This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez sound Fox Sports
fourteen fifteen powered by Nova Insurance Services and Sure Your Most Prized Possessions kt z
R two SAD at iHeartRadio Station. Hey, good afternoon, everybody. Welcome
to Eye on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera,
still sound like poop alongside my partner Jagan Zawas and the least. We'll
be here later. And I'm telling you, Jay, we may never have
another guest after today. You know, as they say in Star Wars,
the kod is strong with this one man. I texted Ray right after and
said, please don't blame us, and I'm sure he did. Make sure
Dorothy did. He laughed, and I said, well, don't blame us,
just blame Jay because it's not Mike k If you were here yesterday,
we had Rebecca you knows, the head softball coach a pima On. We
had at least I had not wanted to get her on, being a superstitious
one that I am, and not wanted to get her on during the winning
streak. But it got to twenty six games, you got to talk about
it. At some point we had her on yesterday and of course we killed
it. They got beat today in the first game of a doubleheader. Was
so we killed the uh, the the moment winning streak and it's over and
uh, you know we are who we are. Yeah, well, don't
put me in the week category. Oh I am associated with you. You
know what you were, you were there for that. On a good note,
they will take a shower today, right, they'll take a shower and
watch this song. So that's that's a good thing. Yeah, So we'll
see what happens. I hope they win today in the second game to kind
of get us up the hook or at least maybe start a new streak.
And as we speak, and at least as in the building in the house,
welcome, welcome. Uh. We were talking about you know, the
kod J. You know, Steve, I mean, if you want,
you have some blame on this, because when I said let's get her on,
you said we should. Yeah you know you didn't. No, No,
you're right, I thought the same thing, because we don't know when
we're going to get her on in the first place, because seasons almost over.
So no, I thought it was a good idea. We're not just
an accessory. Okay, you were a big part of no killing that this
was a crime. I'm going to jail with you with me, right,
you know, fell any murder, whatever you want to Officer. I didn't
know he was driving the car and going to the bank and stealing the money.
I hadn't I was I thought he was an uber driver, even when
he got the gun out of it. But I didn't know what he was
going to do. I told him to drop me off in the court.
He kept kept be going. Anyways. Actually, some people sent a text
in the last couple of a good interview with her. Was a lot of
fun until it was how did the surgery go? Uh? The other surgery
go? Doctor? Uh? The surgery went well. The patient died.
They should die. Yeah. Other than that, it was going well.
So let's be bad. I'm looking to see if we can get a part
of the score update on the other game going on right now. At least
your time is coming, baby. You got two and a half weeks and
you better get a job. I know I'm trying and a half. Yes,
well not even half. You'd be like the Obama's you get that gap
year. I don't want to go. I want to get right into it.
Yeah, I hear you. I'd start in May eleven. Anyone listening
looking for someone? Yeah, we'll get two good recommendations from US. I
graduate May tenth. Ready May eleven. There you go. That's a Sunday
Sunday. Yeah. No, no, that's give yourself till the thirteenth.
Are you are you going to do the whole stadium thing and all? Very
cool, that's very cool. It's it's you know, I know how much
of it it's for the parents, but it was very cool. You know.
When we did it with with my son and my daughter Alana when she
graduated, was during COVID, so that we had a zoom uh graduation.
Yeah, with just her. I've never had graduation either, because my high
school was I graduated twenty twenty, we had graduation. Who's the speaker this
year? Oh, it's that he's an actor or he does the voice for
he does the voice for like someone. I know that he does the voice
both in The Incredibles or something. Because you're skulking skoking out right now,
I get that. For the coach he was he was oh Steve, Yeah,
the coach and the coach. He was the coach. He was the
coach. Yeah, he was the coach, the old guy. Yeah,
Okay, everybody knows who we're talking to. Coach, he's the coach.
Yeah yeah, yeah. Oh man, we're gonna get a text her.
Yeah, I know. Craig Nelson, Greg Nelson, Greg Nelson. Yeah,
also known for Poultergeist. Yeah. See Poulter guys on the scariest movies
ever. Yeah. So that's that'll be fun. That'll be good. A
known guy, so uh yeah. But anyways, my son's a place that
in Rutgercy with Stevie ray Vaughan. I don't know really it's gonna work with
President Robins resigning, Well, he's not. He's still the president. I
know, he's still the boss. Yeah. I know he'll be there,
he'll get you know, but it's just kind of were I thought the same
thing last week. I went to an event, to the ribbon cutting of
the golf tournament Golf up in Veiling, and he was there and people were
like, oh, he's still here. And he had just come from U
a board meeting, you know, the border regions, and they saw him
santerine and he loves this stuff until he can't do it anymore, right,
you canna you gotta pull him out of the door. Yeah, you know,
so you'll be fine unless what happens in the next two weeks. I
know that a new person, I guess. I don't think it'll happen in
the next two weeks. Okay, where are you graduating? Now? How
high I think I'm gonna be? Suma. You gotta get a job by
the thirteenth, I know. I'm like, I'm so qualified. That's if
I get the last three closka pressures are pressures make make your people here proud.
