Wyndham, he picked Russell Henley on the record saying, hey, OK, it's my pick. And he's at twelve under par. 32 rounds. Georgia Bulldog, par 70 specialists. Georgia Bulldogs this year. I don't know. Open championship.

The little B, Brian Harmon. Yeah, it could happen. Dogs, man. I don't like wire to wire, guys. We just had a couple of those Lee Hodges last week.

So that doesn't happen as often as you think. So I would expect, like I said, if I could see Lucas Glover winning this thing, J.T. Poston, even Brendan Todd, we need to track down Swofford. I didn't see him at North Wilkesboro.

I think he was just walking back to his house, to be perfectly honest with you. There was a on John Swofford drive, not on John Swofford drive. Took some pictures of that for you. I knew you'd be wistful. So you bring a 40 to pour out? I should have. I should have bring a 40.

Pour one out for the ACC or at least headquarters here in Greensboro. At least that. You're a nut. I'm wistful. I know you are.

We made it through this segment without cursing. That's good. I know.

You do have to remind me, though. Sorry about that. Joe Giglio, thanks for being here, buddy. Enjoy the rest of your time here at Sedgefield.

This is it. You ready? All right, hold on. All right, do it, do it. All right, listen up. It's The Drive with Josh Graham.

Before we get to Bubba Cunningham clapping back at Florida State, North Carolina's AD. Let's go to Intern Ryan, who is hanging out at a PGA Tour golf course for the first time, first time at the Wyndham Championship as we're broadcasting live from Margaritaville. All he's told me, I'm in tunnel mode getting ready for the show and I've got a million things going on. All I heard from Ryan was, I almost got hit by Rory Sabatini's ball. I don't know anything more than that. Ryan, would you elaborate? Well, it was hole 10 and I was walking along the path.

10's my favorite hole, by the way. Up the hill and trying to chip onto the green, very difficult. You're probably standing on the side, though. Yeah, and he got at a good 170, 180. But it took a hard left. And I heard the crackles in the trees. And I look up and I see his bright yellow ball. And it lands like three feet away from me. And then he has a bunch of trees in front of him. So his next shot was incredibly difficult.

And he hooked it hard left again and almost hit a family. And the bleachers at the hole, at hole 10. OK, W.D., taking notes. You better be vigilant. You don't know if you're going to get hit by a golf ball by one of these guys if you're out on the course. I'm more concerned about Will than I am you, Ryan, because, wow, W.D., we sit down the Clemson.

He's on the sideline filming guys throwing a football. Yeah, Larry, Devin Leary, NC State quarterback, hit him in the Johnson. He did.

Can I say Johnson on the radio? I think that's OK. Well, you did. So we'll see. We'll see.

Nothing's blowing up yet. No one's saying I could say worse things you could. But that happened to W.D. In an uncomfortable area, he filmed himself getting hit in an uncomfortable spot. You can hear the groan. Yeah, make a great shot. Oh, yeah. Good shot of drills and whatnot. Some passes.

Excellent video. Now getting to Bubba Cunningham. He is North Carolina's AD. He was on with Adam Gold. And he is the perfect man to rebut what Florida State's had to say this week at the Board of Trustees meeting.

Think about it this way. He is the AD of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. You can't have an ACC without North Carolina in it. The day North Carolina decides to leave the ACC is the end of the ACC, in my opinion. So it shouldn't be that surprising. He's the one defending the ACC and the credibility of the league against Florida State.

Here's Bubba. This clip probably hasn't gotten as much attention as one we'll get to in a bit. But talking about the achievements of the ACC. I believe that the ACC is a great league. It's been a great league for a long time.

Their frustration about the money, everyone would like to have more money and everyone would like to win more. But we're in an outstanding league. And last I checked, the ACC won nine national championships last year, more than any other league in the country. So we're doing something right. Now, I don't think you have to have the most money to win the most games. And I think we've demonstrated that over the years.

That's a point that needs to continually be pushed. Just because you have more money does not mean winning is a birthright. Is it a disadvantage to have less money? Sure. Is it OK to want more money?

Absolutely. But don't do this thing where you say, because we're making less, we're losing. That's a loser mentality.

That's an excuse-making mentality. It might even be Florida State trying to cover for their lack of success in the ACC of the last 10 years. Why are we struggling and not winning the ACC or getting to the ACC championship? Because we don't have as much money as they did and we don't have as much money as the SEC schools do. Florida State has a higher athletic budget than any school in the ACC, but has one less than Wake Forest has since 2014. That's just, those are just facts. They are. So Bubba Cunningham is right in what he says there.

