Steve Rivera and Jacob Salads. They have their eye on the ball on Tucson
Sports. Stay yet Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. Hey, welcome back to I'm
the back here Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera, He's Matt and
Renilson. Now we got mister Ryan. We have some breaking news. All
right. We're gonna start with the U of A. We got a couple
of articles to go over. The first thing we're gonna go over is some
news about an upcoming game this year between Arizona and UCLA. AH. They
will continue to play each other in a neutral court series. This year will
be the first game. It will be played at the Footprint Center in Phoenix,
and then next year the teams will play again in Las Vegas, and
then the following actually two years after that, in twenty twenty seven, they're
gonna play in Los Angeles. So if you thought Michale North and Michale West
were things of the past, they're back. It'll be fun. It'll be
fun depends who's coaching at the time, because who knows about Cronin, right,
he's always kind of day to day. Yeah, two year and who
knows what Tommy does, Yeah, and we'll see what UCLA is able to
do in the Big ten. I think maybe a little bit better fit for
them stylistically under Cronan. You know, they played they played good defense,
they played better defense than they did under guy like Steve Alford. So potentially
that stylistic fit is a little better and maybe they're a little bit more successful
program when you have a sees him next. But I had a line of
questioning to Tommy Lloyd earlier this year about you know the history of that rivalry
and if it feels like an ending, and he said, well, it
doesn't feel like an ending because he knew that they were going to work on
I remember, I remember that question because your questions, your questions kind of
gets him and he does those faces and remember the answered to you. Yeah,
it's like, oh, yeah, you're going to say something later that
is going to be happening. Yep, yeah, yeah, Yeah. There's
always a premonition. When this came out maybe two weeks ago and the sites
were going to be made, a lot of people gain on interritten and blah
blah blah, Well they should have it at the home courts, you know,
because that's what we that's what we know, and that's what we've done.
No, put them, put them, put them in good places,
because they'll like, they'll draw fans. I mean, there are a lot
of people from LA and Phoenix, and you know obviously Phoenix is the biggest
alumni based you of that. And the people who are complaining about it,
guess what they don't have tickets anyway to go to the game? Right,
come on exactly. That game takes place on December fourteenth. If I didn't
mention that already, Okay, the first one this year, it'll be this
year. It'll be this year. Yep, Okay, great in Phoenix,
that'll be would be a good time. Sticking with you have a basketball key
shot. Johnson and hell Larson are showing up in the mock NBA drafts.
Uh. Second day is the day that you want to look out for because
they are projected to go kind of later in the draft. What numbers,
what's the what's the highest number they've had? So according to bleacher Report,
Johnson is I've projected to go thirty seven to the Timberwolves. Larson is protected
forty third to the Miami Heat. ESPN Larson is ahead of Johnson at forty
fifth to the Kings and the fiftieth for Johnson at the Pacers. USA today
has Larson head of Johnson at forty second to the Hornets, and then Johnson
is undrafted. According to that, Yeah, Mark drafts, I like the
first one. I think report kind of had it because I think Keishaw Johnson
would be a really good fit on the timber Wolves, you know, with
his defensive abilities and you know, aletic athleticism, everything like that. And
then Pela Larson on the Miami Heat. I mean it's such an international flair
with that city and that team and the Heat culture and everything like that.
And we saw Jim Hawks as a second round pick this last year become a
bona fide NBA starter with that team, right right. I like him in
Indiana too, I mean already has three or two two for sure, there's
alums on there. Yeah, Watch and Mather, yeah, ma Ben Yeah,
So that'd be cool. I think that before months ago, I didn't
think either one would get drafted. Who knows, they both played well in
the combine, So yeah, I think Kishaw Johnson's athletic ability goes a long
way in that discussion. Yeah, it looks like they're both going to be
kind of close to each other in the draft, so, you know,
or not drafted at all. Yeah, I mean these are just smock drafts
and who knows. And we did see in the w n B A I
mean two Arizona second round draft picks not make the roster, which happens a
lot more in the w NBA with you know, with shorter rosters and no
developmental league, right like the NBA has the G League. But you know,
we'll see if they can stick on a roster and maybe make an impact
this next year. Yeah, for sure, it's going. With a little
bit of local news, p M College got a softball standout, Camilla Zippetta,
was named to the n j Cuba All American this season a sophomore.
Yeah. Yeah, it doesn't say where she's going to school. I don't
think did it because they they came out of nowhere and did really well in
the second half of the season and went to the tournament and had a twenty
five game winning streak. Yeah, I think, the second longest in school
history. You know the story here, Yeah, you know the story with
us? What's the story? So? So Jay's the kiss of death?
