Breaking down all the excess at all. It's Steve Rivera and Jacin Salvez.
This is I on the Ball on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Hey, welcome
back to tying the ball, you know, Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm
Steve, He's Jay, and now we have breaking news. This is I
on the Ball, breaking news on Fox Sports fourteen fifty and apparently one of
the biggest stories in the history of Michale Center. Last night, let's hear
this just stroying the history of Michale Center. Adam Sanders showed up and played
the pickup basket. It was not your sarcasm. You're not good at sarcasm.
It's such a big deal that even Sports Illustrated reported on it. I
wasn't it wasn't gonna be in my breaking news. I was just gonna break
it up at some point. But then I'm flipping through getting some last minute
things that during the break. Sports Illustrated has a story on the fact that
Adam Sander was playing pick up. Yeah, but you know, Sports Illustrate
isn't the same sports It's not the one that we grew up with. Everybody
doesn't right for them anymore. No, Ricky mannis does, but he's in
like some Hawaiian shirt and and some bag. What time did you get there?
You were we left here? I think he had just left when I
got there, because people were still buzzing about it and talking about it.
But I also when I when I get there, out of walking into then
I get there and I go straight to the bathroom. I pretty much do
that anytime I get out of it. That's where you get it. When
you get here, you do the same thing exactly. In fact, my
lead was exactly that with him, and Coleendo was there too doing his stuff.
I heard it with there too, doing imitations of Tommy and uh and
Bill Walton. Yeah, but he he uh shot some some loose my understanding.
He's he's a he's a friend of somebody on the on the U,
a staff, one of the managers or something like that, and and they
sort of and I guess he's he comes here his sister, his sister lived
here and she's getting some medical treatment or something like that, so he comes,
okay here people after this came up he were saying, oh, I
see him all the time, you know, but he was here and he
was playing. And now it's it's apparently become big big, you're sarcast Your
delivery sucked. I thought it was pretty good. What happened? What happened?
They beat him by forty seven? Well? What could have happened?
All right? Okay, okay, this is this is a head scratcher.
We had reported that Jacob kong Geka had jumped into the into the transfer portal,
and so then his mom, uh today or yesterday or last night,
reports that Jacob is taking a visit to Asu. I'm you doing right?
Is it? Because you know you can start over there and you're not sure
that you can start here. So he's taking a visit. Let's see.
Don't go into you don't even take the visit. Come on, man,
come on, let him go. You said, you said, if you
don't want to be here, Yeah, but if you don't want to be
here, don't be here. But don't go there. Okay, you can't
go there. You can't go there. You can't. He may not go
there. You can't, you really can. You know you put on an
a s u shut a. You're gonna burst into flames. You just can't.
Well, to each his own, no, no, not to each
his own. You can't do the zone. You can't do that. I
wish you weren't a bitter man, but it's not my life, you know.
I it centers me to be bitter. It's funny because I have a
friend, not so much like you, but like you. He's one of
my best friends back home, and he's a pain of the ass. He's
a he's a bidder. The bidders have the word, and I can't really
say the word on radio. He goes to church every week. It doesn't
miss it. He's very religious. He says, why do you go to
church all this time and you're pain in the ass. Says, I'm a
paying the ass because I have to go to because I am a pain in
the gas. I don't rub it off like that. Never. I'm not
even I'm not eve gonna see you need You've given that. It's just all
your ticket was punzed a well long time ago, long ago, and it
was like, what are you doing? What are you doing? All right?
More Transfer portal news h Tulia tongue of I Loo Hyeah his brother,
his brother uh. He's been the quarterback of Maryland Big ten career passing leader
in passing yards eleven eleven thousand plus yards. He's been at Maryland for four
years. He's jumped into the portal, but he's got he's trying to get
another season of eligibility. When he was at Alabama, uh, he played
two games. He played one game beyond the mact. He played a fifth
game his one year where he just took two snaps because his brother got hurt.
It was kind of like, go on, or your brother, go
take a couple of snaps. And now it's come back to haunting because now
he lost that year of eligibility because he played those two snaps. He's trying
to appeal to the n C Double A to give him another year of eligibility
so we can play. And if he gets that, he's in the poor
he's gonna go somewhere else. If not the NFL, he done if he
doesn't get that extra year. And and you know, uh, there's been
a lot of discussion about transfer Portland tightening up the transfer rules and the waivers
and all that. So good luck. But he I, you know,
I I have a tough time thinking that he's gonna he's gonna get that.
Get that some dude just got seven years. Yeah, and who knows,
you know, who knows what what, all the what, all the considerations
are another name hard to pronounce, but Ken Neo Matlo, former Navy coach,
went to u c l A as a director of something. He's been
hired full time as the tight ends coach. You who he is? Right?
