Breaking down the Hall the exes at all. It's Steve la Vera and Jake
and Salvaz. This is I on the Ball on Fox Sports fourteenth. Hey,
welcome back to Out of the Ball here Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm
Steve, he's Jake. Now we have Simon breaking news on the ball,
breaking news. All right, We'll start with some really tragic breaking news.
Super Bowl parade in Kansas City. One person has been killed in ten to
fifteen injured in a shooting at the Super Bowl parade in Kansas City, which
is awful and terrible. You know, heavy sigh, right, you know,
you just have to hate it. And why, you know, why
do we have this? Why do we keep this up? Yeah, Steve,
when I were talking about it before, it's like, at this point,
no one can have any nice things. You can't. You can't.
You can just a couple of stupid with people. And I mean it just
takes one. I've already gotten a uh you know, I'm on the Gabby
Giffords mailing list to eat text mailing list because I've contributed to her her you
know, her pack for you know, stop some of the gun violence.
And she says, you got the text, but she says a very true
things. Sadly, gun violence is as American as the Super Bowl. Yeah
yeah, I think I think that sums it up total. And it's not
well, I won't even go there, go ahead, go there. Well,
it's it's not really solvable. I mean, you you have crazy people
doing crazy. It's not one hundred percent solvable. But I mean, because
we don't know that, we don't know today today, we don't know.
It's not one hundred percent solvable. But there are solutions to reduce what's happen.
Of course, of course common sense stuff for this though I don't know
enough, you don't know enough and everything. It's like you say that that
that's the argument, Steve. These people, these people who don't want to
do anything. They say, you can't stop at all, so don't do
anything. That's the problem here. If we did some things, we could
stop some of it, but we don't. Instead we say it's out of
control, there's nothing we can do, so let's not do anything. And
that's you know, that's crap. That's complete and utter crap. You got
into this tential before. I'm not gonna go just shut your micut THEO.
But you know, it's like it's like the waste management thing. I mean,
it is what it is, right, it's been like that for a
long time. Now. You have to curtail it back. How do you
put the genie bug in the bottle? True, whether you're going to try
to do it, do all the precautions. You think that's gonna go back,
and but it might be a little more sub subprit They can reduce that,
they can reduce the issues. They're not gonna They're not you know,
the guy is still going to go sit on a barstool and pee on himself
if he wants to, right, right, Yeah, So hard to jump
from that to the O how State had basketball coach being fired, but that
happened Chris Holtman. Holtman was fired at Ohio State, and Sean Miller's name
is being thrown around as as an early possible replacement. To Jay's point,
when this thing's happened, you could you could throw his name around, and
it's just people throwing names around the possibilities of someone taking that job, which
of course it may or may not be true or legitimate or very a good,
very good choice, but it's it's there it's the ink hasn't even ben
signed on the or drying on the on the firing. Yeah, but it's
were talking about. It's like Ohio State isn't or at least recently hasn't been
a program where you go and think like, oh, they have great college
basketball success. So it's no, it doesn't seem like for him to make
the jump from Xavier to a how state wouldn't make a ton of sense.
One of the things that I think, you don't you think he's would he
take the job? Meet too, but because I think he thinks he's got
a better job already, or it's it's not so much better that he would
want to leave a place that he is home. Totally agree, Totally agree.
And I also think that I think that in his career he's lived under
the radar at Xavier, where the media isn't with him, everybody, the
bruises of the world aren't chasing him down asking him for where he was.
I'll talk to you once a week and I'll go to the game and be
okay, where Ohio State might be another I don't want to deal with that
crap again. Yeah, No, I I you're right, he's had a
taste of that. And again, Ohio State is it is a good job.
It's not even Arizona. It's not Arizona. It's not Michigan State,
certainly not. I think it could potentially it could be if the right coach
got there. Sad Mona did a pretty good job there, but it takes
it's like one of those sleeping giants. But it's not even in the blue
blood conversation. No, no, it's not. No, that's that's the
I'm trying to make. It's not you know, so what you know,
if he's if he he's comfortable. Xavier, he's obviously comfortable because he went
back and they and they brought it right and there and there's there. You
know, they can still be pretty good. He look, he's not in
the you know, he's in the league now where you can win the championship
from that league. Yes, so why would he leave that and and and
leave the comfort of where he's at? You know, Yeah, we'll see.
It's more college basketball, more Top ten and twenty five teams lost.
UNC lost the Syracuse last night. They've lost three of last five. Yeah,
three of last five. They're kind of in a downward spial right now.