Yeah, exactly. We're gonna We're gonna put one out into the world.
Yes, okay, Well and her one day a week here for the
last you know, however many weeks it's been. Whatever time you get,
it's all because of us. Yeah, thank you, guys. Yes,
we'll expect to kick back later. Okay, Okay, I won't forget about
you guys, Yeah sure, yeah, you people in Tucson never mind.
Okay, Well, come everybody. You guys have a chance to call us
anytime. Five two zero four one six seventy four forty. My voice may
sound better, may not. I don't know. We have. You know,
it's amazing how much worse you sound on them on through the headphone than
you do in person. Okay, it's funny to me. It's because I
you know, I can We talked and I can barely Understan right now.
Well, that's what relatives is like. You got a mouthful of model balls
in your mouth or something. That's a that's a typical any day. That
was just worse. But I hope it gets better soon, sometime soon.
Uhday. We got a pretty good show today. Kind of a different one,
yeah, I think so, but a needed one in the second hour,
Yeah, because go ahead for well Troy Hutchinson in the second hour,
because we've got to catch up on football, catch up on football. In
the first hour, we have we have Roadrunners. I think, Oh,
Adrian Denny, he wants to go book that one because you've forgotten. Yes,
I'm the one that was my idea to call him, and I called
him and you forgot it. But and then I forgot about him. Adrian
Denny Tucson road Runners that he's their TV uh TV play by play guy as
well as the media communications guy. The road Runners start their playoff run tomorrow
at home it's a three game series, so all three games will be here
if it goes to three games. But they started they start this tomorrow,
so we'll get the lowdown on their on their playoffs from from Adrian. We
talked to the coach, Steve Popman last week. They had, you know,
a couple more guys or a guy had been called up, uh you
know, I think on that day. But so they're still dealing with that
kind of stuff. But we'll get a we'll get the loaddown from Adrian on
the road Runners hosting a playoff here for the first time since I believe what
it was it twenty seventeen or twenty eighteen or something like that, that they
were in the playoffs that they were that they're hosting. Oh yeah, loaf
Before this, this whole radio show predated the show, so we'll and and
for those of you who don't know, you can you can catch their road
Runners Happy Hour after our show on Tuesdays, which that means today, and
also their games are on Fox Sports fourteen fifties. You can listen to this
as well. So a whole Fox Sports fourteen fifty family thing going on with
the eight and if you're into all that like the like the Coyotes one.
It became a popular thing at the end when they knew they were going to
leave the support the road Runner size. They probably are going to go.
I don't think anything official has been announced right well, they're not like a
news release, but their owner, the owner did say we're bringing them up
to Phoenix. Our plan intent is to bring them to Phoenix to play in
ASU's arena. Yeah, okay, so they are you know, it looks
like they are going. Okay, okay, so those are our guests.
I'm looking forward to both of them in the second half because we need to
catch up on the football what's going on. Would try the scene before the
road before the game on the spring game on Saturday, which we've just requested
our credentials for that, at least I did mine too. Yeah, so
we'll be there for that and hopefully be able to come back with some semblance
of what we saw out there. If by Monday we can remember what we
saw. Are you going to that? I don't. I might go watch,
but I'm not covering it. Okay, Yeah, but I might go
watch. Yeah, I've gone before. It's never the most exciting to me.
It never is well, you know, well, first of all,
first couple were someoning or maybe the first one was someone which was just awful.
Then you know Jed, they look they looked like practices with Jed,
they weren't games, right, you know, I like a game. I'm
like you, I want to see a game, not just another practice where
you know, the the you know, okay, we scored a touchdown,
let's go put the ball back on the twenty. I want to see it.
I want to see a game. Yeah, you know, kick it
off. I think Mike Stoops did a couple of those. I don't remember
too much on rich Rod's spring games. But you know, if I want
to go see a practice, I'll go see a practice. But I'd like
to see more of a more of a game scoring however, they want to
score. Yeah, and at least at the Red and Blue for basketball,
it's like more of a spectacle. They do the lights, and they have
the three point contest and the dune contest, and you know, they bring
out to his mom. The game part of that is the most woring part,
but they do. It's cool to see the dunk competition, the three
point competition. But at the spring game, they don't do anything. I'm
gonna agree. I'm gonna agree with you only because I like you, but
I disagree with you totally. It's boring as all. Hell. Yeah you
know that. Yeah, I mean, well, I'm to too many.