He should have been the new he should have been the guy that they
hired when someone someone came right, but there was reportedly or supposedly or whatever
wordly the one little tweet next the whole thing. Yeah, yeah, but
he's at u c l A now, you know, working his way back
up the ladder. He got fired from Navy. Yeah, you know,
hooked on at U c l A. I'm sure when the job they gave
him was come and do this. A job opens, you know, you
can get a job. And he's got a job, and you know,
I mean I I would put an in position that if Kelly Chip Kelly were
to get mixed at some point, well, I mean there's still rum yeah
the guy here, I could go there there's that again. I you know,
I think I think, well, you know, I should I'll grab
the clip during the break, Uh, Jed was on Jim Rouman. Yeah,
he said, he's not going anywhere, right right, Well that's he's
not going anywhere anytime soon, anytime soon. But I you know, I'll
I think his next move is to go to the NFL. I don't think
he'll go to another I don't think he'll take another college. I think he
think he would go to the NFL. If you get him on, that's
a whole We'll get him. Jim. Hey, hi, hi, Jed,
this is Jim Roum. Can you come back on our show. I'll
give him our phone number. He'll call and we'll pren general. All right,
Okay, there's this really interesting fistfight going on over at ESPN. I
don't know if you've seen any of this, Pat paw. A couple of
days ago, Uh, Aaron Rodgers made a very and I'm not going to
repeat the accusation, but just a very a wrong and stupid and reckless accusations
by Jimmy Kimmel, and uh, Jimmy Kimmel lost his mind obviously. But
you know, Aaron Rodgers gets paid to be on the Pat McAfee show,
and he said what he said. Pat McAfee had to come out and say,
you know that that's just what Aaron Rodgers does. But ESPN actually apologized
today they did. Okay that what they say, they said that he made,
you know, some accusations that are not true, and we apologize for
Jimmy. That's that's two days there, forty eight in fact, a little
slow, a little slow, a little slow. But then on top of
that, in the midst of all of this, Pat McAfee on his show
today said about Norby Williamson, who I think is like the number two guy
at ESPN's that there are folks actively trying to sabotage us from within ESPN.
More specifically, I believe Norby Williamson is the guy attempting to sabotage our program.
So this number two, he's already accused, the number two guy trying
to sabotage the program. Well, I bet you that that show is gonna
end. Yeah, that's gonna end soon. I for one have never seen
it, and I won't miss it. Yeah, I've seen it. I
like it in a weird way. Maybe because it's a train wreck or possibly
a train wreck, maybe that's why people listen to us, But it's I
really listened to it interesting, it's not really informative. I mean in terms
of you're not gonna wake up and say, oh wow, I got to
see this again, or I get the information from there, but I get
it the surprises. He's paying Saban and Saving and Rogers around million dollars each.
Uh. But to be the guy to be the group of people that
were fired, remember and each one of them used to be actually what's your
name from here? Yeah? And then they hired that guy. Yeah,
that's kind of that's the run of my game day and the whole bit.
And it's like, man, and then you say, you don't have any
money and you're paying him this this, It doesn't make sense. It doesn't
make any sense. Yeah, you know there have been a time or two
that I've turned on my TV and his show is on and I can't change
the channel. Yeah. But like you said, with your sons in that
group, they love it. I don't know why they love it, but
they love it. I understand. I don't I don't understand. I don't
understand anyway. So there's a few going on over there. Well see how
long? Yeah? Yeah, no, I didn't know that. When you
accused the second the second dude in charge, when you're poking the guy you
know that doesn't sign your checks. But also, like you know, if
they're paying you millions of dollars, you know who's gonna win that. Yeah?
Yeah, you fire the coach, you fire the players. Exactly related.
Aaron Rodgers was voted by the Jets players as the most inspirational player on
their team. And I'm like, wait a minute. Don't you have to
play to be a player? I mean, like what two plays? Three
plays? Yeah? And it was, but they call him the most inspiration.
Who knows what the hell is going? Well, that's a bad team.
That's just a love fest for him. And like he you know,
he's the he's the the guardian angel for for for the Jets. All right,
Uh okay, Steve. What was Arizona's record against the spread? Is?
Okay? Eleven games? How many games? Thirteen? Thirteen games?
Football? Right? Yeah? Thirteen? I want to say, uh,
nine and four? Wrong? Close? Better eleven and two. So they
didn't didn't I know they were going to cover Colorado? Okay, Stamford and
Stanford? Yeah, okay, the only two games the didn't coach, No,
there were no fetus. Record against the spread is eight and one.
It's Colorado Colorado game that they didn't cover eight one, so he he.
Well, the thing is we actually network gave him some gambling Heisman awards.
Well, the thing with us is we we stay away from that stuff with
Leo. We coach team that we kind of talk about. Yeah, but
eleven and two for overall and eight and one for no fa fa against the
spread. I took. I did take him once. I did. I
did take him in the pool and I did too. Yeah. I thought
that was I thought I thought that was a good pick, an easy pick.
