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SportsPrep Live is an engaging podcast hosted by Graydon Prescott, a talented 15-year-old with a passion for sports. Despite his young age, Graydon brings a wealth of experience to the table, having started his podcasting journey at the age of 9. With a focus on excellence in athletics, SportsPrep Live promises captivating interviews with a diverse range of athletes, offering valuable insights and inspiring stories to its listeners.
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KU NV studios on public radio K, u and v 91.5. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz and more the University of Nevada Las Vegas or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
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Hey everybody, and welcome to another episode of sports prep live, prep live, where we unbox the mic and talk excellence in athletics.
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Welcome back to sports prep live. I'm your host, Greg and Prescott. And this is episode two of the prep sheet. Joining me again today is KB what's okay be welcome back. How are you? Great and good to be back. Great to have you obviously on the last episode, we had great discussion about Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, a lot of NCAA talk and a lot of high school basketball. Today we're going to be focusing less on personalities and more on controversies. Our first topic of discussion today will be the hazing scandals at Northwestern. The football program is facing an escalating crisis allegations of you know, racism and hazing. All that sort of stuff broke out, they're facing at least 12 lawsuits. So that is our first topic of discussion today. Right.
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And this was one of our, our more
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controversial paid attention to articles that we have written so far for the blog. So yeah, and we got a lot of feedback on this one, I think because it was so jarring to a lot of our readers.
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This this, this post that we featured on the prep sheet
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deals with a lot of African American athletes who have been at Northwestern. This was primarily through football, right, but other athletes and other sports have started to bubble up and have started to talk about their experiences, their experiences there as well. It is involved basketball, it is involved, volleyball, you name it. And there has been some people have come forward and said, Hey, this is this has happened in our vertical to our sports vertical to
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they lost their football coach, as a result of these charges that have come out. Of course, he's denied any knowledge of any hazing.
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They've hired the famed civil rights attorney, Benjamin Crump, we will the athletes have to represent them in their their lawsuits against not only the coach but the university.
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And it's something that has spread throughout college programs in a number of sports, primarily in football, it certainly exists in other sports as well. But that's the alpha male, if anyone comes into the program that they deem as weak or that they deem as unprepared
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those tend to be the individuals that have gotten the brunt of a lot of this hazing.
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But some of it is has been relegated to just an issue of flat out racism,
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subjecting you know, their African American players, to punishments, to incidents of hazing that they haven't subjected their white counterparts to. And so this story has really taken fire. And obviously, you can see how passions would be inflamed on either side, racially.
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But there seems to be a lot of merit so far to the allegations that have been made. And at this point, they are just allegations, right, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. But it's a big black eye for Northwestern, which is a really outstanding program. They're in the big 10 Or I should say outstanding university in the big 10. And so for them to have to kind of go through this.
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Some believe deservedly so,
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has really kind of shaken that institution to the core. And there's there's going to be more to come on on this particular story because people again are just starting to speak out. And to kind of piggyback off of that. There's also and I think we covered this on the prep sheet as well.
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There is a gambling
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scam scandal at the University of Iowa and Iowa State more so Ohio State and then the University of Iowa but players there are accused
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They have of gambling or gambling on games that they participated in or gambling on games that they knew people. And so yeah, I think you know, college football has a little bit of housecleaning to do,
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because some of this stuff is legacy stuff that is just going on for a long time. But yes, those have been big stories on the prep sheet. And we'll continue to follow those stories continue to update the readers on those. As more information unfolds. Yeah. And piggybacking off of the Iowa, Iowa State
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gambling issue, one of the players, Aaron Ulis, he was a former Hawkeyes player transferred to Nebraska.
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He was reported to be involved in nearly 1900 wagers and totaling about $35,000. Wow. 430 were involving NCAA football events, at least one was involving the team he was playing for Aaron,
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do you think that? Do you think that athletes should have a little bit more leeway when it comes to you know, oh, it's their money, and I can do what I want with it? Or should it really be strict rules bestowed upon them for what they can do and what they can't do, especially with respect to the gambling?
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I think with gambling, you really have to draw a hard line because you start to enter into really deep waters. Yeah. In terms of behavior, in terms of negative outcomes. When we're talking about gambling, money changes everything. Yeah. And so here's an area where I do support what the NCAA governing body is trying to do with respect to gambling. And it's tough because it's illegal, right. And, you know, here in Las Vegas, you can bet on a lot of these contests. And so there's apps that you can bet on things.