I'm there to do the stats, so I'm twiddling my thumbs until ye yes,
yeah, and then the game is it. You don't like to see
the dunk competition, but it's real quick, and they do it real quick,
and it's over and it's done. You know, it's it's not as
spectacular as you think it would be. It's more of a it's a recruiting
tool pretty much. Maybe it's good for me because I'm sitting there trying to
get the footage and it's really great footage. And I think I saw some
of that footage because you were putting a package together, right yeah, maybe,
yes, yes, I saw some of that. Yeah, right,
So that's why you hired me because of the package I showed you from the
Red and Blue game. Sure I needed somebody. On Tuesday said yeah,
sites of your No, what are your qualifications? I don't need to see
the resume. We will take you. That's funny. What are you having
one more two more weeks or what happened? Yeah? Maybe two more Wait
wait wait wait the important we brought the lead. How did the trip to
Saint Louis go? Oh right, this is the lead of the day.
It went well, we got second in our division? Oh okay, yeah,
would you lose to Michigan? They're pretty good they honestly we probably could
have beat them, but we were so tired. Three days playing in a
row. How many games the last day that was our fourth game in a
row, no break, So I think we were just it was playoffs the
last days. It's just like go go go, and I we had a
game against Boulder before that went to three sets. We barely won. I
gave everything I had in that game against Bolder, and we were so tired,
so sore, so much rest before the next one, like and then
it's like it's even worse because you get you sore up. It was even
better if we just kept going, kept playing, you know, if it
was right away. But we had like a twenty minute break and then you're
kind of sitting. Then your body starts to hurt, and it's like you're
not warm anymore. And again, is this inner murals or is it club.
It's a club, okay, club. Okay, So hold, you're
like twenty two, we're sixty and sixty. We get that all the time.
Get you sit down there, it's hard to get up. Well,
I get out of bed and I'm sorry, So we understand you're twenty two.
You could come back boom. No, it's hard, guys, I
was doing. This is really mentally tough to just push through this pain.
But it was fun. Want to be twenty two again? It was really
fun. Yeah, okay, good for you. Cit a place so you
get a trophy or whatever. Nothing oh never. But then what it was
cool because the teams that make it to the final of like the highest divisions,
they play the guys and girls they play in at the T Mobile Arena
in Kansas City and the huge arena and everyone goes to watch. So that
would have been really cool. So what did you play just in a convention
center? But if you make it to the final, they like wait a
few hours and have the big game in the convention center. And it was
for the girls. It was U c l A against someone I forget,
but U c l A won their club, their club volleyball team. And
that's pretty cool. Okay, congrats second place, second place man, pretty
good, like a trophy. He doesn't pay attention to my question. I'm
reading. I'm okay, not like a coupon for a big mac. Nothing
barbecue barbecue? Did barbecue? Joy is good? Yeah? I think Jay
talked about that last Yeah. Okay, we've got to go to Roadrunners though.
Oh you remember Roadrunners? Yeah, Adrian Daniel, all right, we'll
be back to talk about Roadrunners playoffs. Stick around. The Window Depot has
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to azypest dot com to schedule your free evaluation Today. Dreamy Live on the
iHeartRadio app. This is Eye on the Ball with Steve Bravera and Jacobsalez on
sporteen. Hey, welcome back to I on the Ball here Fox Sports fourteen
fifteen OX team. He's Jay now on the phone. We have a dream
Denny of the Arizona road Runners. Well, I don't know what they're called.
Now, what are you called? Now? No road Runners? Of
course, Yeah, we'll just call you the road Runners for now AGA because
you know you know right? Hey, So have things going you guys are
ready for the playoffs? Uh? A little two games sweep or do you
hope it goes three games for the extra revenue? Uh, we'll take We'll
take the two games to move on it. If that's If that's in the
card, we'd love to play Wednesday Friday. Take a couple extra days off
for the players to get ready for for round two and have a couple more
weeks to get ready. A couple more days, a couple more weeks to
get ready for the next round of home games. So fill us in on
the schedule. Just keep winning, Yeah you do. Uh well, we're
good on revenue when we're winning, exactly. Fill us in on the schedule,
game times, all that kind of stuff, tickets and all that.
