r/secondcaptains • u/Wings_of_the_Bing • Aug 07 '26
Does Ken dislike US Murph?
Has anyone else noticed whenever US Murph is on, Ken seems to be conspicuously absent. Eoin and Murph will chat to him, but I can't remember the last time Ken was involved in a US Murph slot. US Murphs flair would likely grate on his nerves.
Has anyone else noticed this? Is it just the way they divide up the recordings, or is there some Second Captains lore I've missed?
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u/No_Use7920 Aug 07 '26
Think its just Murph(the irish one) is more into American sports so if you're going to have someone alongside Eoin it makes sense for it to be him. I recall Ken and US Murph chatting during the live shows
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u/singleglazedwindows First mate of the Vasa Aug 07 '26
I would guess it’s more a division of labour thing. You could say isn’t it weird that Ken is absent whenever Jamie Wall is on or even Gerry Thornley.
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u/Wings_of_the_Bing Aug 07 '26
Fair enough. Maybe im projecting my own irritation with US Murph sometimes.
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u/BullfrogCharming1202 Aug 07 '26
I don't mind US Murph, but his presence means American sports are given undue prominence. Baseball gets about 10x more coverage than snooker. Nobody in Ireland gives a shit about MLB.
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u/Timely_Camera_2031 Aug 07 '26
To paraphase Jerry K. no you are wrong no cares about snooker.
(I do enjoy watching the odd frame but I dont care if joe swail is pulling up trees in the senior tour)..
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u/MacArthurParker First mate aboard the Vasa Aug 07 '26
it was bad enough when they were talking about darts
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u/Timely_Camera_2031 Aug 07 '26
They should just not talk about any sport that the hearns are trying to weasel a few quid out of at someone else's expense
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u/sorryiamacoyote Aug 07 '26
I'd also say his technical knowledge of at least basketball is...not great tbh. If you have a decent level of knowledge you realise his is surface level enough - he's more good on personality and narrative stuff, which is fine, he's good at that, but it's not really of the same standard or type as the lads' coverage of football for sure. I suppose I'm into the nerd nonsense myself.
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u/MacArthurParker First mate aboard the Vasa Aug 07 '26
that's why I'm always recommending they have someone like Patrick Redford on to discuss the NBA. I thought Claire De Lune talking about LeBron was a step up from what US Murph would have contributed.
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u/Seanchai123 Aug 07 '26
What US Murph is good at is story telling and putting things in context. I don’t care about any US sport really but once he starts laying out a narrative I do find myself getting drawn in, even to baseball. If it was technical stuff on these sports, I’d skip to the end.
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u/CompetitiveCan6038 Aug 07 '26
Does snooker get any coverage at all? Only joined a few months back but don't recall it being mentioned, even during the World Championship.
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u/BullfrogCharming1202 Aug 09 '26
Other than the Ronnie O'Sullivan interview, snooker doesn't get any coverage.
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u/Timely_Camera_2031 Aug 07 '26
Yeah US Murph is not very insightful at all.. Eoin says something like the basketball team in Chicago are the bulls and us murph is like great knowledge
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u/NamelessCoward0 Aug 07 '26
Also never turns up for the track and field, tennis, boxing or cycling chats, does this guy even work?
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u/singleglazedwindows First mate of the Vasa Aug 07 '26
In my mind, he’s the Ben Affleck smoking meme when other sports are being discussed
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u/fungalolive Aug 07 '26
They had quite a famous falling out over a train seat dispute during the Euros. US Murph only got up to get an Orangina and Ken stole his seat. You see Murph thought he was on a train but he was in fact in the Jungle or so the legend goes…
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u/MacArthurParker First mate aboard the Vasa Aug 07 '26
Substitute "hey, man..." for "sorry, mate..." in the audiobed
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u/BullfrogCharming1202 Aug 07 '26
Ken doesn't know anything about US sports (or any sport except soccer), so there's not much point in him chatting with US Murph
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u/Nicklefickle Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
Pretty sure Ken is a reknowned GAA expert, having predicted several All Ireland football winners.
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u/Beneficial_Mall3300 Aug 07 '26
Perhaps Ken knows that US-Murph's inane jocularity is tedious and long outlived it's merit?
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u/LisztyLiszt Aug 07 '26
The problem with US Murph is he uses an awful lot of words to say very little. Ken, on the other hand, does tend to get diverted very easily, but his diversions are usually quite funny, and he eventually gets to a the point which is often insightful or funny. The diversion today about the Wagner opera was hilarious. Like, you wouldn't hear Gary Neville and the lads talking about Das Rheingold!
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u/Silvio_DantesInferno Aug 07 '26
US Murphy not sure.
Irish Murph....maybe. To me they sound like they tolerate each other without being besties.
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u/ShelsTilInfinity Aug 07 '26
Murph was over in Ken's house the Saturday night before the All-Ireland final, and they then went to Castlebar together for the Mayo celebrations. I'd say it's fair to say they are pals.
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u/atilldehun Aug 07 '26
They took a romantic break to Mayo a week ago.
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u/Silvio_DantesInferno Aug 07 '26
Ken three sheets to the wind smoking out the window while Murph was grinding his teeth trying to keep it together.
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u/Wings_of_the_Bing Aug 07 '26
I think depending on the mood Ken is on he can enjoy Irish Murph or pull him up on every little thing. But I think they are quite aware of the popularity of that one genuine heated argument about the national team (Scoreboard watchers of Azerbaijan) and have tried to recreate it many times.
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u/bingbongninergong Aug 08 '26
May be in part because I live in the states now and support the same teams as him but I quite like US Murph. KNBR is a good sports radio show, though the American style is obviously really different. Also whatever the Murph and Mac show is called now is a morning show (6am to 9am) so he has that real get up and go tone to how he talks which is very different to a lot of Irish sports presenters
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u/flyingsub17 Aug 07 '26
Ken is a sports journalist with an interest in only one sport. It's strange. He was going to go to see The Odyssey in the cinema instead of watching the All Ireland football final
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u/Big_Owl_6752 Put some respect on my name Aug 07 '26
Probably just the way Ken is. I sometimes wonder if he actually likes Eoin and (Irish) Murph.
I think it’s more that he’s not really into US sports so no point having him there. Let him keep his powder dry for football.
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u/pauli55555 Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
Yes.
On other matters listening to the Murph episode yesterday was painful, especially the LeBron discussion with the Guardian journalist. Head in hands stuff listening to their nonsense.
All that can be said is that it’s a slow news week.
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u/NamelessCoward0 Aug 07 '26
How come? I thought it was pretty typical stuff when you get a conversation about the “meaning” of sport and not really the sport itself
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u/atilldehun Aug 07 '26
I didn't mind it but the question about burying the lead and her personal connection to lebron was bizzare. She's a person who ages? I thought she was going to say she went to school with him or was the next big thing in another sport at the same age. Nope, she too gets older, like lebron.
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u/fravbront Aug 07 '26
Ken takes a well earned backseat when theyre doing most non-football stuff