All right. It wasn't easy until the fourth poarter. Yeah, all
right? Uh okay. So College Basketball Report put out a listing of what
let me let me count of there's about fifteen twenty teams that the top twenty
coaching staffs and college basketball that are best at utilizing the transfer portal didn't rate
them, just basketball mit list, right, And I'm bringing this up obviously
because Arizona's in there, But who knows? What did you think is in
there? Else is in there? Basketball Transfer Portal? Man? I don't,
I don't know, I don't. And Za guys in there? Yeah,
okay, West Virginia's in there, Baylor Yukon. Yeah, it's called
survival now, it's called survival. But you know when you think about the
transfers that that that that Tommy Lloyd has brought in, I mean he's been,
he's been successful. You know, Caleb Love this year, Jade Bradley
this year, Ela Larson a couple of years ago. I heard in April
he sucked at it. I was going to recur these people, was blah
blah blah. Shut up. You know that the two guards from last year,
uh ramy uh brought me Raymie and uh the other guy we've already forgotten
lost the first round. You're entirely you're entitled, right, you're got who
is it though? Who was it? I can't remember his name now,
but you know, but you know he's been, he's you know, he's
been success what with these guys, and so you know, good good for
just win baby, just gotta win exactly all right. So okay, it's
not I don't know if you call this breaking news, but there's a cornerback
out of a out of Carson, California, sixty three one ninety Cornerback,
a top twenty five recruit in the twenty twenty five class he he put out
his top eight. His name is Hayes Fawcett. He put out I take
it back, Uh, Djon Lee. He's from Oh, Hayes Fosters,
the guy who wrote this. Dejon Lee's a big, tall, stringy quarterback.
Here are the teams that that he's his final eight Oregon, Georgia,
Washington, USC, Penn State, LSU, Florida, and Arizona. And
that's the neighborhood Arizona's running in. Yeah. Yeah, but but and they're
getting some of these guys, well not all of them. And yeah,
they may not get him right right, No, if they can get three
like they did over the last two three years. Yeah, but he's out
of Carson, so you know, so you know now that the other teams
are gonna say, okay, you go to Arizona. You know Jet's not
gonna be here. Yeah. Oh, you know they're saying that you know's
gonna leave. I'm gonna dig up that that clip from from the Jim Rope
Show. Yeah, okay, just to get it all right, let's take
our next break. We've got Eric Eric Eric Rhoades coming coming in from the
Barstools Sports Arizona Bowl. We'll get him to just give us a little bit
about, you know, how things went for them. I think they went
pretty well. They had a decent crowd, they had a great game,
one of the better games of the bull season, and then a lot of
eyes on the TV. So I'm sure they're gonna hang their hat on that
for quite a while. So tick around for Eric Roads from the Arizona Ble.
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WAPP, This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jacinzalez on Fox
Sports fourteenth fifty. Hey, welcome back to you the ball here on Fox
Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve RIVERA Peace Jenkins Aus known the phone. We
have Eric Rhodes of the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl. How are you, Eric?
And envoys? How we doing? We're doing well. Have you recovered
from the great weekend that you'd like that? I don't know if you ever
really recover from, you know, working for a year for one day,
but uh, yeah, as much as one can recover. I'm sitting here,
just turn the heater on in my house for the first time this year,
and uh, my dog and I are ready to have a weekend.
So all right. So there's all. You know, when you when you
get to the end of one of these things, you probably you know,
do a lot of wrapping up or maybe you guys are still in the middle
of that. But you know, coming out of the event, you know
a week ago, you know, what's the first thing that you guys are
are looking at in terms of what went right? And then let's talk about,
you know, things that you think you know you're gonna work on for
the next year. Absolutely great question, I think no problem saying what went
right. We had a great game day atmosphere. You know, Wyoming brought
a great crowd. We were announced attendants of about thirty thousand, so to
a fantastic Chamber of Commerce day as well, you know, up around seventy
degrees that kickoff almost a little warm for folks here. But you know,
couldn't couldn't ask for a better day and a better outcome of you know,
storyline of coach balls, last game, things to work on. We always
want to find a way just to get more people educated. It's still astounds
me when I'm out and about and maybe wearing one of our branded shirts and
people go, oh, what's the Arizona ble that's in Phoenix. No,
No, that's that's here. So I always always working on educating and just
getting our name out there more and more. It's funny because you're right,
I mean, for anything that's held locally or whatever, it's hard to get
the word out, even though you get the word out almost every day,
right, It's just kind of people's retention on an event. You know,
I do something like you for you know, work all year for one day
and you think, oh that's today, Well, well Christmas is December twenty
fifth every day, right, every year, So I get it. Yeah,
it's a tough situation. I mean we have to see those Christmas countdowns
starting in December of the days like just add six or seven to that and
it's like this kind of almost like doomsday clock that counts down of ready or
not here it comes. So so, Eric, you guys put out some
some what looked like or sounded like great TV numbers that you guys had,
you know, tell us first tell us what you know what that is,
and then tell us how key that is for you guys to be able to
continue, you know, to to grow this Bowl game. Yeah. Absolutely,
I mean we we announced today and really kind of a bunch of different
publications announced today that the CW at its peak of our viewership had one point
nine million viewers. Combining that with the Barstool numbers, which we're still collecting,
but last year was right around a million. I would expect a little
bit less than that because of the CW partnership, but we're gonna be over
two million views of the Arizona Bowl. And what that does for us day
is that it allows us to go to market to get bigger and better sponsors
on a more national stage because they understand their brain is not just seen here
in southern Arizona, but it's seen across the country. So, you know,
we had Mark Wahlberg's tequila company jumped on board this year, a couple
other bigger sponsors, and so you know, big numbers like that, Well
they may not seem huge for you know, maybe an ESPN market or something
like that. Goodness, that's huge for Center Arizona because it's just bringing more
dollars to our community. I know you're just a week removed from METT,
but what is the status of a sponsor for next year and beyond? Is
Barstool coming back? Well, as today, Steve Barstool is our title sponsor.