Yeah, yeah, seven pm Wednesday, seventh game Friday. For Game two,
it's a best of three series the Roadrunners in Calgary. It's a wide
out. So that's a turning to the TCC. We've got white out rally
thousands to giveaway on Wednesday. We also have an offer the TCC just sent
our way five dollars is caring the draft years coming up tomorrow sixteen ouncers,
So we've got that coming up tomorrow. And then Friday pregame tailgate party on
the plaza and whiteout t shirts is our giveaway. So it's going to be
a party. We've brought in a bunch of additional game presentation elements. That's
the folks on enjoy a Live DJ and it's gonna be great and it's the
team that we think can go a long way. When this season started,
I think you guys were ruled off some pretty good wins. I think we
talked to the president about that. Did you feel that this was a playoff
team right away? So we were. I felt like all season long,
we've overachieved to this point. Right we had nineteen players called up, so
just constantly adjusting on the fly, right, But now that we've got everybody
back, everybody they got called up is back with us. I think I
think we've got a team that can, as I said, really make a
long run content for the Calder Cup Championship with just every everything that we've needed
we've got back. So I think during the course of forty fifty to sixty
seventy games, we were overachieving because we had so many call ups and we
were so young. But now that you look at it six months later,
it feels like a season group that does have that maturity, that does have
that experience for big games, for playing in the NHL that maybe I thought
we go from a first round playoff team that of the division versus finishing second
place. Is the hottest team in the AHL going out of the playoffs,
as we were unbeaten in seventh straight games regulation. So what can you tell
us about the Calgary Wranglers. You know who are they? Well, you
know, what's the expectation. They had the best record in the division last
year, the MVP goalie, So the last couple of years they've been pretty
pretty hot. This year, they they finished in seventh. They enter the
playoffs win lessen five. I've always felt like, let's finish as high as
we can and then take, however a fall the other way, right,
don't worry about the matchup. Just finished as high as you can. So
you've got us unbeate and seven. They're winlessen five. They got five guys
back from their affiliate, the Calgary playing two. It's it's it's it's a
it's a good it's a good match up. The game this year have been
pretty close. Been goaltending right. Redins have Matt Mwall too, led a
league and and wins. But we played a couple three two games against them
and we won and went to overtime against them. So so three of the
four games we were within a goal. Renners finished two to one one against
against Calgary. Does this this is a dumb question, but obviously a playoff
team does the season kind of become more enjoyable as you know, this is
gonna happen. You know something. I'm sure you'd done this long enough where
it's a grind. Was it a grind this year? I think I've said
this to my staff, you know, just just in the office. Right
there are years when you're in the American Hockey League and you can kind of
start getting the feeling like this is special. This is going to be a
year that you always remember, regardless of how far you go in the NHL,
right, like, there are years that you have in the American Hockey
League that you're gonna remember, is that was a special team back in Tucson
in twenty three, twenty four. And I started feeling that way about this
group maybe November, December, January, and right now still even better with
the success that Josh Doone and Johan Gunther and Michael cassorin playing sixty five games
the Pieties had up there at the NHL level, and now coming back year
with all that they developed on up there against the NHL talent and speed,
and now coming back to Tucson with the desire to prove that they can lead
a team to a championship and have that pride of we won a championship in
the AHL with the Roadrunners because we were the best players and the best leaders
in the AH all that year. And when you're when you're a number two
seed in your division, I mean, the expectation is that you should be
playing at the very least for your you know, for your division championship in
the you know, in the bracket. I mean, is that how the
guys look at it, or you know, is it kind of like,
you know, we just got to take care of business here. I think
it's been a group so far that SIS works so hard that they can have
time to look at the standings. Right, we were we were in first
place going into the All Star Break, and that we enjoyed, right it
was it was last game before the All Star Break. It was us was
Coachella Valley. We beat them in a shootout, so they were in second
place. We were in first place. After that. That might be the
only time all year, three days of an All Star break, after that
game that our guys really had a tint back of think, wow, we're
a first place team. This this could be something that we do have all
the pieces. It's not just the belief and the work that we have that's
accomplishing everything right man, No question, the coach must have had a pretty
good magic formula for the group because of you said, there was a lot
of turnover back and forth. You have to find that right magic spot right
and still be good at what you're doing. Steve Potman and his group are
absolutely unbelievable. Steve spent here all eight years assistant coach or a head coach.
His first year with US in Tucson and twenty sixteen he was a development
coach of the Coyotes, who he was here right pretty much every day working
with us while he wasn't on the bench during games. And he's a guy
that like he played pro that he moved his family to to Phoenix because that's
where they wanted to live post pro hockey. And he started coaching kids with
the Ice Dend, including Josh doone, and so he's coaching fourteen year old
fifteen year old and then you know, he's a skills coach for the Coyotes
and one year after that he's a road Runners assistant coach in the AHL.