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So I do understand that it is out there. And it's readily available. But you have to know, as a college athlete, it's particularly at a division one school, but really any college program, you have to know that there are just lines that not only should you not cross, you shouldn't even come up to those lines. Yeah. And I think gambling is one of those things, because again, it can lead to some really bad outcomes. If a player was to gamble, lose a lot of money, not be in a position to pay that money back, lose it to an individual or an organization that is not interested in hearing your excuses. That really puts the player into a certain extent the the program in a really compromising position. So I agree with them on this particular issue, the you know, the way that the NCAA is looking to kind of crack down on gambling, hazing, I think that they're not doing as much as they they should be doing. They've kind of had a blind eye to it, because it's been viewed as being tough or toughening up some of the the, again, the weaker players that come in, or the younger players that come in,
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there has to be another way to kind of get them on the same page, to toughen them up, if that's what they're looking to do. But But hazing is not the answer. And one of the ways that you get an organization to understand that is to hit them in the pocketbook. And you can bet Ben Crump is looking to hit them in the pocketbook. And it's not just a money grab. But a lot of these guys and gals for the sports that you know what's happened to them in have really been psychologically and emotionally damaged by what has happened to them in the sports and on these campuses. So there does need to be a reckoning with respect to hazing and hopefully, the NCAA takes a bigger stay and
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takes on a louder message in terms of reinforcing that this is not to be tolerated.
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On a particular campus or in a particular program or in the NCAA in general. Yeah. And I think what program directors for the NCAA and coaches throughout the NCAA have failed to realize is
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hazing. It doesn't just start at, you know, oh, we're going to be racist, or we're going to do this or that. That can really end up being a lawsuit. It starts with people encouraging Oh, he's just a young rookie, you know, he's gonna go get our laundry. He's gonna go get the doughnuts every day. That's where it starts with just that. And you know, you hear Michael Jordan talking about having to do his teammates laundry when he was a rookie and all these athletes talking about when they were rookies or freshman's having to do, you know, simple tasks for the rest of the team.
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Just because they were the youngest, and I think a lot
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have athletes have taken that and just taken away too far, which is where hazing comes from
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throughout the NCAA, and I think the NCAA has not done a great job on cracking down on that type of behavior from their upperclassmen
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just because they think, Oh, it's just it's a tradition. And, you know, it's what's always been the case, so there can't be anything wrong with it. And that tradition, that ideal of tradition is what can jam a lot of people up. Yeah, you know, it's, it's interesting, if you look back at hazing, historically, at least with respect to
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college programs, sports programs, because of course, you have it in fraternities. Yeah. But, and that in and of itself became a thing. There are fraternities that were shut down, there were fraternities that have been kicked off school campuses. Because engaging in some of this, this same behavior and not knowing where to draw the line, I think in professional sports,
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there is a line that that they don't cross because ultimately you're dealing with another grown man.
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And, you know, something that isn't talked about a lot is what you are subjected to, really is dependent upon the talent level that you come into the NBA with, there are players that are good enough, where they can say, No, I'm not going to do that.
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There are players that aren't in a position to say no, you know, they're hanging on by the seat of their pants to a spot on that particular team. And so there's a power dynamic that is involved in this as well. Michael Jordan did humble himself, but only to a certain extent, you know, Michael knew very early on as it did the team. He was the man when he showed up. And so he did carry the bags, you pay for dinner, you know, everyone shows up, you think you're paying for Fallout four, or five guys and 15 Guys, and their wives show up. And the rookie has to pay for it. And that's harmless. And what that is meant to do is to humble the newcomer that is coming into the truck, right. So I do understand that that notion, I do understand it from that vantage point. But you do, you can take it too far. And I think in high school sports, and in college sports, you don't see as much of it in high school, but in college sports,
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they've just taken it a little bit too far. They don't recognize that, okay, well, this person isn't a professional athlete, he's a student, but he's not one of the stronger athletes or the bigger athletes or the hyper talented athletes. And so you can get away with a little bit more. And if he doesn't want to be shunned, I'm always saying he but it happens in women's sports as well. If that individual doesn't want to be shown, then they have to go along, to get along and not say anything. And I think that's what happened with a lot of these Northwestern players. They, they just went along to get along. And it started to crack once they left school and started and people started to speak up on it. And they recognize that not only did it happen to them, but it was continuing to happen to people that were in the program, you know, currently. So it's it like you said it's it's, it's corrosive. And it's something that the NCAA needs to get a handle on and stomp it out. And as long since outlived its usefulness.
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Kids now who will spend almost their entire lives getting prepared for sport. They come in with a sense of humility. So you know that you're joining a team, you want to be as you know that to operate and be as conducive as to that to the team if is to do that the team ethos as you possibly can excuse me. So I don't think that you need to humble these these kids that are now coming into sports. And so this is probably not probably this. This is a tradition that has outlived its usefulness. Yeah.
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And obviously, we feel that the NCAA really needs to crack down on that something that the NCAA has actually been trying to crack down on. Maybe not the right focus for them is player movement. Yes. And, you know, obviously recent reports NCAA is trying to pass a rule
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that only grants players eligibility to transfer after three years a law actually a law.