And Bill self got ejected for the first time ever, which I thought
was his first Yeah, than ever, which I mean when Bill self gets
hot, he gets hot, and it happens, I don't say quite often,
but it definitely happens. So they see that he got ejected for the
first time in their loss route honestly against Texas, he wanted to get the
hell out of there in the game. Anyway, I don't want to see
this. Yeah, Well, another guy was was Kevin Sampson who stormed the
cord and got the hell got ejected just a week or so ago. Look
look what Big twelve basketball is doing to these coaches. And it's just like,
sure, we were talking about this yesterday and how great he Azona fans
are gonna go ballistic when they have to go to these places and it's not
gonna be It's gonna be physical, right, and it's gonna be tough.
If if you if you had who would you say if you had to guess
right now? Is uh in first in the Big twelve? Oh it's easy
because I know who. I will state a nice wow, wow. I
wouldn't have that. I would have I would have had I would have had
Houston. They're tied with Iowa State Houston. And you look at I was
looking at all the records and it's all like thirteen and one or fourteen and
oh at home and then you go on the road like it's like like four
and three or five and six, stuff like that. Well, well,
then didn't you text me or somebody on the on our text thing? Azon
fans don't understand this. Weapons ever better better everywhere right right, and even
better places right. And we're having that again. I was having that conversation
with my Wednesday lunch group. Lunch group guys, you know, I made
the I was making the point that Arizona fan somebody they're asked me, how
is Arizona still a number one seat? And he said, you know why,
because you, as an Arizona fan, you you have a you have
a bigger problem. You think Arizona's not that good because you see them lose
to Washington State and Stanford and people, people outside of outside of this fan
base think more of Arizona than the fan base. And it's very it's very
narrow minded here because they don't look young. Come on, you didn't know
anything about FAU until they were in the Final four or or San Diego State,
right, because you're just kind of centered here. But you think Arizona
should never lose in the Pac twelve because because they're better than all those teams.
But you know what, Duke loses to Wake Forest, and you know,
and and and Kentucky loses to Vanderbilt. You know, they other teams
lose to tell you know, Kansas lost by twenty six to Texas Tech,
you know, or twenty nine. You think that Arizona should never lose,
and then when they do, you think they're awful. Well, they lose
because no teams don't go undefeated. Yeah, And I think that the fan
base, with all due respect, is a naive to sports. Well,
I think I think if you go down to KYU and you asked their fan
base, they're the same way. They're they're they're killing them, They're the
same way. Yeah. And it's to Jay's point of it's one it's two
unders of the spectrum with you of a basketball it's when they win, they're
the best team in the country. When they lose, it's how do you
lose to Washington State on the road, And it's we just talked about how
Kansas on the road, they're not very good. We go, oh,
they got killed by Texas Tech on the road when you've a losed when they
lost to Stanford on the road, I guarantee you those Kansas fans are like,
oh, they lost on the road to Stanford. It wasn't like,
oh my gosh, they're terrible type thing. We're not sitting here saying Kansas
is terrible. It's they lost on the road, right and looked by how
much they lost. Yeah, But to the point of, it's no matter
what the conference, it's hard to win on the road. And next so
Indiana Indiana State a matter of Larry Bird. They were ranked for the first
time since since lay Bird, and then they proceeded to lose in what it
was the largest upset of the NCAA basketball season to Illinois State. Illinois State
was plus uh plus twelve hundred to win that game. Spread I didn't see.
I just saw it was the biggest money line upset. Well did there?
You got at Indiana State? Right? I think another point of of
you have to get up for every game and just because you you think you're
good doesn't mean anything to the other dude. Nothing, Because they would have
kicked the crap on. They don't care that Indiana State was ranked for the
first time. Bird probably helped. They're like, yes, College Football News,
the ACC approved the helmet communications system. Obviously, the NCAA has to
approve it before any teams can go and use it, but the ACC will
be ready. It's about damn time. Seriously, I am so sick of
those curtains that go up or the the watermelon signs. You know, what
the hell are we doing? You know? And I get it. So
maybe some schools can't afford the systems or whatever. Fine, then you keep
using your signals and stuff. But you know, this whole debacle or the
controversy we had over the science dealing thing with Michigan. Yeah, that fixes
that just like that. It does, and it gets guys, I mean
not to say every quarterback is going to go play professional, but it gets
guys ready ready to deal for the NFL. So I found that interesting.
That's cool. Yeah. A couple a couple of last quick hitters in the
NBA, Adam Silver was talking about how Vegas is the newest serious expansion candidate,
which makes the most sense. If the NBA where to expand, you'd
probably do Vegas and then Seattle would probably get their SuperSonics back, which I
am. I can't wait for the expansion. NBA expansion would be the best
thing for the NBA. Oh, it would be great. Or do you
like a Sonics? It's even barn No, it's not even that. It's
not even that. I don't know. I could care less about the Vegas
or the Seattle team. It's that the expansion then will shake up the You
won't see Bradley Beal, Devin Booker come to on teams spread out the talent.