I mean he says you're gonna win tomorrow. Well, you're not gonna win
the because he said you're gonna win, Mark, you lose. And it
happens all the time, and like happens ninety percent of the time. That
might be a little exaggeration, but it happens a lot, and he has
a KOD's kind of embraced it because it's just we well, we had been
holding off on having and Rebecca on the show. Well she gets to the
twenty five streak, come on the show, and the next she loses four
straight. Yep, yep, that's but that's the fickleness of softball and baseball.
It just kind of happens. That's the that's trustful of J. Well,
it's not a lot of things about Jay. We'll keep the receipts for
all this two Titans. If theories came and J won, the collide collided,
and that theory doesn't mean much because I'm Jay. Now, would you
say? Jay is a momentum stopper stage without question, in fact, and
people know this. I try not to say what I'm doing because then he'll
put the kebash on it and do exactly that or screw up my situation.
Don't talk about that anymore. You're gonna go fire a golf around in the
eighties shoots plus one under yeah, yeah, alright, right talking about it
to your question, Steve. She was named the player of the Year for
the acc okay, and then first team All acc AC and then to the
All Region one and Division one team. Yeah, okay. I wonder where
she's gonna go on here, but maybe we'll get out at a later time.
They had a good year offensively, they could hit. I mean every
time I went out just shoot highlights. It was like, oh, had
to stay fifteen minutes time. I loved you being there because they love the
coverage they do. They the PIMA is so great with that race Suarez,
the communications person over there, is fantastic. Switching over to the Major League
Baseball, we got a little bit of news today. Uh. Infielder Tukipeda
Marcano has been permanently banned from the MLB, replacing Bets. Yeah, we
had this shesterday, just that that had happened, but not the result of
what you just said. Yeah, permanently banned. How old is he?
Four twenty four? What was you for? Venezuela so puny go back to
Venezuela and play ball down there potentially. Yeah, that's just I mean,
that's a career detrimental move because you know, and you I think every league
right now is so invested in keeping up the integrity of their sports. Of
course, with betting right now is just such a slippery slope, and they
are sacrificing what could be generational wealth for them and their families for the thrill
of competition. I've heard that floated. They placed these bets, and he
was on the injured list when he placed the bets, But he did the
big, big no no. You know, he could have maybe done something
else if he bet on you know, the Yankees and the Red Sox,
but he bet on team or on games that his team was involved in,
and that's insider information, and that's potentially potentially impacting, you know, the
results of the game. Which he was on the injured list, so he
wasn't playing in those games. But that's a that's a lot, that's a
big integrity discussion, and you know, I think the Lifetime band was the
only choice there. Yeah, I mean I agree with that, and says
he plays one hundred and eighty seven bets totally more than three hundred and eighty
seven bets baseball bets more than one hundred and fifty thousand dollars from October twenty
twenty two and from last July through November. And how many did he win?
Like? Five percent is what I read. He won only about five
percent of his bets. Holy crad to Jay, you must say, they
call him kod know what the hell? Why do that at all? If
you're good at it, maybe, but you're bad at it. Yeah,
I can't imagine winning five percent. He was a short, he was an
infield, right, yeah, Thus I came batting twenty five twenty five percent?
Yeah, yeah, zero two five, zero two five? What the
hell? That's pretty bad. Somebody said you're not good at this, stop
it. Yeah, oh man, somebody had to bringing the real that's number
about five percent? Yeah, holy crap, that's crazy. That's like the
quick here's here's ten dollars. Go burn it, yep, go burn it,
yep, Bill burn it, and then keep the corner of it,
try and pay for something with it. Put a bunch of un together cherry
on top of this story. Truly, it was wow. Yeah, all
right. Sticking with MLB a little bit of news. I'm sure Jay will
probably talk more about this tomorrow. The interpreter for whose horror has pled guilty
to all wow, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. We didn't this come
out last last week or no, this is different. This came out this
morning. Okay, So you can see says he's maximum sentence of thirty three
years. Yet you know that that story had so many twists and turns with
it, and you know the the bookies approaching approaching soheo Tani in Santa Monica
and the text receipts and everything like that. Uh, you know, the
bookie texting Ipe saying you know you're in you're in hot water and you but
you didn't steal from him, did you? And he said, well,
technically I did. And it just goes to show, I mean, the
a lot of different layers to this, which is, you know, the
cultural gap when it comes to you know, American sports and betting culture and
people that you know grew up in Japan, you know, the language barrier
and all of that, but also trusting someone as a confidant as shoe Atani
did with and giving him full access to the bank accounts and then just Musuhara
embezzling that money from Otani. It is just one of the wildest sports stories
in this new age of betting really being a part of our daily lives and
our conversations about sports. True sticking with uh I guess not sticking. It's
going over to the NBA. A little bit of news. Just something I
kind of came across Lebron James. He's proud of Kyrie Irvin for making it
back to the finals, but he misses having here as a partner. Yeah.