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I don't I do not agree with that law are just going to put that out there right now. Where are your stances? What do you feel about that? Yeah, we covered this on the prep sheet. So
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Senator Tommy Tuberville, who is who was formerly a college coach, I think, Alabama if I'm not mistaken.
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And Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia
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were impressed upon by a lot of temperate fields, former colleagues in college coaching rigs football coaching ratings, to put together some legislation that kind of reeled in some of what they saw as the extravagances of the the the new wave of in il deals that have happened as a consequence of the Supreme Court case a few years ago, that was originally brought by Edward O'Bannon from UCLA. And that was about, you know, a college athlete having the right having dominion over their name, image and likeness, likeness, which is Inyo.
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But because once that that Supreme Court case happened, it kind of opened the floodgates, and it allowed athletes to monetize for themselves, their own image, their own name, their own, their own likeness. And of course, there's going to be a lot of companies in brands that are interested in these athletes as quote unquote, products, because they are influential because they do have a level of fame or notoriety. They're, they're a dynamic athlete in a dynamic sport. And so there's going to be a following. And anytime you have a personality that that has a following, there is the opportunity to move consumers based on what that athlete chooses to wear or say, or, you know, experience that they choose to engage in. And so what Senator Tuberville and Senator image and did is said, alright, well, we want to kind of handcuff or put a collar around the types of the NFL deals that athletes can participate in and engage in. We also want to give
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authority to the NCAA to Nick's or to,
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to do away with a given date or proposed deal to just to cancel that deal and say, No, you're not permitted to take up that brand. They're saying it's simply in cases where let's say, it's a Nike school, and you are an Adidas brand apostle, if you will, you know, the Adidas pays you to wear their shoes or Puma. And so you come into the program wanting to wear their shoes, or you wear their gear. that's inconsistent with, you know, obviously, that schools relationship, and so they want that relationship to have dominion that I understand, but you shouldn't be able to then turn around and say that that individual can't have outside of those limited circumstances can have a relationship with a particular brain, because the idea is a competitor to someone that the school has a relationship with, or a brand that the school has a relationship with, or even a potential competitor that they want to give the school's dominion over whether or not a student on their campus can engage in an aisle deal. I think that's unfair. And then to the point that you raised part of their legislation also says and this is where they're really handcuffing athletes, is once you come into a program, and you sign a commit that commitment letter that you can't transfer to another school, independent of why you may want to transfer, you're not getting playing time. You're not playing in a system that takes advantage of your natural abilities and your skill set. So you're looking to transfer to someplace else where you're going to get more playing time.
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But this legislation would say no, you can't do that. You can't transfer until you have fulfilled your three year term at the initial institution. And I think that's where they're getting a lot of a lot of pushback. That's what I believe to be exceedingly unfair. And it's been coaches like, you know, Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, Nick Saban at
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Alabama.
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Ohio State
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Auburn, like you said Alabama, like these are the these are the programs that are willing to push back on on some of the the the denial stuff and kind of handcuff athletes a little bit. So, yeah, we're gonna continue to watch this story. It's really interesting. And our vantage point is to kind of support the athletes that there has to be obviously some, some rules, some regulations, but I don't think that they should collar the athletes to the extent that this legislation does, and luckily, there's some other legislation out there. You know, Senator Cory Booker out of New Jersey, that has a little bit more friendly towards the athlete, but still, you know, speaks to some of the concerns of the NCAA. Yeah, and I think the NFL especially with conflicting brands, you know, if a school has a Nike sponsorship, and an athlete has a and I'll deal with adidas I guess I can understand that
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A little bit. But you see that in professional professional sports, excuse me all the time, you know, every NBA team, their jerseys are produced by Nike. And you have players signing with Adidas and Under Armour and Anta, and leaning and all of these different brands
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that aren't Nike, but you know, you don't see restrictions coming down on them. So just because you consider these college athlete, you know, they're not getting paid by their schools to play, which was another controversy a few years back. big topic of discussion whether or not athletes, collegiate athletes should be paid. You know, just because coaches are saying, well, these athletes aren't paid, and they're not professionals, they shouldn't have the right to an IRL, that conflicts with our school. And I think the bigger issue is the player movement, right? Especially, you know, you're handcuffing players from being able to do what's best for them, and what's best for their careers. And
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we talked about her all the time, but one of the places that I really took my hat to Angel Reese, she started out her career at Maryland, and she wasn't getting the playing time that she felt that she deserved. And she transferred to
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LSU. And her career has completely turned around and taken off for the better. And I just, I have all the respect in the world for that decision to switch schools and
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better, better her chances that having a successful career. But with this new law that is, you know, currently proposed, she wouldn't have been able to do that she wouldn't have you know, she probably wouldn't have been in a situation where she would possibly be a first round pick for the, for the WNBA. And within the next few years, she wouldn't be in the position where she's getting an IL deals and all this stuff. That's, that's come to her because she decided that it was best for her to switch schools. She wouldn't have been able to do that, especially with this. This new law. Yeah, it was, you know, she was playing in the shadow of diamond Miller. Diamond Miller is a problem. Diamond is great. She can hope. So I understand that. And that was the right decision for her. And, you know, obviously it manifested itself in the way of a national championship. But even beyond that, like you said, it gave her the opportunity to develop her game and gave her the opportunity to get more playing time. And to become a better athlete and probably cleared the way for her to, you know, have a real shot at being a top five pick in the you know, for the WNBA draft. And there's others that this has worked out for, you know, a family that you you know, and you've seen them play the Joneses out of out of Iowa City, right, like Aubrey and Ashley Jones. They were on the same team at one time. Right. But Aubrey wasn't getting the playing time that she was looking for.