But you also have to think about it this way. Another reason why it's significant that Bubba is saying these things. He runs a school that is more valuable to the Southeastern Conference and to the Big Ten than Florida State is. The academic piece is appealing to the Big Ten Conference.

The brand is obviously appealing. It's more of a fit North Carolina in the Big Ten than Florida State is with the Big Ten. In the SEC, they don't have anybody in the state of North Carolina. That would be a new geographic state for them in a very populous state. They already have a team in the state of Florida. And do you think Alabama and, you know, the schools down South, they want Auburn? Do you think they want Georgia? Do you think they want Florida State involved?

Probably not. They probably would have less issue with North Carolina. So he's in a position where he could be aligned with FSU. Hey, we need to get out and do what's best for the ACC. So it is significant that he from North Carolina is the one that's pushing back so strongly. This is the money clip, as they say, the money shot of Bubba Cunningham really putting FSU in their place. I think it's good for college athletics to have four, five or even six conferences nationally.

I think the consolidation is not good long term. And quite frankly, I don't think it's good for our league for them to be out there barking like that. And I'd rather see them, you know, be a good member of the league and support the league. And if they have to make a decision, then then so be it.

Pay for the grant or pay for the exit fee. Wait for your grant of rights that you've given. And then when in 2036, when those rights returned to you, do whatever you want. He deserves a hip hop air horn for that, or maybe even a Brent Musburger reaction. Yeah. Whoa. Barking like a dog barking. That's what you're doing.

You can figure it out in 2036. You're in here with the rest of us. That really is a strong rebuke. That's why it's drawn so many headlines. But he also could be another reason why it's significant. It's not just some guy talking here is he might be the most respected AD in the league.

Think about it like this. He's been on the men's basketball selection committee the last few years. He's going to be the vice chair of that committee next year. He's going to be the chair of the committee. The guy who's talking to Bryant Gumbel and Charles Barkley and Seth Davis, among others, justifying who's in and out of the tournament two years from now.

They don't just let people do that. So he knows what he's talking about. He knows how the sausage is made. And when it comes to the grant of rights, when FSU is saying, oh yeah, this is not going to deter us at all, we're all scratching our heads when they say that, including Bubba Cunningham.

Here's one more clip from Bubba on with Adam Gold. I'm not sure how you can just say, oh, just kidding. I didn't like the deal that was struck, and now I want to get out of it. We don't do that in our coaches' contracts.

I mean, any contract, it obligates you to what you agreed to at the front end. So I'm scratching my head, trying to wonder, what are you talking about? What are you talking about?

Can't just scrap up contracts here. What are you talking about? That wouldn't be traditional, W.D. That wouldn't be tradish. It would not be tradish.

It doesn't have to be tradish. In this case, it does, Frank. It does. This isn't the NBA, where you can just sign extensions and tell teams what team you want to go play for, and then you get sent to that team. And if you don't, you're a bad person. This is run a little bit differently.

If you sign a contract, you need to meet said contract. The drive is brought to you in part by our friends at Crossroads Ford of Curtisville. Yep, they make it easy to buy a new Ford. Go see John in the game today. Check out the completely redesigned F-150.

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Where? Curtisville. Got some breaking news from college football and college sports again. This really is the day that the Pac-12 died. Pete Thamel's reporting both Utah and Arizona State have applied for formal membership to the Big 12 Conference. There's a call tonight with the Big 12 presidents and chancellors to discuss their membership.

Arizona applied and was approved yesterday. So Utah, Arizona State, and Arizona are about to leave the Pac-12 to join the Big 12 Conference. Oregon and Washington are joining the Big 10. And starting next year, USC and UCLA are going to be in the Big 10 as well.

Doing some math here, WD. That's one, two, three. Yeah, that's seven teams that will be departing after this year, the Pac-12. It's unbelievable.

And I forgot to mention Colorado, too. So that's eight. That's wild. That's pretty much it. That's all she wrote for the Pac-12. Who's left?

Oh, this is a good trivia question. Who's left? Washington State, Oregon State, they are remaining. Is Oregon anywhere yet?

Of course, dude. They're in the Big 10. OK, that's right.

That's big news of the day. Those two are remaining. Who are we forgetting in the Pac-12? Clearly we're forgetting some people. Oh, Cal and Stanford. There you go. So Cal and Stanford, Washington State, and Oregon State.