Yeah, they were good teammates. I'll always remember in twenty sixteen when
they became the first pair of teammates to each go for forty in an NBA
Finals game in the same NBA Finals game, and they did in that Game
six at home against the Warriors, part of the three to one comeback for
the Cavaliers. I blame I blame Green for that kicking somebody in the cross
in Game six. Yeah, well he was he was out Game five,
so he was so they were up three to one, he was out Game
five in San Francisco. Cavs won that by about ten, I believe,
and then came back and blew out the Warriors in Game six, and then
obviously the iconic Game seven was that the block shot with Yeah, that was
the Game seven block shot, and then Kyrie Irving actually hit the go ahead
three in that game. They were great teammates, but Kyrie obviously went off
the rails for a couple of years and he wanted to be his own guy.
He wanted to be his own guy. And you know, obviously he's
a unique individual, but it's kind of nice to see how he has kind
of seamlessly meshed with Luka Doncic. We'll see if that continues in the NBA
Finals started Thursday. Yeah, I mean, Lebron's gonna come over to the
Mavericks. Maybe so, But Lebron got the coach he wanted. That actually
broke just before the show ahead. He's emerged as the front runner. JJ
Reddick has emerged as the front runner for the two three months ago. Yeah,
the old old news, but news that now is being broken by the
NBA anxiety. Interesting, they bailed it down. It's a job you're going
to go get fired at, but maybe you can win a title or two
before you do it. He's a smart dude, obviously, Yes, smart
dude. Obviously. He can play unspoken, so we'll see how he goes.
He is kind of playing with fire. If there's any sport right now
to where experience may not be the end determiner of success as a coach,
it might be the NBA because it is such a transactional league. These coaches
will get four and five year contracts and they'll last for one year and then
they'll get paid out. Let me ask you this, are you almost done?
Okay? So let me ask you because you're in the profession. Here's
JJ Reddick. He's a former U he's a former NBA player. Former athlete
comes on the scene, does really well. And I'm just using him as
an example. You're looking for a job, you're you're good in what you
do on screen or whatever, or you want to get a job in house
of NBA or MLB or whatever. You have an athlete who doesn't have a
clue, didn't go to school for it, that's for sure, speaks well,
very bright. Guess whose job he's taking. How do you feel?
You know? I think there's a lot of different ways to look at it
as a as a broadcaster and a coach. So I'll say that a former
player comes off that comes out into retirement and then immediately takes a broadcast job.
And obviously it's different with Greg Olsen and Tom Brady, but that's the
comparison. I'll bring it out to Greg Olsen being a former athlete himself,
but did a great job in the Fox booth, the number one Fox in
the NFL coverage, and he and Kevin Burkhart were a great tandem. But
I think at some point you know it. It's one of those situations that
no matter how hard you work, if you're Greg Olsen, and no matter
how good of a job you do, there are a few select people that
will rise above you as far as star power, as far as name recognition,
And the man who's considered the greatest quarterback of all time is one of
those few people. You know, people who have had really successful playing careers
have not lost it long in the broadcasting booth. And there are these networks,
especially with the highly competitive nature of NFL coverage, do not stay on
things for long. I e. Drew Brees lasted two games in the broadcast
booth, lasted about half a season as a studio analyst for NBC, and
now he's kind of out of it. Now he's kind of out of it.
I should realize that because he was no good and he wants to get
back into calling games. Said that an event last week. I believe in
New Orleans or somewhere on the east, would they keep him to a limited
amount. I think he just I think they just didn't see maybe the growth
in him as a color commentator and how they wanted to see it. Okay,
so they're actually watching that and rather the name. They say, if
you're not any good, you're not any good, right right, But even
if you're one of the best, which Greg Olsen certainly proved he was one
of the best. I mean, he's still getting supplanted by a guy named
Tom Brady, who is just this is the name. Recognition is what draws
the eyeballs, and it is a constant competition for those ratings in revenue.
Okay, it's got to go. I've got to get the guy from Tempe,
Hodrabino and talk more about basketball, baseball, football. That's The window
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to schedule your free evaluation today. Steve Rivera and Jacin saliz they have their
eye on the ball on Twusons Sports stag Chet, Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
I mean live, I mean I heeart radio wabs Hey, welcome back to
Iron the Ball Hero Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Riverta. He's Met
Rendelson. Who've got Ryan with us at the front. Now we have hold
Robino from before you at Hold, I just have Devil's Digest. Trying to
think out of the top of my head. How are you you doing,
Hode? I'm going to say thanks as all having me. You're You're always
busy, You're always busy. The last couple of a couple of weeks for
sure. Uh talk to me of the kind of like the the Caleb Love
fallout benefited Arizona State and basketball. I think no, yeah, yeah right.