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And you would have thought coming in to college that wow, this is going to be a tandem that you know the country the whole country is going to soon be aware of are replayed with Caitlin Clark
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for the national championship team for all Iowa Tech. They won the national championship in 2018. But Aubree left.
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And I think she moved to Oklahoma and Kylie as well was on that was on that team and if you're back was also on Iowa State. She's now in Iowa and she's now at Iowa and then
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I think Greta, who was I think Greta was at Oregon Oregon State she was a beaver initially and I think Greta now is at Michigan. Yep, that's right. So it it for those of you don't know. You know, Aubrey
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Greta Kylie Kylie, we haven't seen as much but but Greta can hoop
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Schroeder I think her last name is or something like that. She has a crazy last name. I'm not gonna attempt to say yeah, but she's the only Greta on Michigan's basketball team. So look out for her. Greta is a baller focused.
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She's big time, so shout out to Greta. But yeah, it happens in both female with with females and males in sports. And most of these athletes are doing it because they want to put themselves in a better position. They're not doing it for the dollar opportunity may be tied to it. Yep. And the last thing that we are going to be able to touch upon in this episode here is Steven Naismith recently was hosting a basketball camp, and he has gotten a lot of pushback on the prices that he was requiring for people to attend that camp $1,000 Perkins Yes, Stephen A look Steven A is a man that I look up to I respect and you know,
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The career that, you know, career path that I hope to follow some day, you know, he kind of paved the way.
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But that this, you know, as much as I respect Steven A and you know, he'll always be, to me the greatest sports analyst sports broadcaster of all time. That's just my personal opinion. Right. But you know, $3,000, that kid is a little a little much he caught. And I noticed that our close executive, but yes, he caught a lot of flack for that. We had to do a post on it. Yeah. It was bubbling up out there and people were talking about it. I wanted to know more about it. But essentially, yes, that's what happened. He partnered with I believe, IMG Academy to do a basketball youth basketball camp. In his defense, he would say he allowed or he made sure that img handed out a handful of scholarships for their basketball camp. But at $3,000 a pop you're gonna have to Yeah, that's a lot of money for a basketball camp. It is. Unless that camp is going on for three or four months. In camps just don't do that. And not only that, it would have to be an elite Elite Camp. Yes. going on for three to four months. And not to mention that there are families that can pay that. Yeah. But that I think people felt was a little bit much again, shout out to Steven a, he's a great broadcaster. But I just don't know if there was a lot of thought put into the optics of doing a camp at that price point. Even if it was with the esteemed IMG Academy. Yeah, at $3,000 per person, even though you know that, that school is esteemed and one of the best both football and basketball programs in the country. $3,000 A person as good as the camp may be, starts to look like a money grab. Yeah. And, you know, I'm sure that wasn't their intention. But, you know, you got to be aware of the optics of what those the nuances of that may look right. And if it's for elite high school, yeah.
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It's a top 100 camp. That's one thing but you know, little kids was a youth game. Yeah, little kids, you know, kindergarten through eighth grade or whatever. You got a little bit defensive so hopefully he's learned from it because I do know that he got a little bit yeah, but as the media kind of caught on to the end of the story shout out to Steven A still absolutely love his work. A lot of respect for him. Just you know, that one caught me off guard.
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Alright, well, KB thank you again for joining me. You bet. On the second episode two of the prep talk. It was great having you we had great conversation. Thank you everyone for tuning in to sports prep live. It's been great having you. You can tune in, you can tune into our other episodes on Apple podcasts on Spotify.
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Wherever you get your podcasts, and you can, you can read the prep sheet for more. And for the full stories on sports prep live.com. You can follow us on Instagram. You can DM us if you have any suggestions things to talk about topics to discuss. Thank you for tuning in. I'm Graham Prescott and as always have a great day. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of sports prep live. I'm grading Prescott and don't forget to catch all of our episodes on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and be sure to follow us on Instagram or Twitter at sports rep live. Thank you
Transcribed by https://otter.ai