Those are the schools remaining that don't have new homes in the Pac-12. I'm sorry I'm a little winded. A lot of talk.

This is The Drive with Josh Graham. We welcome in the mayor of the city of Greensboro, Nancy Vaughn, to the show. Very popular figure here at Margaritaville. What's your day been like today? Kissing babies, waving to everybody? Oh, it's just been great. Walk in the field, seeing some great golf.

Wonderful, wonderful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, vibe that we have here in Greensboro. You're the perfect person to ask this probably, since you've been to so many of these tournaments here. For someone like our intern Ryan or my producer Will, who had never been to this golf course before and watched this tournament, what's the Nancy Vaughn like playbook or pro tip for how to best take in Sedgefield? Oh, you know, obviously you just have to walk the course.

I'm not one of those people who like to stand in one place and watch everybody go by. I like to watch the course and talk to people. It's a great people watching place. And then, of course, to see the vendors in Margaritaville, you just got to experience it all.

Yeah, get yourself a loaded land. Buy some swag. Yes, there's a lot of new swag.

There is. I see people like the shop is well-stocked. Yes, I will.

I will be visiting the shop sometime soon. But it's when you look at the field, Nancy, it's with we'll talk with Mark Brazel about this at about a half hour. But going from top 125 to top 70, you just have a ton of big names.

Like you'd look left and right. Oh, there are a lot of people over there. Who are they following? Justin Thomas is in a group with Adam Scott. Who have you been following today? Well, you know, certainly I love our hometown, Webb Simpson.

Sure. You know, he has a long history here in in Greensboro and Wake Forest. And of course, his daughter's name Wyndham. So this is a great tournament for him. Yeah, he is a lot of people claim Webb Simpson. Yes, he lives off Quail Hollow. Yes, forgive him for that.

That's OK. He obviously has won at this course. Wake Forest University guy and he's from the city of Raleigh. So he checks a lot of boxes while we're talking golf. I remember it was last year you were kind of teasing us a bit by saying there might be something golf related that you're going to be excited about. And then the city council, I think by a unanimous vote, voted for the top golf course to be passed.

Where does that stand? When do you guys hope to have that open? So it is located.

Guilford College Road and I for an I-40. It's under construction now. We're not sure if it'll be fourth quarter this year or first quarter next year, but we are really excited to have a top golf. So even non golfers like me can go out and have a great time. It is amazing.

Someone in my church group last night actually pointed it out. What do you like to do? I love to go to top golf. I'm like, do you play golf?

No, but I love to get some swings in at least. Exactly. And they've got great food. Oh yes, they really do. There's one in Richmond that I, when I'm riding through, I tend to pop by. We're visiting with Nancy Vaughn, the mayor of Greensboro here on WSJS. Mayor, it's hard when you see like the Florida state news of this week where they're talking about wanting to exit the league and you see the Pac-12 stuff. We were just talking about them leaving the Big Ten and not think about the fact that when I pulled in at Grand Over yesterday and today, I saw moving trucks.

And you got the Sedgefield, what used to be the Sedgefield Inn, which is now the clubhouse here where the league was founded. This is the final month that the ACC is going to have headquarters here in Greensboro as they move to Charlotte with your family's history with the league. Has that hit you at all being here this week? I have to say what you just said hit me.

I hadn't really thought about this being the last month. Obviously, it was a huge disappointment to the city of Greensboro to me personally. Greensboro has been good to the ACC and the ACC has been good to Greensboro. We know that we will continue a partnership with them. We do the best men's basketball tournament in the country. We hope that we will still be the recipient of the men's and women's tournaments and in golf and others. So I anticipate that that relationship will continue.

Just be a little different. Yeah, what's the last you've heard like we had ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips on last week and we spent a lot of time talking about future ACC tournament sites and he made sure to point out North Carolina is going to be home base for us. We're going to come back to Greensboro. You have the financial incentives from the local government that require them to come to Greensboro at least twice over the next decade.

But obviously, it's not hard to look at the calendar and think and they are pointing out they've been thinking about it the last few years that the 75-year anniversary is right around the corner. What would that mean to you to have the 75-year anniversary tournament in Greensboro? You know, I think there's no doubt that the 75th anniversary needs to be played in Greensboro. This is where they started. This is where they established. We have played more men's and women's basketball tournaments in the city of Greensboro. There's an amazing fan base here.

If it's not played in Greensboro, that would be a shame. Yeah, I think they'll do the right thing in that regard. But your focus is not on the two that they're required to be here for. You're wanting more than two.