You know we were. We're at the end of a three year deal.
So we're just stalking to them as we would any any sponsor and seeing
what it looks like on their end, what it looks like on our end.
But trust me, you guys will be the first if anything changes.
Oh sure, I've heard that promise before. Oh yeah, I remember me
tell you the school you're going to go to. Oh I'm sorry, I
for God. So Eric, you know, you know, we all we
know, those of us who are here and are familiar with that, we
know that the game isn't the only thing that's you know, that's part of
this event. You know, all the other festivities, the taco drop on
on New Year's Eve, you know, tell us how some of that stuff
went and what were some of the highlights. Oh my gosh. Yeah,
So this year. This year we adopted a new phrase called Pachunga week,
which you know in Spanish is it's just a good old party, right.
You know, there's a game up north that has Fiesta involved us a little
more formal than we are. We we wanted to do that party that like
starts at seven and ends at question mark. So we were able to do
that. I think our pep rally was fantastic. The bar crawl had about
two hundred spots available the night before the game and sold out in about fifteen
minutes. They had a great time over on University Boulevard. The game itself.
The tailgate. I don't know if you guys to get a chance wander
out to the mall, but it was as crowded as I've ever seen any
of our tailgates. So it's going to be huge numbers, and then of
course it's become sort of a weird national phenomenon. But the Taco Touchdown,
Man, it gathers. It gathers the weirdest people, but man, it's
a lot of fun. And Warrant took the stage to a packed crowd.
We had a different location this year, which was fantastic. The Weather Channel
picks it up again. There was a website about Arizona that picks it up
that had about one hundred and fifty thousand impressions on that one of our Taco
touchdown. So it's just a lot to offer. Whether you like football or
you don't like football. We're doing our best to bring an event to Southern
Arizona that our community can be proud of. And also that's going to bring
revenue through our charitable giving. What you guys know well about it's going to
come right back here and stay here in Southern Arizona. Well, I think
that's is the one where I wanted to go next. I saw that firsthand,
in part because I'll tour gut some money from there. You had a
number of people who received checks a few months ago. You bring them in
and and this is kind of what not what they live on, but what
they need to survive on, if that makes any sense, and tell us
one hundred percent. You know, we're in nonprofit ourselves. So the ability
to give five ten thousand dollars to a local nonprofit, that's gonna that's gonna
make a big difference. Well that may not sound like a big number to
a lot of people, that's gonna help a lot of those nonprofits we gave.
You know, Steve, I think you were in the rooms this year
when we did give those ten checks. Uh, you know, and that's
on top of the one point two six million a Barstool Fund gave last year.
So you know, we're doing a bus to just bring as much as
we can to help our community. Be part of our community. You know,
is all the like stiff stay all the time. This is by us,
about us and for us here into the Arizona. So I don't know
how well you can answer this question, because you know, I've got history
right. I was on the Comparable committee later at the Inside dot Com book
committee. It was a tough sell. It was always a tough sell.
This ball seems to have been generating momentum from you know, from day one,
you feel like every year it gets a little bigger it, you know,
it gets more eyes on it, more eyes on TV. I mean,
you know part of you know, with the Comparable it couldn't even get
a sponsor. What's been key to that? Why have you guys been able
to have this success when previous Bowl games here haven't had that success? Well,
I mean we always say thanks to folks like you, Jay, who
we stand on your shoulders. I mean, it was It's not something that
was a brand new idea to have a Bowl game in Tucton. I you
know, I grew up here too and went with my dad to watch it.
Drew Bledsoe in Washington State play in the Coppa Bowl when I was younger.