And it's just really quite quite the path that he's had. But he's a
guy that can communicate with anybody, relate to anybody, get anybody on board
because of the message that he has for their personal success, which is going
to lead the team success. And there's so many guys in the NHL right
now that have come through too soon, that have gone out of their way
to say, man, it had a couple of rough days. Steve Popman
stuck with me and we just kept rolling and we got things, got things
to a good level. And that's why I'm here. So I every player
is going to say that about him. He's just got an unbelievable ability to
communicate and explain and detail of what we're going to do and how we're going
to get there, how you're going to be a part of it, how
you're going to have access, and how you're going to end up in you
know, not not to take the team apart right before I go to the
playoffs, but you know, I mean, when these guys are at this
level, they're you know, they're a step away from the NHL and some
like, as you said, get up there. Some what about Steve Popmin's
future as far as that goes, We're you know, how much longer do
you think? You know? Where's he headed? Those kinds of things,
because you know, when you guys are doing well and you're again managing him
the way we when we talked to him last week, you know, it's
evident he's you know, he's probably ready. Yeah, So his first year
as head coach was the bubble season. It's right twenty one, when Jay
Verdy went up to the counties to be an assistant, and then Jay came
back and Steve became associate head coach again, and then Steve took over last
year when Jay became an assistant with the Detroit Red Wings, got us to
the playoffs, got us back to the playoffs, and then this year.
So I think you're looking at an incredible Gills, a development coach who's brilliant
running a power play, who's now in his third full season as an HL
head coach and having you know, the record the Roadrunners had this year.
I don't think it's too far before he starts ending up on every single list
that comes out when there's a head coaching opening from a young prospect head coach
in USA, that might be your next next big guy that you pull from
the AHL. I think we're I think we're really really close and we might
even be closer than we think on that now. He would not want to
hear any of that focus on my job. That's that's why we didn't ask
him last week. So how cool is it to host him. It's been
a while. It has been, believe it or not, the pandemic,
and we missed the playoffs by a point a year before that, and coming
back and the bubble season, the playoffs were all all off site. Oh
and and last year we were the seventh seeds, so all of our games
are on the roads. It's been to eighteen since we had the white out
two son, and we talked about it. Last year. We were one
game away from bringing the playoffs hockey year. We quite do it against Cashella
Valley and we've been talking about it every day this season. Number one,
number one goal bring the white out back to two. So and it's and
it's here and and tickets are moving moving great, and it's it's gonna be
a really awesome Wednesday night for for Game one tomorrow. We still got still
got tickets availables dot com. Past fun for the TCC box office to come
come be a part of it. But it's it's it's gonna be awesome on
the ice. We've we've got some in game elements, so we're we're adding
and uh going to be more excited. So when you when you get to
the playoffs like this, and you know my experiences with the Sugar Skulls got
to the playoffs a couple of times, you know, when I was working
with them, there's just a it's like what this town is waiting for.
You know, there's just a certain feel to it. And now you're getting
to host, which I think we said the first time since when since twenty
eighteen. There has to be a different field when you have to be hearing
from your fans and whatnot about you know, this opportunity for you guys.
Oh, they are so excited and you can feel the buzz. And we
had a media lunch in yesterday and every station in town was there and the
more came back today and it's just a market for us. It's just been
so supportive and so welcoming and so you know, anxious to bring the playoffs
back here and share on the team. And even you know there's nights.
I mean, we had we had our best home record ever this year,
but I mean there's there's nights where you just don't always have your fastball,
and even on the rare occasion like that, you just don't feel it.
They're always behind the team, no matter what I felt my first game here.
It's why, it's it's why it's so special. Yeah, I bet,
I bet so. How how good is Calgary coming in? I know
they were good last year, but this year, yeah, they're they're they're
good. Like it's it's it's one thing I I don't think there was.
That's why I wanted to finish as high as we could, because you just
there, you just in no position to start picking anybody, because everybody's got
their positive everybody's got the reason you don't want to face them. And Calgary's
got the goaltender of the year coming in the previous two years and in Dust
and Wolf, and they've got that that that experience of you know, they
went to the conference finals and they were based in Stockton, California two years
ago. Last year they had a good run that and then against the Coachella
Valley. It's so it's it's you see it with in the NHL playoffs every
every night. Uh, you know, it's it's you got to be on
your game. And Steve always says, our keys of the game. We
want to be the best version of ourselves every single day, and and that's
that's the biggest focus. So what makes you guys good? What's made you
guys good all year? I think I think the biggest example, I think
is so our last fifteen wins of the year, we had fifteen different players
score the game winning goal. So with all of the call up, everybody
just went next man up. You didn't know who was going to be the
star. And they're just a very selfless group. And and you know,
the game after Josh Stones got called up, he got we got shut out.
