Just The Cats · Michael T Bennett

Just The Cats 03-24-26

March 24, 2026·1 hr 34 min·7 clips

Mark Pope calls a $9 million NIL offer 'categorically fake,' but the hosts question why he didn't deny it weeks ago.

Tuesday, March 24 opens with Bennett. He welcomes Big Blue Nation by saying the day gives fans something to be excited about, though nobody sounds fully loose. The show gets argumentative almost right away. One thread goes back to a coach who was fired before the story had time to play out, a move Bennett now treats as expensive. He can still be happy for him, but that does not end the argument. The ranking talk brings Coach K near the top while John Wooden gets handled like his own category. Then the peach-basket joke lands badly enough that Bennett says he needs a break to think about it, and a stray line suddenly becomes the exit ramp. Listener texts keep the pressure on. One texter asks why Bennett takes Yaxel at his word while doubting the UK coach's answer. Bennett first says he does not know whose word to trust anymore, then settles on believing Yaxel while admitting he could be wrong. His issue is still that Mark Pope should have been more direct when the question first came up. Matt gets pulled into the logic, and the point shifts from proving Yaxel right to asking why one answer felt slippery while another came later. Bennett sees little reason for Yaxel to lie, even as someone else notes that exaggerating could make him look good. Pope's timing keeps the suspicion alive. Calls, texts, the Whiskey Thief line, and the break all leave the segment feeling like local radio sorting through UK nerves in real time. The useful part is the mess stays messy.

As heard by us

A loose Kentucky basketball conversation built on listener texts and the debate over Yaxel and Mark Pope.

Just The Cats settles into a familiar Kentucky basketball argument, with Michael Bennett and the callers circling Yaxel and Mark Pope in a way that feels lived-in rather than polished. Listener texts add useful pressure, and the back-and-forth gives the hour its best spark.

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Why you'd press play

You want a live Big Blue Nation argument about whether to believe Yaxel or Mark Pope.

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