Uh. Jussan Sonan, who as you know, was a former Arizona
commit uh did decide to uh see commit and commit to the Arizona State as
a result of Caleb Love taking his name out of the draft. I was
solved by somebody callsa Sonanda. It wasn't all encompassing with Love. But also
the transfer that Arizona got from Campbell was something that reportedly did shared the Sonons
camp by surprise, So maybe that kind of started getting the wheels in motion,
if you will. And Caleb Love returning really was the final element over
here that did cause to be commits. But obviously I'm a very big pickup
for Arizona State. I mean this recruiting class as also Bobby Early as by
far being not only the best ever, but really the best ever in program
history. So that was definitely a nice cherry in top for the Arizona State
fans up again to commit from Arizona Old Matt here Steve and I talked about
this a little bit last week, but you don't really see a transaction happen
and then twenty minutes later the wheels just go in motion. That quickly seems
like there were some things going on behind the scene, as there is with
all recruiting these days, with Synad going to as you you know, were
those conversations that were happening, you know, even as early as his commitment
to Arizona or and how reminiscent or how reflective is that of recruiting in this
day and age of nil on the transfer portal. Look, I mean,
let's not pretend that pre ni L pre transfer portal conversation through the parties what
have you, that did take place, and maybe some of them can be
even constitute tampering, depending how much I illegal we we to go to.
But yeah, I mean I think, uh, I think there's no doubt
that that's when josh Asnan knew that there was a good champ of Hit of
Love returning to to Arizona and not being in the NBA Draft, that he
probably maybe did send out some feelos out there. I mean, as as
we both know, Uh, these high school players don't only have the ad
ind or a AU coach that's there in their corner, that some of them
actually have agents that's an agent in the very sense of the word. So
yeah, I think, I think definitely there was some groundwork that was late
in Arizona State was was really able to get to get in there. But
like I said, I did hear from a very good star song this matter.
That also the transfer that did come from Campbell to u of A.
That's some things that definitely posts so not to take a real hard look at
as much as Arizona and now some people may agree or just look radious Sonon
really should have had that line of thinking once franswer from Campbell did arrive in
Tucson. But nonetheless that was also definitely an element. Again, I do
want to stress it wasn't all starting ending with Eli loves Oh correct me if
I'm wrong, but maybe two three months ago, if not reach more recent
Bobby talked about the need for nil more money to come in to make his
program more successful. So that must have happened to get these kids. Yeah,
there was actually a tweet done by Jeff Goodman, one of the college
basketball national pundits, that Bobby Hurley was shopping and was able to secure a
documentary series Hard Docks. Yes, yes, if if you look for any
kind of parallel that's really going to peel the curtains and they'll see what's behind
the issue basketball. What is a day in Bobby Hurley's life? Looks like
they're just doing all kinds of features on the basketball team as a whole and
also an initial players individually. I mean, when you have a guy like
Jaden Quainton's a five star prospect and number one center in the twenty twenty four
class, Yeah, that's typically one guy you could just sitic gate a whole
episode for when you have this hard Knocks like documentary. So that really helped
Bobby Hurley secure more ni L than than he ever has and definitely a higher
level than it was about last year. That allowed to land Jack and Quinton's
that's allowed allowed him to lands on and really just overall having having the recruiting
class that he's having bringing in some great quality transfers out of the portal as
well. So, yes, and I just to kick company few notches because
of some of the bigger donors did up the contributions to the basketball program.
Former A players and NBA like James Harden have also reported to the contributing now
at a higher level so everything is coming together front and far Arizona State.
When it comes to n I L. I'm not here to suggests that their
NIL level is up there with the blue bloods across the nation, but it's
stepped at a level that is much much better than it was even just last
year ago. And again, I just think the poops in the pudding when
you look at the top five recruiting class, when you look at every town
to transfer class, that NIL is definitely right now working much differently for issues
than it did previous one. O. When you look at the new Big
twelve and the way this basketball conference is going to look with all of these
top teams, you know, literally throughout the preseason top twenty five already for
next year, you look at two different approaches to building a roster in this
conference. You either get NBA level talented players, which ASU has certainly done
in this year's recruiting class and that seems to be the direction that Bobby Hurley
is going. Or you get veteran college basketball players, guys that have seen
a lot of ball at the college level and or experienced players but may not
have the NBA ceiling of some of these you know, younger star players.
What do you make of the different approaches that ASU and the U of A
are taking to this new Big twelve, And how do they give them a
unique leg up when you're going up against the Kansases, the Baylors, the
Houstons, and these teams that are well established in this great basketball conference.