The first game that he got called up to the comaty. He's leading
the league in rookie scoring by you know, by active players, and third
overall and led the league and rookie goal. So losing a guy with that
a big deal. And our first game that and we got shut out three
nothing. The next game we came out, we got one of the first
and then and then we just kept going and we ended up beating San Diego
seven to three. Because there's just a plan of just go out there and
work. Steve and I joke in our in our conversations, like we've got
to lay some bricks, we got to build some engines, We're going to
chop down this oak tree. We've got to finish this race. We can't
just stop a final number twenty four. We need all twenty six, and
that's kind of been been The message is we need everybody and we need to
finish. And the Roadrunners this year twenty three to one goal wins, which
is second in the league, and thirty nine wins in regulation, which means
they're finishing games off without having to go to overtime. And I think those
are some really big deals going into the postseason. All right, Adrian,
Well, good luck starting tomorrow. What tomorrow again? Game time seven o'clock
right here on Fox Sports fourteenth fifty am rons blow up start at six forty
five. A Rally Cole giveaway that's just added. You just heard it here
first. I just got the email. Five five dollars, sixty ounce draft
pears. So game one it's gonna be. It's gonna be a great atmosphere,
the white Outs back in Tucson, Arizona's hockey playoff traditions, So couldn't
be more excited and so excited and so appreciative to be able to come on
and share that with you guys. Thanks a lot for having me, and
you still got road under Happy hour after our show today, right, yeah,
we're headed over to two Soon Appliance in just a few minutes. We'll
be live Kim Cutter rebels to myself from from five to six right after you
guys. All righty tickets tomorrow you have tickets, go to the Roadrunner dot
com, YEP, two soun Verners dot com, Fast Fun TCC box office
and if you guys ever wanted to give any tickets away, we can do
that too, So just let me know. Okay, okay, keep on
the playoffs so we'll do right man, Thank you, Adrias. Let's go.
Let's keep this rolling. Let's have some hundred degree chapters. Let's not
get carried away. Yeah sounds great, Adrian, best of luck, Thank
you, thanks guys, take care of you, okay, success, Yeah,
but if it comes out to the expense of D and ten, you
know, yeah, yeah, all right, that's great Adrian Danny with the
two Sound road Owners. Their playoff run starts tomorrow at the Arena, so'll
be sure to you know, head over there starting tomorrow and then Friday.
All right, let's take our break. We'll be back. Take your cass
five two zero four, one six, seventy four to forty. 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 Loudolsen era. In my new book,
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Centurions dot com breaking down all the exes at all. It's Steve Leavera and
Jagin Salvaz. This is I on the Ball on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Hey, welcome back to one of them all here on Fox Sports Sports and
fifteen. I'm Steve, He's Jay. We've got to analyst with us.
Oh and we got about fifteen minutes. I think I have a question for
you. Okay, have you ever tried playing hockey where? Anywhere? Have
you ever tried playing hockey anywhere at all? You mean hockey? Hockey,
hockey, like on skates hockey. I heard hooky is hockey hockey? Oh
no good on skates hock? God? No, I have you ever I
skated at all? No, I was gonna go there because my mom grew
up in a place where you could do that. No way. I like
my ankles too much. Skates and skates skates yeah, no, no,
no, no, no, I like my ankles too much. Friend of
mine did. He was he's kind of funny, but he got his son
to play and he was really good at it. He could skate the hell
out of it. So he decided, yeh, what the hell you know,
it doesn't look that hard, I'll go play a recreational league. It's
funny because you talked about how the only way he could stop was running into
the wall. Yeah, I would be that guy, and how exhausting it
was to, you know, fall and have to get up just gonna go
there. I do not ski, never have because I don't want to ski.
I love I don't want to fall run to a tree or flying off
the cliff or skating because I know I would break an ankle or something and
none that ain't gonna happen. Yeah, I mean, I mean I've I
skated a couple of times, but I wouldn't do it anymore. No,
you've done TikTok videos. That's that's that's just as bad. I don't.
I'll show you my TikTok video break you love it. It was. It
was done during the COVID quarantine. My two daughters and I did a video.
So it was just a little one, a little one of those dances
that had gone viral. It's pretty funny. And then I posted and then
got really upset me. I said, why do we do it if we
weren't going to post. It's like it's like I didn't put on TikTok.
I just put it on. We put on face. It's like getting a
tattoo. And that COVID everything was acceptable. Yeah, it's still in my
it's still in my computer. Does it seem long ago? Because you were
one of those students, It does seem long ago. That was crazy,
I think about it. Okay, so you graduated in twenty twenty. Okay,
so you were in high school when in March when it all happened.
Yeah, but then came in on the freshman year. Yeah, so no
prom, no graduation, no senior classes. We did the AP exams online.