It'll the talent will be a little more spread thin to where hopefully you
see teams being a little bit more competitive and you see less of the eight
and forty four pistons and a little more of what the Sacramento Kings are at,
like thirty and twenty three. So it'll it'll hopefully build the brand a
little more competitively. One of the I think concerns that people express when they
do that, though, is that is does the does the quality of the
game deteriorate because the telling gets spread out? Think so well, at least
in it may have been that if the expansion came ten to fifteen years ago,
but I think the amount of talent that is on NBA rosters is absurd.
You have you have guys on the Sons that are eighth, ninth,
tenth, guys that could be playing as a six, seventh, eighth role
and if on a on a different team. And then last year for the
NBA, it was made clear today that the Golden State Warriors made a hefty
bid for Lebron James at the trade deadline, and both the Lakers and Lebron
said no, which I mean probably rightly. So it probably wasn't as hefty
as they made it sound, but the Curry Lebron sweepstakes might not be as
far away. Did you say, well, did you see this other thing
that's out there regarding Lebron and his kid and saying that the Lakers some high
level source in the Lakers saying that they're seriously considering creating the space for Bronni
so that Lebron would stay. Well, they wouldn't need a lot of space.
They would just sign him as an unrestricted or an undrafted free agents.
Well, and then, and it's begging the question, does does Bronny James
look like an NBA player? And he didn't to me, he doesn't.
I think a lot of people say he could be a G League, a
guy with improvement, blah blah blah, but he's not. He shouldn't be
on the Lakers next year. I think I think with Lebron that that fever
dream is slowly becoming or slowly becoming closer to earth where I think he he
would love to play with the Sun. Don't get me wrong, but I
think he's beginning to understand that it may not, may not be the time.
May he may have to play with Bryce, the the other one.
So that's all the NBA and then spring training. Mlbright back today and the
Dodgers open the spring training season as favorites to win the World Series. Fifty
plus three, fifty plus three, fifty those are terrible odds. First of
all, I'm taking them. Yeah, they're gonna take it. They're gonna
be the best you're gonna get all year. It's no value. It's like
just like that lady on the Titanic. Every eighty four years, it's okay.
So the Doyers, those lawyers, those dollars thirty three in thirty three
years, how he'll be ninety nine, ninety seven, what another thirty three
years for you know they're winning one this year. Show Hey Baby, show
Hey. In the next there was a video of him on social media hitting
just hitting, just the sound off the bat and then just the way it
just takes off. It's different. And then he'll be pitching in a couple
of years. Yeah, like, wellcat, let's go. I'm getting the
tear in my eye. I know. Let's prove that by going to commercial.
All right, We'll be right back Brett Farrah Sports Center at there is
on Daily Star. We'll go in a lot of different directions with Brett and
all the stuff that's been going on here last few weeks. Stick around.
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WAPP This is I on the ball with Steve Rivera and Ja Gonzalez on Fox
Sports fourteen fifteen. Hey, welcome ix to twy about here on Fox Sports
fourteen fifty. I'm Steve, he's Jay. Now on the phone, we
have Britt Farra, the sports editor of the Arizona Daily Star. Britt,
how you doing? Hey, guys, how are you this? I'm curious
how long you been on the job, Like about nineteen years, right with
all the stuff that's gone on over the last few months. But it's it's
about nine months, Okay, that long. Yeah, it's almost like the
school year. So let me ask you, though, what's been the most
the busiest time so far? And you're probably still up against it, probably
because of what it's easier to be busy when you expect to be busy,
I mean one of the I mean, Steve, you've done this. You
and Jay both have done this for long enough that you could tell me stories
that would make my head spin about the days without you know, I'm not
trying to aid you guys, but the days of doing your jobs without having
access to you know, Wi Fi and arenas and all that stuff like it.
It would be crazy. But the reality is the best part about sports,
even when we're busy, is we know the schedule. I just saw
the guys from Arizon Athletics Matt Encer posted today nineteen events they're putting on,
including some softball games that aren't for U of A teams, but like,
nineteen events they are putting on in a few days. But it's all scheduled.
So like it's chaotic, that is, it's scheduled. So everything was
sort of scheduled, including even as crazy as it sounds, the Fact twelve
dissolution and moved to the Big twelve. We kind of saw that coming because
of sort of where Colorado stood or didn't stand, you know, as media
day for the PAC twelve came around and things like that, we kind of
had the expectation of that. But once we hit January and we got into
the aftermath of the initial budget crisis, talk Jetfish leaving, Dave Hike's separation,
that's the chaos I think that we weren't expecting was the month of January,
and so that to me, those three weeks or so was the craziest
just because we're planning for so much else. Basketball is kicking in a gear.