You know, those games were fun. I think the difference that that's
made us sustainable and grow and grow and putting us on a larger stage is
that, you know, you guys had such a strong group of people leading
it, but it was a small group for whatever reason. And I think
it does have a lot to do with our charitable gives back. We've had
a large swath of Tucson get involved and a large swath of organizations put their
support in their hat and the ring behind us. So you know, we
have a volunteer army or Blue Blazers of over one hundred people who are small
business owners and just business folks here in the community who once a month come
together to help us and then spend their game week, you know, between
Christmas and New Year's helping us make sure that this product that people see is
as top self as we can get it. So long story to your short
question is I think we were able to engage more of the community aspect than
the football aspects. Because football is great and we've been fortunate to have some
great games, but it really is a community event and a community buying and
that's what allows us to continue to grow to well. That strategy had to
come from somewhere, That thinking had to come from somewhere, and you're right,
you know, we were selling the football, right you know, when
we were selling the comparable at the inside dot com bole as you say,
you guys are selling an event with you know, the community, the give
back, all that kind of stuff that came from somewhere, any idea and
where did it come from? I think that's that's large credit to our founders,
you know, Mark Irvin, Ali Farhang, Fletcher McCusker, and then
you know Nova Home Loans Canmidire is now our executive director, and John Bolpi
jumped on immediately and said, uh, you know, what do we need
to do and their their group came together and said it's got to be about
the community. So you know, they've spent a lot of those a lot
of those names have spent a lot of time trying to revitalize downtown right in
our community, and this was another tool, another arm of that effort,
and it's just turned out to be one of those ideas that's worked. Yeah,
no question. But those are guys that yeah, and those are guys
that have had success in that. I mean we talked about Fletcher McCusker and
Mark Irvin Bolpi, all those guys. Yeah, they've had success doing stuff
that looked undoable in this town. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, and
I'm one of those folks, much like you guys who say, like,
I've been a Tucson most of my life and I get real tired sometimes and
saying well, this is the way we've always done it. Well, okay,
and that may have been mildly successful, but maybe if we put just
a tweak on that. Going back to the credit to you guys, Jay
and you're committee with the Coppara Bowlnninsight dot Com bole, we're not doing a
bunch different. We're still you just put some good football teams out there.
We're still trying to do that. We're just you know, make stuff the
recipe a little bit. So what did you make or the organization make of
the words about the other other other bulls that are unimportant? You know that
they're not the big guys, So why even have the little guys? If
we get that question a lot, Steven, that's a good question. I
would always urge them to just come see the two hundred plus student athletes who
come to compete in this game. And you can tell us all day long
that these games don't matter until you watch a young man put it on his
shoulder pats for the last time, or go to top golf to hang out
with his teammates one last time, or this year, you know, Coach
Bowl. Not a lot of people would have said Wyoming is a juggernaut or
like even you know, big time on the landscape of college football. But
that storyline was incredible, And you know, a guy who's had forty years
and with coach Osburn and Nebraska and all kinds of national championship success in North
Dakota State to bring hands last game and his legacy and put it on the
line in Arizona Stadium. You can't tell me that doesn't matter to the people
like Coach Bowl, who's been in just about every Bowl there is. Well,
or just a few years ago when New Mexico State and brought came here
and brought the whole time of Las Cruces to you know, But I was
just gonna say, Eric, the teams themselves, the teams you bring in
are huge, are huge part of the success of it. Yeah, I
think you know, part of that formula is due to our staff in kim
Adaire and del ar Bio and Ben and that who do it a great job.
I mean, we sit down, I'm starting in about week four weekly
and we have a whiteboard kind of going through one our matchups could look like.
And we pride ourselves. You know. I did a television interview this
morning when the guy's like, man, you've got lucky with your games,
and I pushed back a little bit and I said, sure, there's some
luck involved. But then the matchups are intentional. You know, Wyoming wouldn't
have necessarily been on anybody's radar this year to come back to the Arizona Ble.
That's very you know, non traditional on the Bull space. But when
they did and we would pick them, and we went through these conversations,
Man, we're like, this is going to be a good football game.
You know, the eleven win Toledo against an eight win Wyoming with Coach Bowls
legacy on the line. He was sixty and sixty going into that game.