Yeah, I thought, I do think that you do have a fine line
to walk over here. And I agree with the one hundred percent Big twelve
is the ecois conference in the nation and stores and maybe this is not a
revelation to sell, but I think that all the teams that are canswering from
the PAC twelve are just going to learn that pretty quickly that this is not
anywhere close to the Tax twelve basketball. And I think about what Bobby Eury
is trying to do is really just have a fusion of those two approaches that
you mentioned. On the one hand, like you said, they're very talented
incoming freshman, a lot of them with legit in the NBA potential. Deschaunle
Not, for example, is already listed as a first round pick in the
twenty twenty five NBA Draft. But on the other hand, I think Bobby
Rearley knows that if you have a team that's going to over rely on freshmen,
as talented as they may be, you might really be asking for a
lot of trouble. So I think the transfer class that he was able to
assemble has been very, very iggressive. When you have guys like bj Seaman
I have averaged over twenty one points seared, you have to average over eighteen
points, Austin Mason averaging over seventeen points. I mean, sure those are
Group five level or say mid major level basketball programs, but nonetheless you just
think that of a player even at a low level like the Max for example,
is averaging seventeen to twenty points and you're vote at all MAC player.
It's not like you're going to come even to a very challenging conference like the
Big twelve and suddenly averages five six points a game. So I think Bobby
Hurley has been able to really create a good mix between the veterans from the
transfer portal as well as getting very very talented freshman. The big thing is
going to be the sea word for Bobby in that's that cohesiveness or chemistry.
That's something that you definitely had two years ago. When the team won twenty
three games, the highest total in the Bobby Early era. And what helped
him is only getting talented transfer But he didn't get the Cambridge brothers, the
des and Devon did get Warren Washington, who was a very close to those
Cambridge brothers. So even though you had newcomers on the one hand, they
already had that synergy working for them even before they step in MPE last year.
Chemistry, cohesion was really nowhere to be fined and nowhere to be found
on the team that really is going to have a makeup right now having no
more than three returning players. So the talent is definitely going to be there.
There's no doubt that this is the most talented Boston the Bobby Hurley ever
dissembled. Now for that's so called glue to really be present or absent from
that rosc that's actually going to dictate asss fortunes, especially in that albsolute killer
conference like the Big Twell, yeah, no question. Now let's move to
another sport real quick as we have like five minutes. Baseball. Baseball issue
was coming on strong at the end. Did not make the tournament, but
they also lost one of their best players over the last couple of days.
Yeah, Thomas Burns, a true freshmen that I really just considered the eighth
of this program. I did decide to transfer out. I think, first
and foremost just disappointing that a pitcher that came with so much was and so
much anticipation ended up only having six Friday starts fishing just over thirty innings.
Did have a great raa of four pointy seventy five. I think that once
you did have to I had to depart the lineup due to a by st
tendonized injury. That's something that hurt the Says team quite a bit. They
had a lot of young arms on the roster and really went through a vicious
learning curve, and the hope was, Okay, all these freshmens are going
to be not sophomores in twenty twenty five, and maybe this team was already
a nice lineup of formidable bats can do much better in twenty twenty five.
So living Burns definitely does hurt. I have no doubt in my mind that
there's definitely was fueled by a Willie bluinquist. The ACU skipper has not been
shy at all talking about the nis struggles that the program is having Thomas Burns
is somebody who is you expected to play in the last two weeks of the
season, expected to see some action in the fact off tournament, And I
don't know if you would or would not play if that actually would help as
you get over the hump and here is their name, Paul in the field
of sixty four. But I agree with you, Steve, it's definitely a
big loss for our Bomas State and it's really just drop back to the drawing
board with their pitchers, because that definitely has been a source part in twenty
twenty four in the trying for it to be much different than twenty twenty five.
Yeah, I covered Thomas Burns in high school at Hortonville, Wisconsin,
Washington pitch in a state tournament, so kind of unique to see him hit
the transfer portal like that and sticking with the transfer portal but in a different
sport. Wanted to get your perspective on one of the most unique stories of
the past couple of years in college football, and that's Jayden Rashata. Obviously,
his NIL dealer reported ANIL deal with Florida that was floated by a booster
was in the neighborhood of thirteen million, so he comes to that, doesn't
work out, comes to ASU, starts quite a bit last year, and
then loses the spring starting quarterback job to Sam Levitt. That transfer from Michigan
State transfers to Georgia to be Carson Beck's backup and back up one of the
Heisman frontrunners coming into this next year, and now he's suing the collective at
the University of Florida. How much has this just been a wild ride following
the career so far of Jaden and Rashada. I agree with you, well,
while arrive is probably an understatement. I think the drama has really followed
Jayden Mashada ever since he committed to Miami, which folks may forget that that
actually happened before you committed and signed West Florida and had all the nil Tasco
going on there. As you know last year from the Sun Devil. He
starts the first two games, then supposed to reaggravate a knee injury from high
school proceeeds to miss the next nine games. He was healthy and ready to
start for the Territorial Cup game in CMP and in the last team meeting on
the Friday night before. He did come late, and that's why he did
not start and did play sparingly in that game. And I'm not saying that
to be started that that would Guaranteeenas to win, But I definitely think this
is just a lot of maturity and off fulfilled issues that are picking Jeneram Mashada.