Men's basketball's climbing, women's basketball is still going, softball and baseball are
coming, But yet you have these massive, chaotic things happening that nobody predicted.
Obviously, do you hate coaching searches as much as we do? I
hate the idea that firms are considered to be these big bastions of quality,
you know, work when I feel like they're just a boondoggle. But that's
a personal opinion. I don't think I have the data to prove that.
It just feels like it makes no sense. And I also laughed that when
we hear about U of a's financial scenarios and the issues that are plaguing not
just the athletic department but the university as a whole. U c l A
and is dealing with some of that too. I mean, there's been lawsuits
and legal sroceedings and and what's it called. I'm trying to think it's not
regents? Is it regents? The University of California system basically talking about the
same financial issues for cal and U c l A, And yet UTLA is
doing its coaching searches and CABO. I mean, at some point it's all
just stupid, and so yes, stay as your question day, I totally
agree. I hate coaching searches and the process behind them. It it just
it just is like brain melts one on one. What what you know when
when you have we have that right, you know, you got Justin Spears,
and and and and Mike lev you know are on it. What's the
expectation in terms of you know, pulling, getting information and getting it out
and the importance of you know, obviously always wanted to be right, but
also while you also want to be first, you know, you want to
break stuff. What you know, where's the level of priority and how do
you how can those guys be up twenty four hours now to you know,
to monitor what's going on out there. I think the benefit is and and
you know Lev is technically not a football beat writer, but he plays one
on TV, you know, and the sense that he's done this long enough
that he can he can be such an incredible resource for Justin so that they
can kind of shift work this and know that someone's on it virtually all the
time and throw me a little bit in, even Bruce a little bit when
he's got a minute to breathe during basketball coverage, that there's enough enough of
us around to be able to sort of be a part of that the bigger
concern, and then you throw Greg and TJ. I mean, we have
we have such a good team that I think that that's the real benefit of
it, is that anyone can fill in at any given time. The bigger
concerned, though, is to your point about being both right and first,
is I would rather be right than first. And we have had that happen
many times over the last six months with all these stories where we don't want
to run something and risk the chance of it not being right. And there
have been moments where we've run things that have been sourced very well that have
needed to pull back a tiny bit. I mean nothing, nothing dramatic in
the grand scheme of things, but I don't want to be not correct on
anything, right. But so it's a matter of trusting who your sources are
and knowing that they're dependable and and things like that. That uh becomes a
really tricky part of this business. And I would rather have sourced everything.
I mean, I was one of those people ten years ago when I would
see, you know, ESPN dot com have ten ten headlines up and all
ten of them say sources, call and sources, sources, sources. It
drove me nuts, and so I don't want us to be that kind of
news outlet, but occasionally that's what it's gonna you know, that the trust
level of who we're talking to, that's what it's gonna it's gonna be.
And I think that the history that Michael and Justin now have in this business
have built enough sources to know and be able to do that when necessary.
But the reality is we always want stuff to be sourced, and we simultaneously
wanted to be to be accurate, and being first is secondary on that to
me. In the world of Richard Jewel, I mean, it's kind of
changed the world as a journalist, right, you have to get all these
things to make sure you get it right because it got it totally wrong.
Then we went the other way where we had to get like five sources and
blah blah blah. And now it's gone back because of the Internet and all
the people throwing stuff out there. You're kind of chasing stuff that people throw
out there. That's just kind of my opinion. But I thought you guys
did a great job, yourself included, because I think you were part of
the byline with PJ on the nausey story. She provided most of the work,
but you guys put it together and chased down coach Adia Barnes to kind
of give an explanation. Yeah, you know, I want to give credit
to other folks in town. And as you guys know, when we get
into the interview rooms and and and stuff like that, it you know,
may not necessarily be us that asked the question, even though we're ready to
ask the question. So it was actually I think Kim Dass, a desert
swarm who was able to ask that question. I want to give fair credit
to her. When we were in the room with with Adiya Barnes post game
after you know, that started to sort of come about. But but PJ
did. The big thing when that started happening was we both looked at each
other and we're like, this is there's something absolutely necessary to cover on this.
There's pieces to this. We've seen all the tweets that had come out
or or posts on x that had come out, but it needed to be
fair and to give PJ credit. She has built enough of a rapport with
the players and the coaches and that program over the last half decade plus that
she's done it, that she was able to reach out to Maya and get
her to share some stuff with us. It's kind of it's kind of hard
because a story like that, you know, Maya takes a lot of the
brunt an athlete who decided, for whatever reason, wasn't her thing in her
fit. I don't I don't personally criticize anyone for that, even if you
know, I don't criticize the other side either. And so to PJ and
I working on that together, the big piece was we need to actually break
news here. It can't just be gossip. And that was a huge part
of it. It's so much of the sense of being gossip right like that,
even if it's someone's truth, it's still gossip in the sense that,
well, someone posted on Instagram that was shared on Twitter, that was then
shared on Facebook. And and I don't want a politic in the gossip.
