OVERTIME | Crawford and Bozich on whether Kenny Payne's time is nearly up at Louisville | Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- With the Louisville men's basketball season entering its home stretch — a final three-game homestand — is Kenny Payne's brief tenure as head coach entering its final days?

That's the subject WDRB's Rick Bozich and Eric Crawford take up on the most recent episode of "Overtime" streaming now on WDRB+.

Crawford wrote about the scenario in a column this morning, saying it's time for a change for U of L basketball. Bozich agreed that there likely was little Payne can do to avoid the likely outcome.

That was just one of a collection of wide ranging topics the pair hit in the half-hour program.

Josh Heird watches Kenny Payne being interviewed by Luke Hancock during a preseason event for season ticketholders in the KFC Yum! Center.
ERIC CRAWFORD

A look at the complete rundown:

LAST DAYS FOR PAYNE? With three home games remaining and at least one in the ACC Tournament in Washington, we are perhaps two weeks away from the end of the University of Louisville's basketball season. They are three winnable games at home, and tournament time could bring surprises, but in all reality, are we in a countdown to a change at the top for Louisville men's basketball?
REX CHAPMAN COMES CLEAN: In his riveting memoir, "Rex Chapman: It's Hard For Me to Live with Me," which Bozich read in record time, Chapman details his rise as a Kentucky basketball legend, the shoeboxes full of cash at Kentucky, his tough times in the NBA, his battles with anxiety and depression and more. It's couldn't have been an easy book to write, or always to read.
SHEPPARD LEADS THE CATS: Over the final 10 minutes of what was looking like another road loss for Kentucky, Reed Sheppard did the kind of thing that makes a legend at Kentucky — certainly it will make him one. He led the Wildcats on a 14-point comeback and hit the game-winning shot in the final second of a 32-point performance in a win at Mississippi State. Did Sheppard save Kentucky's season on Tuesday night in Starkville?
TENNESSEE COURT STRIKES DOWN NIL RULES: The NCAA, attempting to establish some guardrails where NIL and recruiting are concerned, instituted a rule that NIL money could not be used in recruiting or as a recruiting inducement. A Tennessee judge has granted an injunction putting that rule on hold, and essentially throwing open the door to NIL being expressly allowed as a recruiting tool, and allowing collectives to recruit directly on behalf of programs. An NCAA appeal to congress was met by the advice, "You need to negotiate with your players." What do you make of this development, which further throws open the NIL market?
HOOSIERS STOP THE BLEEDING: No sooner had we taped a Sports Page on the possibility of Indiana losing out and Mike Woodson perhaps being in jeopardy, than the Hoosiers knock of Wisconsin at home. While it doesn't really change the final picture for the Hoosiers, does it change anything else?
MLB UNIFORM FIASCO: New is not always better. Nike and Major League Baseball spent years on design and research into new uniforms that were supposed to be cutting edge in look and performance. Instead, let me read this from The Wall Street Journal: "The lettering on the nameplates is disproportionately small. The lack of actual embroidery stitching makes them resemble cheap knockoffs. Players complained that their pants weren't sized properly, let alone tailored to their preferences. Then, on team photo days, another issue was revealed: Those pants, designed to prioritize breathability, are essentially sheer in the harsh lights of a camera's flashbulb, leading to some embarrassing results." How does something like this happen?
WHAT WE MISSED: Pitino wins in Indianapolis. Louisville women's basketball -- Walz expects three seniors back, set for final home game Thursday night. Kim Mulkey says Hailey Van Lith is "more than welcome" to return to LSU for her COVID year, but expects her to enter the WNBA Draft. The same for Angel Reese.
PARTING SHOTS: Bozich on Bellarmine basketball. Crawford on the experience of calling for a coach's job.

You can watch this full episode of "Overtime" and every other on the WDRB+ app. If you don't have the app, it's free and easy to download to your Fire TV, Roku or Apple TV devices. You can also download a mobile WDRB+ app on your Android and Apple smartphones. Click here for more information on how to get the apps.

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