Yeah, like the AP exam to get college current online. We passed
those. So your highlight was, oh, the president came to say hi
at the COVID door at the COVID COVID Dorm. Then I got COVID the
first week of school from did you really Yeah? And then they took me
and it picked me and my room made up on a golf cart and took
us to the COVID dor and we packed up our stuff and they took us
on a golf cart, drove us through campus on a golf and then you
have to jump out and the ladies in a hazmat suit. Really, you're
like, you're kidding me, crying like, oh my god, we're gonna
die. And this lady's in a hazmat suit and we don't even know We've
just been here a week. We don't even know what this place is.
So they take my roommate and I to the COVID dorm, which was the
COVID dorm with its street by the McDonald's. I don't even believe people live
there. My son did his freshman year there. You're kidding. That used
to be That used to be the athletic dorm. Okay, it was the
worst storm. I was just gonna say, tell me describe the dorm.
It was the worst worm I've ever seen. You know, you know the
McDonald's on speed Okay, it's behind it. You're looking at the McDonald's looking
north. It's kind of behind it. Into the right. It looks like
an apartment. There's a pool, and some people still live there. Now,
yeah, I think that people live there. It's it's a die.
It used to be the best dorm. No, but that was thirty years
ago. Not to die. That's where that's where I did manage is with
you know, Sean Elliott, that whole basketball team, right, Elliott,
Tom Tolbert, all those guys lived in this and it was nice. Yeah,
yeah, it was nice. And then my son lived there his freshman
year and it was it was a dive. It it's not very nice.
Two weeks, like ten days, and then I actually think we got out
kind of early though, because we kind of were like we had symptoms before.
Yeah, so I think I was there for eight days, but it
was supposed to be ten days. The lady in the hazmat suit dropped us
off and then we were the first ones because this was the first round of
mandatory testing in my dorm. They did that like earlier that morning, and
so we were waiting for the results. We got them, and so we
could see everyone coming in and getting dropped off from the golf carts. So
you couldn't leave the room. No, you could walk, you could go
anywhere in the dorms, you could do whatever. Everybody else had it.
Yeah, and then people would like drop off stuff for us and we'd you
know, go by the pool like I don't know, because everyone had COVID.
But then the first day President Robbins came and knock on my window.
We were in there like unpacking our stuff, and he knocked on the window
and said like hey and waved and said are you guys okay? And we
said, I was like, oh, come out here. Well, I
liked him ever since. Really sick, I didn't not at all. I
didn't even know. I didn't feel a thing. But then my friend did
lose her smell. Wow. Yeah, And we were lucky that they were
able to since we said we're already roommates. We you know, they put
us in the same room so we didn't have to be alone. So how
was life in there for ten day? Oh my god, it's like a
fever dream. It doesn't feel real. It was. It was honestly like
everyone had it. So it was kind of like I met a lot of
people my friends that I still have or because I met them in the COVID
dorm. And I'm not kidding, like it was. That was the thing.
It was kind of the place to be. People would like come to
the COVID dorm to Yeah, did you know friends for life? Yeah?
You know, like you get shipwrecked and then you become friends for life and
we'd all sit out there, you know, it was August is warm out.
We'd sit out in the courtyard. I went to you, I graduated
from UA, and all the guy was this COVID. Yeah, all I
got was President Robinson knock on the door. Wow. And so like you
got it the first week you were here. I mean the first week I
think it was like September first or something. How much for that sucks?
The years sucks because it's not college. It's just not college. But it
didn't suck though, because I think it's worse if you were in college at
the o A having a great time there's sports, it's this amazing school,
and then it's taken away from you. I came into it and it got
better every single year. Freshman year, it was still like new and exciting.
I'm in a new state, new people, online classes, but it's
still you know, I still was doing u a t V. It was
online, but you know, I was still like it was on new And
then it got better sophomore year, and then junior year was like fully kind
of done here, and then now it's pretty much back normal. But it
got better every year. So it wasn't like I feel like if you were
a freshman, then you got it taken away. That's what happened to and
then didn't come back until like really senior year for it to be normal,
that's like your whole college. But for me it was like a progression.
And my senior year of high school got taken away though, which is like
those are monumental events. I've never had prom. Yeah, that was my
daughter. She had she had gotten, she had gotten you know, a
nice uh scholarship. It was in the Honors Dorm, brand new dorm,
first first one in and in March we had to go yanker out of there.
Yeah, and you know, as you said, she was having a
great time, the time of her life, new friends, new dorm,
her roommate was, you know, one of her friends from high school and
just and then all sudden and it was a beautiful, beautiful it is and
all of a sudden, we're packing up her stuff and bringing her home,
you know, and then she had to come home, and then we did
a TikTok. Yeah, and then all you could do was TikTok's is dad?