As you know, in spring practice he was not able to start it
fully healthy because of a non football injury that offered a few months before spring
practice. You guess if you had us the job to Sam Love it and
Sam Love is pretty much on the same level a Jenner Mashaua. He played
four games or lested Richard his long year at Michigan State. So people thought
it would be pretty even race because it's not like any of them has a
lot of experience and in college football. But Jama Mashada in the first half
of spring practice maybe trying to rush into action because he's off on Levit getting
better each and every session, and he just did not look good, did
not look like somebody that could beat some Levitt at all. He figured that
that's going to be more of the same full camps, so here he is
franswering to Georgia, and no, I don't expect him at all to be
in the mix up for the starting job at Georgia. And what's gonna happen
in twenty twenty five, that's a different story. But I'm just telling you
right now and not to sound like any like solid rapes or anything like that.
I think General Sada is definitely a talented quarterback, but he really needs
to figure out the mental aspect of his game. He really needs to maturity
level a few notches up, because otherwise he's not going to be successful,
whether it's Georgia or Jogs. So last question, we've got to go maybe
if you can make it within a quick one. But you've been doing this
long time. I've been doing this long time being accused of being a cragedy,
cragity old guy. Where do you think this game is going to And
I'm talking to college athletics in tirety where the kids are getting paid a lot
of money, not just a little money, a lot of money, and
just how how the the young kids today are kind of dictating what it all
means. And I'm not against get them getting paid, but now it's like
they're running the programs. Yeah, I think the NAA kills itself on the
hill called amateurism, and now they killed well, they've done the hell I
should say, it's called amateurism and now and now they basically killed the sport.
I'm not a big proponent of politics interacting with sports, so uh,
you know, Congress trying to regulate NIL, I guess they have mixed feelings
about that. But if you can regulate ni L, it's the revenue sharing
and really overtake NIL or at least regulate it quite a bit. I hope
that's something that can take place. I don't think we're ever going to go
back to the pre n I L or the pre transfer portal day. I
just think the answer the lay screwed up royally did try to overcorrect and now
did definitely more harm than good. So again, I really hope that NIL
can I'll be regulated if it can be in the near future or the not
or the distance us that anybody's guests right now. But I don't think the
sport right now is in a good place at all. And I'm just really
curious, you know, what's going to happen in the next few years.
I will see more regulated in nl A. We're going to see more regulated
drafts a portal. I definitely have my dad. Okay, hold, thank
you very much for joining us. Talk to you later in the summer as
we get prepared for fall ball. Thank you, Hod, Thanks much for
having me. Thanks a buch great Hod Rabino Devil's Die, just good stuff,
very candid what he has to say. I have some questions for you,
Matt, real quick on the way back out of this break. If
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dot Net. Extreamly live onny iHeartRadio WAF. This is Eye on the Ball
with Steve Rivera and Jacobsalez on Fox sportsporteen fifteen. Hey, welcome back to
On the Ball Hero Fox Sports fourteen fIF I'm Steve, He's Matt, He's
Ryan. Have we got about thirteen minutes you guys want to call? We
have some late breaking news. We'll get to that and then I'll ask the
question, what do you haven? Yeah, so we got a little bit
of news for your University of Arizona football. Luke Iago has committed to the
Arizona Wildcats today. He picked you. They over Arizona State, Utah,
San Diego State, Oregon, and Oregon State. He's a Phoenix area native
as well, six' five, two hundred pounds. He'll be joining McDaniel
and Fafida next year. Where's Where's he? He went to high school in
Peaks Hiley, Gilbert Hickley okay, Gilbri Higgley, Okay, cool another quarterback
in the mix. Yep. He played fourteen games over three seasons, passed
for almost twenty one hundred yards and twenty six touchdowns and eleven interceptions. Yeah,
okay, And then you had a couple more guys from the major leagues.
Oh yeah, there's just a little bit of news. I don't have
the article, but a couple more. Yeah. We talked about the betting
a little bit ago, and there were a few minor league players as well
that got suspended for a year for betting as well. Okay, So just
more of the same, yep, more the same. Yeah, so we
get twelve minutes. Anybody want to call, please do five to four,
one, six forty talk about whatever you want to uh, whatever sports related.
Of course. Let me ask you Ryan, So you're in the business.
Uh, this is my big concern. This is well, Matt,
what do I say, Ryan, Matt, Ryan's I continue to look up.
So let me let me ask you this. So one of the concerns
in this business and in this business here because I think it might go this
way and then and then post post game interviews and stuff. How we have
athletes, we have coaches come on the show, YadA, YadA. But
now I have a sense that some athletes will be asking for money to come
on the show because you know, it's their time. They want to get
paid. They're getting used to being paid, and now they want to be
paid to come on the show. I talked to a couple of other athletes.