If something was said that was meaningful, we might be able to go back
and ask that person. And we were lucky enough that they that she was
willing to share that with us, and that and to give credit to a.
Da Barnes, that she was willing to share that out loud too.
Well, let me if I could real quick. So I've been in the
business a long time as you know, and Jay Jay as well that that
there's always more to the story. But you can and can I write and
there's stuff that you don't still know. That's the interesting you know. PJ
and I have talked about this, and I'm not outing in any way by
saying this is actually builds my compliment to her. She and I talk about
this with her coverage, she has so much connection and knowledge that there's so
much she can't report sometimes that you know, we have to sometimes sit and
really dissect and break the plate apart. You know. I kind of look
at it like a kid who doesn't want the different food to touch each other
on his dinner plate, you know. And we have to sort of do
that together because not because she needs it, but we do it because we're
good tandem and a good team. But the reason for that is that exactly
that it's parsing together the truth while also being you know, fair to the
people that are your sources, fair to the information that you gather on background
to pump up the story and give it the legs that needs while also not
running with things that don't have enough basis to them, and so it's more
complicated. And you know this better than I do. It's more complicated than
I think the readers sometimes understand, and that's okay. They don't have to
understand. It's our job to make it as clear as possible. But it's
definitely not easy sometimes. So the whole you know, Jadfish thing that you
know, and then the job hunt after that, Brent Brennan, you know,
and then Cheky right right on the heels of that you mentioned. I
mean, you know, keeping up with all that stuff is just it just
has to be unreal to you know, I don't know. I mean,
as you said, you don't expect any of that, and then it happens
and you just deal with it. Yeah, it's the fun part of the
job. I mean, it sounds crazy, but it's the funniest part of
this job. But at the same time, it's also the most frightening part,
because it's easier to get something wrong when it's chaotic and happening in that
way, and that's obviously the one thing, more than anything else, you
don't want to have happened. So it's to me, the break neck speed
of all. This is what's the wildest. I mean, I think back,
I mean, we're only at what we're at, what twenty nine days?
I might be a little off, but I think it's twenty nine days
since jdfish left, you know, I mean twenty nine days. Like the
whole world is fun in circles in twenty nine days, it's already and it
was only two days. I read this yesterday and it blew my mind.
Even though that is the stories you guys have talked about it, everybody talked
about it. I was reading this yesterday and something that Justin had wrote,
just the background information about that. Jed Fish was hired on next day,
and forty eight hours later Arizona had Brent Brendan as their head coach. And
I'm like, forty eight hours. It wasn't that fast, it was it
was it was two days, yeah, And I mean that that just made
me step back for a second and realize how how breakneck all this really is.
And I don't think that's going to change, to be frank, I
mean, well, if everybody has to move this fast. If you listened
to Jed yesterday on that on that podcast that he was on, he got
a phone call on Saturday night. H No, on no Friday night,
were right after the wor he got a phone calls and would you be interested?
And he said yes, and then he got a call for the Actually,
I guess they interviewed him Saturday morning. Yeah, called that Saturday night,
and then by on Saturday night they offered him the job. And I'm
like, you don't get hired that fast at at McDonald's or Popeye or Eg's
or wherever. And here you're you're making a seven and a half million dollars
a year decision on a guy in really less than twenty four hours. Well,
and look, Arizona fans have a right to feel jilted and the conversations
that have happened, But the simplest part of this whole equation is on Friday,
jetfish with the bet as Arizona's coach, and on Saturday he was offered
a contract that was going to pay him twenty five million dollars more than what
U of A was even discussing with him, like, is there any debate
why he took the job? I can't criticize that. YEA, that's right,
you know, if you're right, And he did and he did,
Yeah, yeah, right now, now now you have you have the future
here with the men's basketball and the spring sports coming up. You're looking forward
to that nineteen events over the course of the weekend. I think I looked,
I was, I was. I was in the airport yesterday and Phoenix
coming down the escalator and they have that little clock up that says when the
final four is. I think we're at fifty forty nine days something like that.