No? And then I knoweople who you know went abroad that year and
then they they were like in Barcelona whatever, and they're Yanks back. Yeah,
you know, they're like, you got to get out now, yah
house, you don't know what's going to happen. Yeah, it was quite
a time. Yeah, it was an incredible time. Just wow, you
thought, wait a minute, we're in the United States of America. This
is a you know, it is twenty twenty. What are we doing?
Right? And it was nuts. It was just nuts. But wow,
what an experience did you ever get COVID Steve, No, You've never.
You haven't gotten it. I can't talk now, I don't know. Yeah,
go find somebody to give it to you. No, No, I
got sick, in fact, very bad. When I had the show by
myself at the other station ten thirty, I got sick. I got sick
for like a week. I couldn't It was like this but but really sick.
So I did the show sick like this in my room because they didn't
want me to come into the show. So I took the portal like our
portal, yeah, and did the show that way. I think I did
the show with you guys right before twenty nineteen whatever that was twenty nineteen to
twenty yeah, priest, because you were just starting started in twenty right,
and I had I had a guy coach guy come in and made and that's
when he was saying, we're gonna hold on. We're gonna We're gonna hold
on. Then like a week later it was over, and then I got
the call. Then I got the call what are you doing? I got
fired for the first time. Well then I called you the next day or
not? What are you doing? What do you want to think? I
don't have a job. If that's what you know, why you called me?
So what do you know? That is the funniest, one of the
funniest things ever, because like, you know, I get this text me
and I thought, oh, he found out that I got fired. And
that's why you were calling, Oh you want to do the show. Okay,
let's do it. I need a partner, come on exactly. Oh
you said, let me talk about you. It's been good. Yeah.
Good. But then my parents were happy because they were like, you have
antibodies. You know, you're not going to get us sick. So sure
they were happy I got it because I wasn't even sick. But you know,
but I remember we talked about that all the time because your brother got
it, I think in that time, and they were thinking, oh,
yeah, my brother Jean, Yeah he got it. I mean I thought
he actually got it, went into the hospital, and I thought, he's
going to die and we're not going to see him again. That's the last
I mean, that's what the that's what that's what it was like, you
know it was. It was in that time when people were getting it and
if they went into the hospital, they didn't come out. And four days
later he was at what year like month was that in March of twenty twenty
scary. I mean, it was right at the height of yeah, maybe
maybe April, but it was at the height of it when people were getting
it and when they went in they didn't come out. He got it,
and I was like, that's the last time I want to see him.
And then he came out and he was fine, and yeah, and he's
still fine. My grandparents got it and that was scary. Yeah, that's
that's what it is, because reality when you're older and you're not okay,
yeah, they're they're all good. So no, it was It's crazy,
you know. I ended up getting it. I got it in twenty twenty
one, and I just you know, had it for a week and had
to do the show from home. You had something like this before, maybe
something I remember I got the something I got the Bell's palsy, can only
talk out of the side of my mouth, I remember that was that was,
Yeah, did you have a stroke? No, Bell's palsy, my
lip is hanging. Yeah. And my mom's actually an epidemiologist, so she
works on you know, these diseases and these viruses. You know, you
know, normally she works in Africa and you know, like in the Congo,
but she was working really closely with the CDC on COVID, so she
would get all like the intel about when stuff was be closing, and I
remember she was like, all the nail salans are going to close tomorrow.
And I was like, how do you know that, and She's like,
I just know. And then the next day all the nail salans were closed.
And so she had all this secret intel and she really liked the way
Robin's handled COVID at the u of A. Well, look for all that
you want to say about about Robin's and you know what, he always administered
the u A particular the last couple of years. He was at the forefront
of what was going on with but he was, you know, a university
president something well as a doctor who understood and wasn't trying to deny, you
know, and who was in charge of a university. His response and what
was going on on campus was was really second to none. And Arizona the
JOV and this community was very lucky to have him in that position in this
town because one, you know, with nearly forty thousand students on campus dealing
with that, and then two as big as the ju A is to have
somebody with some credibility running that show. This community can never thank him enough.
I think what he did during COVID hear and I'll just say that he
was one of the first presidents come out and really do something about it.
And he was personally checking up on his students. Right, we have him
on the show. I think he's a friend of the program coming on.
One of the things is he's he became polarizing. You have so many people
who think he did a great job, and then vice the other side who
think just you need to go. Yeah, I mean, honestly, which
is unfortunate. I get it. He's you know, they messed up the
financial situation, and you know, and look, we all you know,
we've said a million times a job like that take at some point you've you've
you've made enough on people and enough people unhappy that they want you to Well,
there is a life expectancy in that position that it's about seven years soon.
All right, let's take our break. We're going to come back breaking
news at the top, uh and Lisa is all loaded up, and then
we've got Troy Hutcherson talk some more U of a spring football after the first
break next hour, So let's stick around