That's been discussed, and that's not gonna happen, right, It's not
gonna happen here at least. Yeah. I think. I think the way
that in athletics that interviews and media availability is sort of gate kept is that
this is going to be a conduit to the fans and a conduit to you
know, the integrity of journalism, right, and that it's going to be
reporters asking the questions and if they want to control the message. Now players
are players are paid for podcasts and paid for you know, appearances and this,
that and the other thing. And there have been advents of that with
NIL where they can have their own platform to do all these things. But
I think they will always be required by whether it's professional sports in the media
relations department, or whether it's college sports by the sports information directors. I
think they will always be required to answer those questions from a school standpoint,
not necessarily. Man, I'm glad you went through because that was my next
question. Okay, you have just of thekit Caitlin Cark situation over the weekend.
The woman I can't remember her name, now push give her the push
in the back, right, whatever did go to the press? Commerce she
doesn't discuss it. I will not be taking any Klark questions. And that's
that's her prerogative, right, she can say whatever she wants to at the
podium, and and and and that's the case. But okay, so they
go to the podium, what's the point if we're not talking about the about
the story that you're looking for, Because I think the point is asking the
question, you know, I think because I bring it back to the Roadrunners.
Right, So, when we had the whole thing a couple of months
ago of the Roadrunners potentially moving to Tempe, and that's been resolved. They're
gonna play thirty games in Tucson next year six and Tempe. But when when
Coyotes owner Alex Morello had said on a Phoenix radio station that he was planning
to move the Roadrunners to Tempe. I went down to to Son Convention Center,
to Son Arena and waited for postgame UH to ask head coach Steve Potman
about that situation and about the future of the Roadrunners into so hope to get
what, hoping to get an answer, hoping to get Were you optimistic that
you would get that answer? I was optimistic that I would get a true
insight into his feelings of it information. I was not after the insight into
his feelings around the situation and to give voice to the franchise that could face
an uncertain future. That's what I was looking for. Okay. Adrian Denny,
who's the tremendous media relations person and play by play man for the tuc
Sound Roadrunners, he said, you know, this is a tough spot for
us to be in. We don't want two questions about the Coyotes or the
move. And I said, look, Adrian, he can say no comment,
Steve pop and the head coach can say no comment, but my camera
has to hear me asking the question for the integrity of this situation. And
he said okay, and then Steve Popkin answered the question. Gave me a
great SoundBite, and then that was bringing everything full circle. So I think
when it comes to all this, yes, they anybody can refuse to answer
any question that you want. That is okay, but the question needs to
be asked, and the question needs to be being asked. I'll give you
another point, okay, And that's a good point to my question. Here's
another point, okay. So you have somebody kicks the field goal, and
I've seen this before, the kicks the winning field goal, misses, the
winning field go misses the potential winning field goal, and guess who's not at
the podium. Yeah yeah, And then you know, and that happens in
an open locker room. You go to ask the question right in a situation
like we have today. At many places they're not made available. But you
know, I mean in professional locker rooms too. I've seen some situations where
somebody makes a big blunder and you know, runs away and hangs out in
the showers till media till the locker rooms closed, or just heads straight to
his car and goes home. Things like that. It happens at every level
of sports. But I think the window still needs to be open for those
interviews being a possibility and you know you're not gonna bat a thousand. Ever,
we never do, do we. Well, no, it's especially if
we're relying on the what they decide or who decides to get to the podium
exactly. That said, that said, darn I had another quick question as
uh, and so you say, you say they were not made available.
Utty, pretty easy to do that because they make the job easy for you.
Uh. And that happens more than than it should. It does,
it doesn't. It's more prevalent in college programs as well. But I think
at the same by the same token, everybody to some extent is after or
is desiring the integrity of their program and the transparency of their programs. And
I think people want that because fans feel more connected when they're being told the
truth. Yeah, okay, so i'll give you the the organ organ the
the USC situation with the Orange County Register, YEP, same kind of difference.
Uh. They didn't like the questions, they didn't like to told the
story we're going to try to pull your creditial. That went to crap.
And and and that's the good thing. It went to crap because people stood
behind the paper and the questions that's more like it. But what about now
that you get the kids are paid. Now they're more professional actually or professionally
our amateur, and they choose not to deal with this, uh because now
they're getting paid, they can call their shots yaha, YadA. I get
a sense that that's gonna happen too, potentially, especially if they're being paid
by the university. But I think I look at this too in a two
pronged way, whether it's NIL or being paid by the university. If they're
being paid by the university, they can be required to talk. And if
they're being paid by ANIL, they want to talk, or they have incentives
to talk because they're advertising dollars. A lot of times they're extra ANIL opportunities
are based on their public persona, and if they go up there and own
it, they're more likely to keep or get a new deal. So last
week I called you happy Gilboard because you're a very happy guy. I am,
well, I was just gas into your world because you're Pollyanna with all
this, and I'm not sure it's realistic, maybe not, maybe not.