Oh, absolutely. And I think we deserve more than two because we really do a great fan experience. We make sure that each team has a wonderful experience with our team hosts. I know that we set the bar very high when it comes to men's and women's basketball. And I think we've earned it. You mentioned women's basketball.

I didn't bring this up to the commissioner because, frankly, it just slipped my mind. But next year, we still don't know where the 2024 women's basketball tournament is going to be. Unlike the men, for those who don't know, Greensboro's been the hub, the consistent hub of women's basketball.

How important is it to you that it continues to be that? And why do you think there hasn't been an announcement for next year? Well, you know, we love having the women's basketball tournament in town, as I mentioned to you earlier, that we do the same things for the women's tournaments that we do for the men's. The same fan experience, the same fan fest, they get the same experience.

I don't know that there's another city who really appreciates women's basketball to the extent that we do. And it's not cheap to give that experience to the ACC and the fans, but we are committed to it. You know, we need to know when they're coming, because we've got a lot of events going on at the Coliseum. In any given year, there's over 1,100 events that go on through the Coliseum and the Aquatic Center. We're booking dates.

So, you know, obviously we have dates put aside, but, you know, we have to look at our long-term calendar as well. Obviously, there's a team of people that put in work from Greensboro on this, whether it be Matt Brown at the Coliseum, the Greensboro Sports Foundation and such. But what's the last update you received in terms of, like, future tournaments, since the phrase that Jim Phillips put was, we're going through a bidding process right now when it comes to men's tournaments. When's the last update you got on that? So, you know, the Coliseum really runs that along with the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greensboro Sports Foundation.

I stay out of their way. Sure. And so, you know, we really thought that there would be an announcement during the spring meetings where they usually make their announcement. There wasn't, so we're kind of just waiting at this point.

Well, he said he hopes to have it by the fall. Let's hope that that calendar or that timeline has followed, unlike what we saw with the headquarters, where you guys made it really tough on them, it seemed like. We did. We did. And I'm proud of that.

It was not an easy decision. And, you know, I think that we have come out stronger as a community. There is an awful lot of community pride, and we are more than just the ACC. What are your earliest memories being here at Sedgefield? And I'll even expand that out to Grand Over as well with the offices there. So when I moved to Greensboro, it was back in 1988, 1989, and my dad's office was at the corner of Cornwallis and Battlegrounds.

Wow. In one of those small condo offices. And I remember thinking that it was really a very plain-looking office, and then they moved from there to Wendover and, you know, from Wendover, obviously, to Grand Over. There are an awful lot of memories that involve the ACC and our family. Yeah, and then the golf tournament, I'm sure, as well. Like, do you remember, like, how your first tournament, the first time you were here? Boy, you know, that was a long time ago. So I don't remember the exact one. I do.

I do. My daughter, my youngest, is now 22. She loved coming out to the tournament and standing at the 18th hole and getting... She's got a whole collection of gloves and tees and balls, and it is great the way that the players have always interacted with the fans. Of course, the biggest memory I have was the year Tiger was here.

2015. And that was just amazing, the amount of people who were out on the course and how they just moved with him. And he really was a very gracious player, and he had lots of great things to say about the city of Greensboro. So that was... that's probably my most distinct memory. What's the next big sports item on your agenda?

I like asking folks like you these types of questions, because I don't know where your brain is at on some things. Like, I remember we had Governor Cooper on, and he surprised me. He started talking about Major League Baseball, which, of course, has some history in the triad when you look at the Twins in the 90s. But what's the first place your brain goes to from a sports perspective? I'm going to say something, and I bet nobody has said anything about it.

I bet nobody has said it to you before. What's that? Professional bull riding. PBR. Yes, PBR. So, Greensboro is the home of the Carolina Cowboys.

Absolutely. We've had the Carolina Cowboys folks on. Well, and Austin Dillon, who is their culture GM, number three car for NASCAR. Gotten to know a lot about NASCAR. Absolutely love it. The bull riding, they'll be at the Coliseum September 23rd through 25th.

Not sure of the exact dates. For the new team sport, this is the second year of the team bull riding. Forbes said it is the fastest growing sport in the country, and it is just a lot of fun. It is interesting that there is such a strong overlap between bull riding and NASCAR. You talk about the Childress family, and we had a chance to talk with many of those folks when they were in Winston-Salem last year.

But you're right. It is a sport that's growing a lot, and there seems to be a lot of crossover between the popularity of NASCAR in this community and the folks who love bull riding too. Yes, we were at the beach last weekend, and my mom and I were back at the beach house. We were watching TV, and when my brother walked in, we had on NASCAR. My brother was like, what are you doing watching NASCAR? And my mother's like, this is fascinating.