You know, just some great storylines and you know, you guys have been
there for most of them. But that's now four out of eight that have
been walking off wins at the Arizona Ble. I was gonna say that,
and those are fun again, I mean, it's an added bonus when you
have a great game, and those have been fun, you know, you
know, as as they do right there. People always ranking everything and in
terms of ranking the games in terms of were they good games? You know,
the Arizona bil was at the top of the list. Yeah, we've
had three. We have three. This is our third straight year game rights
in the top ten by CBS Sports, which is you know, one of
the obviously we follow their publication and you know it's able recueable organization ESPN the
rankings to come out. But yeah, I mean our games, when you
have walkoff wins and you have storylines like we do, it seems to have
You know, you had mentioned New Mexico State who hadn't been to a bowl
game in fifty seven years. You know, storylines are important, which you
know harkens back to the question of why bowl games like this are important and
wins like that. You know, the kicker who made the walk off field
goal, you know, I'm a stats nerd. I'm a sports nerd much
like you guys had missed seven of eight field goals coming into the Arizona ball
seven of eight and then he went he went three for three and wound up
being our game MVP with the walkoff winner. So you know, that's a
game and I'm moments that might propel that young man's in some different things.
So you know, if you answer a couple of questions, that's why our
games matter, That's why the other bowls matter. It gives young men a
chance to show something they might have shown or to cement their legacy, even
if it ends that night. Great, Well, well congratulations again. Well
I guess hear from you guys again one more time when you guys tell us
what you guys are giving away in what you earned. Yeah, yeah,
I mean well that always takes a couple of months because you know, as
things start to trickle in. But yeah, right around that end of March
early April, we'll have that number and we'll put it out. You know,
we can say a couple of numbers already. We gave twenty five thousand
dollars to Southern Arizona teachers this year in thousand dollars increments, one thousand dollars
for every touchdown scwarding our game, although there weren't a ton, but that
ended up we gave five thousand dollars to that fund anyway, you know,
just some those hero tickets we still sold. I think we had six thousand
and plus Heroes tickets, which are tickets underwritten by folks in our community for
you know, military both active and veteran, first line work, frontline workers
and first responders and educators to come to the game on the community's behalf.
So we'll have those numbers and you guys can hold me too. I'll give
you a little tease, you know when we we have an announcement here in
a little bit. Well, I'll do my best to come and break it
on your show that we'll come find you. We know where you're at gonna
say, you know, I can't pay that light because you guys being nowhere
to find exactly. Thanks, I have a great date. You to Eric
Rhodes from the Festival Arizona b what I say, although I will say Steve
when I think what John I think of Like, you know, my uncle
face down in the driveway, well said seven to whatever it was. That
looked like a big party. So that's a lot of fun, all right,
I stick around. We'll take your cause or no, we're not going
to take you. O. We are that five Friday pick, so uh
check around for that if you dare, we'll be right back. If you're
an Arizona men's basketball fan, you know it's been successful for nearly forty years.
Now take a look back at the Ludolsen era in my new book,
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Fall season is upon us and fans are bearing down for our new and improved
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A Team apply online today at a teamsecurity dot net. This is I on
the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez sound Fox Sports fourteen to fifteen.
Subscribe now to the podcast on the iHeartRadio app just Surgeon I on the Ball.
Hey, welcome back to Win on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen
fifty. I'm Steve, You're Jay. Final week of this disas well disaster.
I'm falling fast. Been a disaster for me, Skip, but I
got a four last week, which is my high score of the season.
That means that I'm not going to have the lowest score in the history of
this pool that we're in. I'm still more than a thousand spots out of
first place I've got I've got twenty four points, You've got fifty two.
So this contest ended a long time ago. My winning percentage is thirty seven,
Yours is fifty nine. That's a pretty good year. That's for me.
It's thirty seven is not that bad. I thought you were liking on
twenty fives. I was for a while I've been on a tear. I've
gone in the last uh in the I've had two two, two and three
in the last four weeks. I'm getting. I'm getting I've gotten more games
though, anyways. But okay, so this is it. This is the
this is the final. You won the best. So I've got to pay
your your entry feet next year. And don't forget the five bucks every week.
When the five bucks a week, I think you're up by forty dollars
something like that, me and so. But I'll use it to pay your
dinner. Sent Well, you owe me a bunch. I've been adding up
the bets that you lost it. Tell me what We'll do this for another
day. Yeah, but no, real quick, you lost it. You
lost it over under on Arizona. Yeah, well I haven't paid that yet.
No, you lost I haven't paid that yet. No, okay,
you lost uh the USC game. Remember when the spread was twenty one and
I and you only gave me fourteen. You haven't paid any of the bets.
We have just been collecting these in Washington and then uh then Washington,
right, I had Washington. I thought I paid the second one. Well
maybe you did so, but I know your dinner and that was the first
one the over under on air on area. That's probably right too. Yeah,
okay, I get you probably only well, we'll settle it all.
You're probably a lunch and said, shoot, you're you're you paying for your
own dinner with my money that I want for you exactly. So anyway,
all right, so we've got our last fab five Friday picks. It's a
it's all all NFL, with the exception of the College Football Championship Game,
which is our special game that we both got to pick Washington in Michigan.
So you know what, Steve, I'm gonna let you go first because you
are the champion. Okay, I need to do at least three here.
I need to to stay in the top one hundred because I've fallen fast.