I've never I've never been said as a reckless realist, more of a reckless
optimist, Yes very much. So I'm thinking, where are you coming from?
But how much is breand in your world? Well? So, I
do, though, ask myself a lot of these questions all the time,
because we see these ish shoes, probably in the media in sports, and
I think about I think of sports in a very much what would I do
next situation? And a lot of these situations I believe have come up in
media scenarios. And even with the USC situation, when that came up and
Lincoln Riley trying to you know, sort of shadow band the reporter from covering
practices and games and things like that, I asked myself what would I do
in that situation? And I think coming up with solutions before the problems present
themselves, are coming up with potential ways around it, and being strategic about
these things makes us more prepared as reporters and also from a fans perspective,
more prepared as watchers of sports for when things inevitably change. Okay, so
you bring up to fans a couple of times. Now you know, fans
don't give a crap about our job. Now they don't They don't care how
you come up with the story. No, they just want the story.
If you get the story without pissing the people you're telling the story up at
you abe because there's a big there's a big fandom obviously, right. But
if you if you go after the story and they don't, they don't appreciate
how you went about going the story. That's when they care, right,
not not whether you've got the story or not. Exactly Does that make sense?
Exactly? Yeah, So you have to do it not with kid gloves,
because you have to do your job. However, you have to do
your job. But you know what I'm saying, I think it comes down
to operating with fairness and operating with sense of transparency. That's right. People
care about transparency when things go wrong. So if you operate with a sense
of transparency at all times, then they never have to wonder and it never
has to be a It never has to be a well you're throwing us,
you're throwing us for a loop, or you're throwing you're putting putting us on
a scent of a trail that doesn't exist, or things like that. You're
not being transparent as the media, and I think people have a lot of
even in sports, I think they're that has a lot of twist trust in
the media. Does that. Twitter's done that, right, Twitter's done that.
So now I think I hope I didn't ask this question already. Give
them an age and forgetting Okay, so now they're more professional, ye,
should they be treated as such criticism at all? You remember the GUNDI Obviously
you're probably school. Absolutely, I'm a man, I'm forty, man,
I'm forty now the kids are not forty, but they make pretty good money.
Right. I've always approached asking college athletes questions in a very similar way
that I've approached NFL individuals because and other professional sports athletes, because I think
if you approach things as a way of holding people accountable to the results and
their craft while respecting the effort and time it took to get them there and
get them to a point where you know they're working hours and hours and hours
behind the scenes, and you are judging them on three hours and going into
that, going into that situation where you're asking the questions and knowing that this
three hours may or may not be representative of the work they put in,
I think it carries a little bit more respect of I'm going to hold them
accountable for the results because a lot of people are, but I'm going to
be fair to the process that they've put in, and I think I think
there needs to be more of a leveling of how we in the media treat
professional athletes versus college athletes because I think, for you know, especially in
the early stages of my career, a lot of situations, people would not
ask the questions, not ask the true questions needed to be asked to athletes,
very true, very true, because they wanted to be nice to them
or kind to them, and not fair is not the right word. Kind
to them is. But I think your fairness, your fairness word that you
used earlier, fairness and transparent is what it's all about. And with the
athletes knowing who you are, I mean you general like me general and showing
up and showing up and being there for a long time, they're familiar with
you. They understand that you're the guy that's going to ask those questions.
Bruce Bruce comes is like that. Bruce and I competed each other for twenty
years coming to the basketball team, and Bruce was the bad guy. I
was a good guy in all honesty, and I benefited and he did too,
because they would give us. They give me the answer, give him
the answers, and we both benefited from the issues. But we were there
every day, all the time. So I get that point here. It's
not the case because you can't be their their netle didn't allow you. Yeah,
and now you're you're at their whim of who you talk to. But
I think to bring this discussion full circle, I think that there is with
this era of athlete empowerment, whether it comes to NIL, whether it comes
to social media, anything in that respect, that there are so many athletes
controlling the message that there may be more of a need now more than ever,
for reporters and for other people to be able to ask the questions,
to hold them to transparency because they don't have to be transparent because they want
to control their own message. So the ability to hold them to transparency and
hold them accountable for that, I think it's may be more valuable than ever
right now. Now they have to understand that exactly. Good luck with it
you probably yeah, happy gilmore. You thank you for joining us, joining
me and for the last three days, three out of four. Good lucky.
We'll probably talk to you again soon. It very much. Thank you
Ryan for your time here. Today we're going to see Jay back. I
think he's on his way back, right, he's listening to us with a
nice new a nice new tan, and maybe fit more fit. He's walking
the beaches. We see you tomorrow, everybody, thanks for joining me.