Well, you know, Nancy Vaughn with us here at the Wyndham Championship. How early did you get here today? Is this a full day for you? Um, this has been a full this has been a full day.

Yes. And I started the week off. I get to volunteer, and it's a lot of fun. I check the caddies in on Monday and Tuesday.

Wow. And so I worked down at the at the Caddy Lounge. It is probably the best job, the best volunteer job because that is air conditioning, plumbing and food.

So, you know, it checks all the boxes. So it's not a volunteer job, but we might have them be just sitting here getting to do a radio show at Margaritaville. Well, yeah, that's pretty good to hang out here the entire day, but not. Hey, we love the volunteers. We appreciate the volunteers.

I mean, when you talk about what makes Greensboro events great. The volunteers. Yes, absolutely. Okay. Well, Mayor Vaughn, we really do appreciate the visit. We'd love to have you on. Thank you.

Who knows? Hopefully we're gonna get some good news in the next few months on the Greensboro front, both for men's basketball and women's basketball. Absolutely. We hope we're going to get that. That is the mayor of the city of Greensboro, Nancy Vaughn, kind enough to join us here at the Wyndham Championship. Mark Brazel going to join us in just a bit. The tournament director of the Wyndham Championship, or I should say the executive director of the Wyndham Championship. Now, got to make sure you get the titles right, Nancy.

Got to make sure we do that. Oh, paralyzer. Finger 11.

Bringing me back to the 2000s. Someone should tell this band behind me at Margaritaville to play some finger 11. I did ask the lead singer if he knew Rhinestone Cowboy, and he does. Let's go. And there's a chance we might get a live performance of that in just a bit.

If not, we have a backup plan. Oh, involving a frequent guest of the show that has volunteered to want to sing Rhinestone Cowboy. We love that and serenade intern Ryan as he closes out his internship with us at WSJS. Finger 11's paralyzer would be a great karaoke song. Somebody tell Bryce Young, because we learned last week, a week ago today from Iki Iquanu that at the rookie talent show, Bryce Young sang a Keisha Cole song.

We just didn't know which one. Then Bryce said it was Love by Keisha Cole, which we then played on the show, and all we could think was the chorus might be a little tough for Bryce to try and pull this off. But Bryce even said, I'm not a great singer, but I know how to perform and get people into it.

Song selection's half the battle. So today we learn there is a clip of Bryce singing, and I'm sure there is video of him singing in front of the team, but the clip that we have is actually from him at Alabama that was leaked today of him singing the same song he sang for his teammates last week. But when he was with the Crimson Tide, here's how that sounded. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness is right. He sounds like he's in pain.

That last part, you know, you want to know what it would sound like if mid show, like somebody here at Margaritaville pulled out a like a like a samurai sword and stabbed me in the side. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness is right. What happened to Josh?

Josh just got. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness.

Yes, that's exactly what it would sound like if I got viciously attacked. Like Ryan's job is to field Tim McGraw ticket like raffles here. But he also is my bodyguard, too. He's got the shades on. Does Ryan even know this? Ryan, your job in part is to protect me from people that might want to attack here. I got my eyes open. That's it.

Because if you don't protect me. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. You should make that a hockey. It will be. You know how we work over here.

Hotkeys for days. For those who don't know, a hockey is the sound that you hear quite frequently. It's the most frequently played clip Boston. And I think that but I'll put it to intern Ryan. Ryan could be this could be your last contribution to this show. Should that be a hockey? This sound again from Bryce Young.

Oh, my goodness. We have one spot. We have one spot that or Frank Reich giving advice to all of us yesterday saying be tradition. Well, well, it doesn't have to be tradition. Doesn't have to be that. So I got to choose between the two. Yeah.

Which one do you think is more meaningful? Bryce Young imitating me getting stabbed while also trying to send Keisha Cole. Oh, my goodness.

Oh, my goodness. Or or Frank Reich giving us the best advice that you can apply to football, but also to everyday life. It doesn't have to be tradition. I think Bryce Young's clip could be used in certain situations. More versatile.

More versatile than Frank Reich's. But I think that you have to always apply context to the clip. I don't think you need to.

I don't think you need context. Like I know that might seem like the traditional thing to do on a radio show. But as we've learned, you don't have to be tradition or is or the way that Frank Reich would say it.