It is bad. Okay, So I'm gonna go with Obviously there's only one
college in four pro I'm gonna go with Las Vegas Monastery over Denver. Wow.
I think this is going to be a game where if they win it,
it makes no sense that your guy Antonio Pierce gets a head coaching job.
How do you fall forward as much as he has in the last couple
of years. A su I'm sure must either. Well, I'm sure they
don't like him. Yeah, well he's got They're gonna be on probation because
they and his herman. Right, they already, I mean already, you
know, gave up a not not that they were going to go to a
bowl game this year, but you know they gave that up at the beginning
of the year. Uh. You know, you know it was hard to
look you're looking at the at the schedule, it was hard to find games
that mattered to enough, you know, to either or both sides. And
and so you know, there were all these quarterbacks. I think I read
you the list of quarterbacks. Yeah, and I didn't pay attention. Well
who aren't who aren't playing on? Yeah, you said that some of the
key ones. Yeah, it's it's it's crazy here. Let me let me
call it up real quick. But it's uh, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson,
Matthew Stafford, Brock Purty, Joe Flacco. You know, none of
those those guys are all starting quarterbacks aren't playing. So that took five teams
out that you don't even want to try and pick. I left them all
alone. All right, my first pick, You're gonna love this because you
are a Cowboys fan. I'm taking the Cowboys. They're still trying to get
They're still trying to get an old game, a Cowboy fan in fact,
to get my the Cowboy fan always. I have a pretty good life now
and then. And the Commanders are so bad. The Cowboys are giving thirteen,
but they're they're they're, uh, they're they're I think they're just gonna
kill the Commanders. They're playing for something, right, They're playing to keep
keep their high seats. I'm going I'm going with the Commanders, I mean
the lot the Cowboys. Sorry, okay, that's my thirteen. Okay,
okay, So my second pick will be the Bucks. I took him last
week, I think it was, and they killed me. They killed me
with with Mayfield. I'm mistaken one more time with them because they need to
win, I think to get you know, he's questionable, right, I
think, yeah, but he's well, yeah, he's just a questionable guy
for sure. Okay, So I'm taking the Bucks month four and a half.
Yeah, okay, And the Panthers are so bad and that's that's why
I'm taking the Bucks. Yeah, yeah, all right, Uh, I'm
gonna I'm gonna continue to smash my hand with the hammer. Uh, you
know, taking the team that just has hosed me all year long. Not
that I keep track of stats, but I do keep track of stats,
Steve. This team for me this year is one and three against the spread.
I'm taking the Lions. Oh really, yeah, they're they're also they're
also trying to get certain things can happen that they can get the first round.
That's not This isn't good because I took the Lions as well. I
took them against the Vikings two three weeks ago I think it was, and
they covered for me. So I think that do it again. That one.
I think they're like lost four games against the spread and three of them
that I have. You have the other, No, they've been they've been
okay for me. So I'm taking the Detroit as well. Monustreenhow yeah,
so, uh, I'm gonna look that up Vikings because they've really let's see
the Lions. The Lions are ten and six against Yeah, no, they've
had three of those six timing, baby timing. Okay, So you did
you say you're taking them? I'm taking them to Okay, all right,
my third pick and again I keep taking these guys thinking that they're gonna get
their crap together and they haven't. But I'm taking the Eagles again again.
They're they're trying to solidify, you know, who they play the Giants.
They're they're they're at home against the Giants, but no at the Giants.
But they're giving five and they have got to get their stuff together. Yeah,
they well, this is their last chance to get their stuff together before
the playoffs. Their fans are pissed. I know if you've seen some of
the you know, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, I mean, you give them donation
of ten dollars and they'll say, how come you didn't give me eleven?
Yeah? Or fifteen? Yeah? Yeah. So I'm gonna I'm gonna stick
with them, and I'm gonna take the Lions giving five to the Giants.
Okay, I'm going with the forty nine ers minus four. Okay, who
they play the Ram Yeah, neither quarter neither starting quarterback is playing. Who's
oh really? Yeah? Yeah. San Francisco they're just crushed me. Last
week. They crushed me last week. They've done a twice to me know,
on the stupid, frivolous extra field goal with no time left right,
they're kicking it and they cover, and then last week they give up a
ninety yard the punt return kickoff return. Oh man, Okay, but I'm
going with the forty nine ers, all right. I just stayed away from
that just because you don't know what quarterback is. I left that one and
this is one. This I'm taking because again, every time I've gone against
the Texans, they've kicked my butt. So I'm gonna take them this time.
J. Stroud is back. They're they're giving one and a half to
the Colts. Oh, I like the Colts. You like the Colts.
So they're giving in Indianapolis one and a half, So I'm gonna take.
I'm gonna take the Texas just because CJ. Stroud is that guys, it's
in indian indian Okay, what's your best bet? You don't have yet?