I could be off, but it's not much. It's coming fast,
and there's a yeah, there's another thing, right, and another thing that
you know, you're one hundred miles away from the well a little more than
that because at the stadium, but you know, one hundred and twenty five
miles away from you know, arguably the first or second biggest sporting event in
the country, you know, each year, and so it's not like you
can not cover it because Arizona's not in it. You know, you got
to cover it, right, Yeah, No, I think this year takes
on a different meeting. I mean, when when it's in in I'm trying
to think of where Dallas or or Antonio. You know, we aren't necessarily
going to fully staff it, But I think in the state of Arizona there's
enough going on. There's the the NABC National Association of Basketball Coaches Convention is
there. There's all kinds of stuff happening that week. So for Bruce Pasco
and for our team, it's it's going to be whether Arizona is there or
not. I think we're going to have a pretty significant presence that week in
Glendale. Yeah, well, should be fun. We'll be up there.
Yeah yeah, all right, well thank you? Sure? Can we use
your no, can we stay in your room? Can we? Right up?
We're thinking of a giant Airbnb on the East Valley, so, like
you know, twenty minutes away, twenty five minutes away, so it's not
terribly expensive, but just you know, Beta house type scenario, meat,
the whole crew up there for a week. I know you do that,
though you don't get the hospitality suite down in the media hotel with all the
free booze and munchies and stuff. Unless they don't do that anymore. They
still do that, don't they do? But it's difficult. It's it's one
of those where they have parties here, the things will be here. It's
too far apart too far apart. All right, we'll see Phoenix for you.
Thank you, Brett. Thanks a whole much. Bett, appreciate it.
Yeah, we will. Yeah, good stuff, good stuff. There's
so many things, and you've been involved with this Jay behind the scenes for
a story, trying to make sure what's right and what's wrong, and what's
true what's not true. Yeah, you know the read out there, the
average reader has no idea. No, they have no idea that that the
work that these guys and then that we used to put in for that stuff.
It was very nobody, you know, covering the basketball team in eighty
eight. Nobody knew that only had two days off from mid October until the
Final four was over. I wrote a column like that and my boss got,
I said, I would have get a lot of time you got.
Yeah, I was. I was in the doghouse for a while, but
this was nineteen twenty years of doing it. Yeah, sure you know.
Where are you? I'm on vacation, guys, that's why, man,
exactly. All right, thanks you, Thanks to you, Brett Fair.
That was a fun conversation. We will be back with our last segment.
We'd love to hear your h hear your thoughts, Yeah, and give us
a call five two zero, four one six. 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 Ludelsen era. In my new book, Lessons from
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high on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez sound Fox Sports fourteen fifteen.
Subscribe now to the podcast on the iHeart Radio while just surgery Eye on
the Ball. Hey, welcome back to Ie on the Ball here Fox Sports
Fortune fifty. I'm Steve, He's Jay sending with us today. Got fourteen
minutes. If you guys want to call what's that number? J I got
to memorize now five two zero four one, six seventy four forty give us
a buzz. Also, I should mention we got a we gotta uh.
Somebody asked a question on on on Twitter. Do you guys or your producer
check your tweets during the show? If not, what's the best way to
get a message to you. If we can't call in, you can send
a tweet to us. I know I've got I'm flipping through Twitter all the
time. You know, you never know when we're gonna have something breaking,
So yes, you can. You can give us a shout out on Twitter
and we'll, uh, you know, we'll look at it and if you've
got something cool to say, well we'll mention it. And if we don't
like what we want right right Sammy. But that's a good way. Also,
uh my email my iHeart email address is on our profile both on Twitter
and face Book, and I you know, I'll check emails, you know,
flip. They can always text us if they know how to find this,
but twitters Twitter is a good way because I'm flipping through Twitter all the
time. In fact, I was running through it just now. And there's
video popping up about the whole situation in Kansas City. There's a video of
one of the one of the shooters getting hot and tackled by some by some
people and you know, some some heroes, you might say, and uh,
you know, and then of course all the all the chatter about what
are we going to do about? So let me ask you. Yesterday I
asked you a question about the most underappreciated, underrated kind of former U A
basketball player, right, Chris Mills. We talked about some of the guys,
guys that were good, but we just kind of didn't give them their
dual. I got an email from somebody and one of the listeners who said,
who talked about one guy? And let me ask you, why isn't
this guy mentioned more often in terms of all time best players, Bob Elliott
because he was so long ago and so many people didn't see him. So
oh yeah, total recency bias. So where does he fit? He's he's
I put him top top ten. Yeah, okay, yeah, that's that's
top ten. He's a second leading school? Is he? Is he top
five? You know? Do you put him ahead of you know, you
know Bibby and and Elliott and and uh you know Damon Stottlemyre. Uh maybe
he's in there. Maybe he's top five. You know. Another thing gotta
gotta think about is that you know they were in the Whack right, you
know they I think they won one Whack championship. Uh. So, you
know it's it's but more than anything, it's recently bias. I've told you
the story about you know, say, I had gone to a uf A
volleyball match and you know, three guys behind me talking about who are the
greatest cards in Arizona history, and their memory went back as far as Mike
Bibby, you know, and I brought up Russell Brown to them and they
were like, who the hell is Russell Brown? And said he's only the
leading assist guy in in the history of Arizona basketball. Well, you bring
up him, you can bring up Fleming, you could bring up Eric Money
and Herman Harris, Coneil Norman, a bunch of guys from the from the
Fred Snowden era. Who can you imagine how good Conel Norman is in the
three point era? That guy that you think you think Celine Stottlemeyer and and
Gilbert Arenas had range, right, you know, let me tell you something.