It doesn't have to be tradition. Exactly. See, we're learning things today.

So we'll we'll continue to monitor that situation. Now let's recap the week in the most efficient way possible by keeping it simple. Five words or less. It's simple, man.

That's all Josh gets to tell you where your favorite teams are at. It's as marvelous and as simple as that. Let's keep it simple.

All right. For those who are new to the proceedings, WD throws some things my way. I could be long winded sometimes. I have a show with my name on it. It's three hours long.

I can gas back. We try to shorten that a little bit. Five words or less hit on a ton of topics that we've covered throughout the week. But before we do so, here in Margaritaville, a lot of people with Margaritaville.

Let's find out who's in the club that WD has put together. You're playing golf and you're going to like it. Look at my asthma. I'll give you asthma.

Gentlemen, let's discuss the prospect of ending the morning. Nice shot. Give me all you got.

Give me all you got. Drop your quarterback in. Merry Christmas, everybody.

It doesn't have to be tradition. No. So a lot of people are hanging out a lot of Panthers in there.

It really is that time of year where the Panthers are just populating the club. All right. What's the first thing you got for me early in the week? The your O's.

This is for you, Josh. Your O's at the last minute. Picking up Jack Flaherty at the deadline. Just give us the trophy. Oh, that's it. We're best team in the American League right now.

We had a Jack Flaherty who went six strong yesterday, only allowing one run and striking out what felt like close to 10 batters. Just give us the trophy already. That's all I got to say.

I'm confident. Brave fans. I'm sorry. You don't want this. You don't want this in the World Series. Better be rooting for somebody else to play the Orioles year.

Go birds for bam, bam, bam. The ACC football preseason polls. NC State is a mystery. That's what they are.

Like they were picked for. Yeah, there's no surprise at the top. We've talked about that last week at ACC. Jay Carl Clemson picked to win the league. Florida State second North Carolina third with Drake May.

We get that. But then NC State's fourth and there's so much variance with them. They could finish fourth or they could finish eighth. Neither would surprise me when it comes to the pack, but we don't know how the Brendan Armstrong, Robert and I reunion is going to go offensively and how they're going to replace wide receivers, too. I don't know who the best wide receiver on the pack is right now, or I don't know who the next back after Jordan Houston is. So if there's any type of attrition, how's that going to go defensively? Can you maintain with guys like Peyton Wilson and Aiden Whiteback knowing that you've lost Tanner Engel and lost Isaiah Moore? I don't know. Just a lot of questions with NC State. So that's the team that I look at when that poll came out.

Staying with the ACC, at least for now, this week in Florida State. They're all bark, no bite. That's almost stealing an expression from Bubba Cunningham directly. All that barking that they're doing. That's a that's straight out of Bubba Cunningham's mouth. And that's what it is.

It's a lot of talk. There's no justification. How are you going to get out of the grant of rights? Well, we're not going to give you any reason.

How are you? Where are you going to go if you do leave Florida State? Well, we have plenty of options and plenty of prospects.

Nobody has any answers. And I know what FSU fans will say. Josh, why would we tell you what our options are going to be?

Why? You know, they got their plan. They're going to figure it out. But it just seems that other people in the league understand this game and are saying, well, unless we're misreading it. Bubba Cunningham, what he's talking about.

You don't have a way out of this grant of rights. You need to serve as a faithful member to the ACC till the very end of 2036, the end of this TV deal, just like the rest of us do. It could be Panthers fan fest related. It could be the first practice in pads. But this week in Panthers camp, it doesn't have to be tradition. It doesn't have to be tradition to the six.

That's six. Take out the it doesn't have to be tradition. There you go.

Doesn't have to be tradition. Those are your five words, Frank, right? Giving us the five words for this week. We appreciate that from him.

And then Wyndham week. Oh, the playoff changes really matter. That's the big takeaway this year. Like it was the top 125 the last few years and you had pretty good fields as a result. I don't think you get Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Scott here.

If it's 125 and not top 70. And those are some really big names. It's a great field. That's why you have 15 of the top 50 players in the world golf ranking here in the window or 70 or make it 65 of the top 100 in the FedEx Cup playoff rankings. It's it's a great field. It's a great event. And oh, my goodness, what an upset. We have the sun out.

The sun is out here at the Wyndham Championship. A huge plus as well. And what should be a great weekend? And that's been keep it simple. Let's get one more dance break in here. Instead of Keisha Coleslaw. He brought the house down. Yeah, it doesn't have to be tradition. All the legendary WSJS. West Durham in the club.