Wow? Uh, I'm gonna go Cowboys. I'm gonna go Cowboys as my
lock, and who's your lock? They didn't the camera? Okay, my
lock is gonna be Uh. I think the I think the Bucks, right,
is that right? I think it's the Bucks? Yeah? All right,
Okay, Washington, Michigan. It's a cash college football championship game,
Michigan minus four and a half, the games in Houston, Uh, what
do you do? Whatever you do, you're not gonna say because I'm not
changing my mind. I know, I'm not worried about that because it's but
it's not between you and me. It's me and the world or a hundred
of people in front of me. I'm gonna go with Washington because I think
they'll stay within the four and a half. They finally convinced me the last
couple of games that they're pretty good. They're very good. In fact,
Panics was fantastic and Michigan. The thing about it with Michigan is it would
be poetic justice for the whole year that Michigan, a team under great scrutiny
and under investigation, wins the year to screw it up, yeah and win
it. Yeah. It throws me back to that member that there was that
one year where Al Davis and Pete Roselle were just fighting the whole year Rosette
and then the Raiders won the won the Super Bowl and Roselle had to present
him the trophy. Well, you've seen it in basketball when when Larry Scott
had to give Tommy Sean Elliott Sean the trophy and they bowed that. They
the fans were relentlessly So, yes, that's one of those situations. Yeah,
it would be just like Michigan do that. But you know what,
I've been on the Washington train all year long. I thought at the beginning
of the year they were going to be really good. I don't know that
at the beginning of the year I thought they were going to win the National
Championship, but I did believe they were at least going to win the Pac
twelve and get in the playoffs, which they've done. They were impressive last
week although that it was funny because Steve, you know, in an Arizona
game, you know, at the end of the game and if it's a
tight game, you know, my heart gets beating and I'm like nervous.
I felt like that with the Washington game last this week, when when you
know, Texas almost went down, and I found myself feeling the same way
I feel for an Arizona game, and I'm like, what the hell is
going on? It's Washington. I mean, I really in the end really
don't care. But they did care almost they want them to win this because
they almost blew it, almost blew it. And I want him to win
this thing. I want him to beat Harbor. I want Harbor to lose
and get off to the NFL and and and then let everybody move on and
take his signs stealing a program over to the NFL. I'm taking Washington as
well, plus the four. Okay, so there you go, you have
the tell me I got I've got the Cowboys minus thirteen, Lions minus three
and a half. Cowboys are my lock, Eagles minus five, Texans minus
one and a half, and then Washington plus four and a half. I've
got you for the Raiders minus three, the Bucks minus four and a half,
Lions minus three and a half, forty nine Ers minus four in Washington
plus Yeah, this last week is always a sketchy one because of the quarterbacks,
the and the so many guys not playing. Yeah, I hope I
get at least three. Got to have three step there and at least collect
collect something out of yea. And you know I would love to get out
of I'd love to get in triple digits. So we'll talk more about the
big game on Monday. Right, we have, like you said, justin
coming in, justin spears, and then we're gonna have Jack McGruder as well.
Yeh, yeh Jack, Jack's been analyzing the game, will get his
pick. And then he's gonna gloat about as I am about Panics in Washington
because yeah, they've been there all year long. We both crawl over those
guys. Don Yeah enough, already enough already, Hey, don listen,
listen on Monday, because there's gonna be more common all right. So,
hey, fun week. You know it was a short week thanks to Lamon,
Hunley Bryant, Jeffreys on Wednesday, Reggie Gary, Michael lev Yesterday,
Jake Fisher missed it. If they missed the shows, yep, if you
missed if if you missed it, uh, go to our podcast page on
the iHeart website. Go to our or you can go to our social media
either Facebook or UH or Twitter or x as you might call it, and
we have links to our our podcast page there as well. We can find
us on Spotify. You can find us on Apple Podcasts, and of course
the iHeart podcast page. So too Old Dude, Too Old Dude podcast.
Yeah, okay, thanks. Javia Morales has been posting it on on on
social media because I'm too lazy to do that. But I'm hoping you guys
find it on uh you know, on on Apple podcasts and on h on
Spotify, so be sure to listen to that. We've had some good stuff
and we're hoping, we're hopefully we're gonna bring you some more. But we'll
have the College Football playoff preview for us on on Monday, and we'll have
that, but you already know Steven my my peck and Steve's pick because I
not only think Washington's gonna cover, I think you're gonna win the game.
Yeah. I think that's very possible. I really do. Like it's just
pull itic just how the situation would run well. And you know, people
are saying, Okay, it's either a Pac twelve Big Big ten matchup,
where it's a Big ten Big ten matchup. You know, Washington headed over
there next year, so either way, the defending champion is going to be
in the Big ten next year, so it would be fun. All right,
Thanks for being here all week and thanks for your patience for us being
up too long. So we'll see you on Monday,