If you remember the story, Jay, and we probably have it in
podcasts somewhere, one of the best guys we've had on the show, on
the show in the in the in the years that we've been doing this was
Herman, Herman Harris when he got his degree and he started crying on the
air and taking the people he was thinking and how much it meant to him.
Right, we all got cheered up them. That was so cool because
he was, you know, and again you know he we were Herman Harris
playing on the school yard, right, you know, you know, and
we were shoot you no, from the half court Herman there he was Stephen
Curry before ye Curry. Yeah, okay, I just want to throw that
out because Bob needs to be in the conversation, no doubt. And uh
even we even desployed some recency bias yesterday when we were talking about this,
but he's up there, maybe he his top five. I'm sitting here thinking,
Okay, if he's not in the top five, who are the other
who are the next two after the three guys we just mentioned, let me
throw another name at you for the guys. And I kind of probably agree
with this, although he wouldn't surpass Chris Mills to me, Jason Gardner,
Yeah, because he's got a and he's kind of recncy bias, but not
he did. He the mostman that's played a lot of numbers, a lot
of very good numbers, but no one really says anything about Jason Gardner.
Yeah, well you know you know why. Yeah, he's he's one hundred
percent overshadowed by Bibby and and and Damon. Okay, because first of all,
he was like and he was like Damon size that you know, they
were similar in size, so sim almost a similar game, right in terms
of running the point. You know, Damon was a was a better shooter,
you know, and then Bibby was just baby with Bibby. You know,
you can, I mean, you can argue that he's the best point
card ever at Arizona. He was on here two years. Yeah, And
it's funny because you watch Biby and you can go back and watch him and
I think the world of him. He's a friend of mine and we talked
what did he do? He had the basketball on a string, you know,
but he was so smooth, you never talked to anybody, didn't look
exactly like he was doing anything special, but yet what he was doing was
special, right right, No, No, that's a good way to describe
it. He's like a Seinfeld show, much ado about nothing. But it
was fun to watch. Yeah, you know you were you if you're watching
the game. You were incredibly comfortable when the ball was in his hand,
and then when he came out of the game, you're like, okay,
get him, get his ass back in the game. Very very few mistakes,
yeah, very few, and not you know, not as flashy as
you thought he would be. Uh Jackson the Jackson kid mold. Yeah,
but he just got the job done. Yep. Yeah. No, And
that's and that's and that's what you loved about Mike Bibian. That's why you
I think that's why he's up there is because because of the National Championship,
people have an appreciation for what he was doing here, sure right, and
even that even that team the next year they didn't get as far as you
would have wanted it to get. He was incredibly good that year. He
was your money that year, an entire year until the last game. Sure
well all of them, all of them were good for you, right,
Okay? Uh, anything else we have wrap up for today? Anything?
No, you know, just uh, it's kind of getting to be a
su week. Yeah, so we're gonna have someone on Friday to talk about
the game. The Guard. Everybody loves to hate Kyle become a good friend,
right, a good friend. I've spoken to him a lot. He
helped you for something last semester. Uh. You know one of the guys
like you know, like Horhead Martine Horhea, who's the guy cal hor He
Ramiro's Horhora, one of the Erris good Terrists. Uh the the uh you
just let he was annoying the guy he was annoying get at Stanford. Yeah,
you know one of those guys you just love to hate. And he's
one of those. And he and he was you had you hate a good
minute. But he was pretty good. Yeah. No, we'll have fun
fun with him on Friday. Good to talk to him. He was good
with us before, so we'll talk. He does the t he does the
radio, right, he's there. He's their color guy on on the radio.
You know, after we had him on the show last time, and
I told him how much I hated him, you know, and then I
saw him at the game and with ch Added and he was fun, and
uh, you know, you know, I've had very very few a SU
friends, but he's one of them. Now I feel like I can go
up and talk to him. I'll see him. Okay, we got let's
take this call. Hi. You're on the air and I on the ball.
Hey, guys, how you doing. What's up? Power? Yeah?
I was, I've been listening this week. It's great. You guys
do a great job as usual. Well, remember about a couple of months
ago when I couldn't spit it out to say Pley, when you guys were
saying Who's when they they count on a guy to win it other than Love,
that's who I said right off the bat. Pele Larson, Well,
you're right, You're right. I mean I like you more now than I
did before because he's become more steady and if if Love can't hit the shot,
who else are you going to go to Larson going all the way back
to Fau. I'm gonna say something else. I was watching on the game,
but then I had to travel all the way to the west side,
and I was saying to myself because Colin Boswell, that's going back then?
How coldy was I go? I don't want Boswell to shoot it near the
end, to go in overtime or whatever, because we were ahead to win
it. Those are the two guys I do not in the tournament want to
ever touch the ball follow or Boswell at the end. Anybody but those twooll
okay, because you know the hack of ball well, the pre throw shooting.
Yeah, of course. Well I don't know why you're so dead set
against him well In Boswell? Yeah, Well to me, he he,
I think he can only shoot, at least starting the season hit the three
where all the other three guards can do it all. Yeah, that makes
sense. That makes sense, And and Bradley's doing well right now, and
so is kJ kJ Lewis, who might have the most upside of all of
them down the road. Yeah, that's my thing. Did kJ and then
love to be the best pros? Now? Like who to who? Doctor?
Lehman. He's wonderful, but none of the he there are those those
those are the only two pro prospects. And I think off the bat okay,
and hey, your son's one last night, so good for you.
Well they're playing against They're gonna sump Detroit. And then we go into the
All Star break. Okay, good luck everybody, Detroit. Hey. One
other thing, the guards we we are going to I think really do good
in the in the tournament because we have four good guards. So I think
that's gonna go. Well. I agree people. You know, there's a
lot of a lot of opinion that you know, you have to have the
great guards to win a championship, and most teams that have that have won
championships. They've had though, So yeah, I agree with you, and
we haven't had it that first three years with Tommy. Yeah, yeah,
I hear you. Okay, all right, dog, thanks a bunch man
than guys. That's how that's I think we had good guards. Oh thank
you. Just who passed away? This is like one of my guys to
your Dodger guys, Don Gullet, Cincinnati red Sin. I hated that guy
because he was good. He was so damn he was one of those.
He was one of the really hard throwers of that time. Yeah, seventy
five, see seventy three years old, but it was the seventy five seventy
six years where there was a war where the Reds were real fantastic. Yeah,
so he passed away, you know, Yeah, you got nothing on
that. Yeah. I was gonna say we had good guards. We had
Ben and Dalen. Yeah, those guards were. Ben was one of the
best players in the country. Yeah, but and her had a good year.
Those were that. That was the weak link to that RR was not
a great The week link to that team was there was no toughness. Well
no, but I mean Kurksa was good and and you know a quality you
know, he was a great floor Jones d one guard, but not not
take you to the championship guard. Well that's what Ben was. I don't
almost don't even think of Ben as the guard. Wait wait, wait,
hold on, anybody's selling popcorn here? I watch this. Ben and Dalen
could have you could you could have argued that you're Ben and Dalen were amongst
the two best tandem guards in the car. Well, the NBA draft will
tell you that. Yeah, yeah, you know maybe he did. Guess
I just didn't see him like that. Well, here you go. If
I mean, it's easy now. But if you were to say, right
now, would you take Caleb love and Kylon or would you take Ben and
Dalen the first second two? Ben and Dalen easy? Ye, not me?
Who the other two Boswell and Caleb delusion? It's it's those two dudes
are pretty dead. Ben on his own, you can trust Bennett or yeah,
I'm taking I'm taking I need a shot, I'm taking it. I'm
taking Caleb love See. I think I think it's closer than what Steve is
because I I think, but look it, can you know could Ben?
You see there's there's prison console, which I think. I think Kylin and
Caleb offensively, they run a team a little bit better. Ben had more
game, okay more By by that I mean sure, more different aspects to
his game than Caleb Lovey. But if you're gonna put if I'm gonna put
the ball in one guy's hands to get me one shot at the end of
the game, I think I'm still taking Caleb. There's no way I'm doing
this. There's no way. Don't don't be in Alibi don't no, no,
I said it's close. I'm still I'm still taking Ben. Ben was
fantastic Chase. He saved him against TCU. I'm not saying he did.
I'm not saying he did. You're gonna do I'm not saying he was inconsistent.
Still a bucket get well. Yeah, but yeah, but you're gonna
trust him. What we're gonna have to see because well that's a stretch.
So you would take Caleb and Kaylen over Daylyn and which one of those few
guys has been to the final four, And it's totally fair, totally fair.
Are you talking of talent? I'm talking talent, will I will say,
also, I'm talking trust. I'm with the word you use all the
time. You can't take any calls. Good show today, We'll revisit this.
You're welcome tomorrow. Talk about this all right, Thanks for being here.
We'll be back tomorrow.