Breaking down all the exes at OH. It's Steve Lavera and Jagen Salaz.
This is I on the Ball on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Hey, welcome
back to IM about your old Fox Sports fort fifty MC. He's Jay Kevin
with some breaking news. This is I on the Wall, breaking news on
Fox Sports fourteen fifty. All right, so we do have some breaking news.
We're gonna go ahead and start with Arizona versus Michigan State is the most
watched college basketball game in the last fifteen years. Wow five records season one
eight million. Wow Wow. Because it was through the well two things.
Two things. One, it was on Thanksgiving Day, Okay, it came
right after the Lions game. Some people watching the Lions game Thanksgiving football led
right into the game. But then it was still you know, it was
a great game. One wants Dallas play. Yeah, yeah, And the
Cowboys were playing then, and it was a good game and it was a
great game. But yeah, you're right, the Cowboys are playing the Commanders.
I mean, what, who the hell wanted kick out of them?
Ye? So, but still, man, five over five people watch that
game. And I don't know if you saw the arena Palm Springs, where,
you know, it was pretty I was talking to some family about that
because they were like, there's a lot of people at this game, isn't
it Thanksgiving? And I was like, yeah, but this is Arizona,
Michigan State. Yeah, people don't care. It's some the day off's go
to the game. No, the guys that went to the Peterson's and the
shut said it was a good crowd. A lot of people in Michigan State.
Yeah, I mean I knew even I knew a few people who said,
yeah, let's go to Palm Spring for Thanksgiving and they went to the
game when they did a Thanksgiving dinner and boom and it made it made a
trip of it. But I thought, I think it's pretty cool for Arizona.
You know, again, all in in the interests of Arizona being a
blue blood. What did you drink before you show up? Sounded better?
On that note, On that note, that's not that's that's fun. We're
gonna we're gonna throw it back to some more Arizona sports news. Uh.
Former Cardinals head coach Cliff Kingsbury apparently has emerged as a favorite for the Houston
Cougar's job. That would be that would be the good ship. That would
be good, right, kind of like Texas Tech. Yeah, good fit,
get fired in five years. Get he he wants to me, he
doesn't. He doesn't fit in the pros. Crap. You know they look
at me, Get away from me with your giant house and fire. Give
me a perfect example of that. Did you know how bad Detroit is in
the NBA? Like bad, bad, very bad? Fourteen four and thirty
eighth, it's last year. Well, you know the coach Williams, he's
not they're not playing for him. He's four and they're like two and thirteen.
Yeah, three and twelve. It's just crazy. And for a guy
who's one of the highest paid coaches Williams, I think he is, and
he's not getting across. Dude, dude, if they're not going to listen
to you, they're not going to listen to you. Yeah. Yeah,
And part and part of it is the roster issue too. They have one,
maybe one too many guards on that team. But that's that's another that's
another story. We have more college football stuff to talk about. Iowa's first
half over under for their points is set at just half point. The second
half is also set at half a point. Now, if you're a value
better, you can get Iowa first half over half a point plus one hundred
guys. Oh okay, so what's they're over under for the game? Two
and a half? Let me let me check that the Michigan team total for
the second half was twelve and a half. The first half is sixteen and
a half, so under thirty five ish thirty five and a half in Michigan's
all of those by by themselves. Yeah, this is unbelievable. And they're
ten and two. Yeah, their record. The record is good. I
was ten and to the record is good. And think about it. They
had that game, they had that game where remember the fair catch got called.
They said it was a fair catch and it wasn't a fair catch,
and and and and and I think was it was? It was it?
Uh? God, who are they playing playing? Was it the records game
was? I can't remember who they're playing to remember? I do remember.
It was a punt and the guy waved, and the guy waved it all
away from the punt. They called it a fair catch. He returned it
and then yeah he returned it. Oh wait, he had picked up the
ball and returned it, and they called it back, saying he called a
fair catch because they didn't score. But speaking of unders, I don't know
if you guys talked about this yesterday, but the unders for the NFL season,
uh now thirteen and one on Monday Night football to the under total,
as well as twenty nine and nine and night games, which is honestly shocking.
But it kind of speaks to what Brady was talking about with the mediocrity.
No one's putting up points and it's not because of these great defenses.
For the most part, I'm still trying to look up this Iowa what the
Iowa line over under is just for them. While you guys do that,
I will throw at you. The former Washington QB Brock, who are Heward
Hewart says that cam Ward has up to ten one transfer offers from schools like
Oregon, Washington, Notre Dame, Texas, A and M and Auburn.
This is the exact problem with college athletics right now. It's not about nil
deals and mobile it's paid for play, simple, simple and easy. Well,
there was a really funny, uh funny response to that by yo,
you're raight because because Michael lev retweeted you know that that says that he's got
you know, ten one million dollar offers, and god, dang it,
I can't. I wish I still had this up here. And Michael said
something. Michael Left said something like this is free agency, okay, and
then and oh here it is, here it is, here is and then
Yogi Rots Michae Left says, this is basically free agency. Yogi Rots says,
basically even worse, it's tampering meets free agency, meets while meets zero
penalties for collectives and schools, meets ridiculous, meets good for him meets CAM
isn't even in the portal. That's what I said. As we came in.
I was like, well, he's not even actually transferring air quotes yet.
Yeah. So, and he's the reason the kid why de Laura left
right at the end of the day, he's he's ready to get out of
there. Man, this is the world we live in. Oh, let's
pay the kids back to what that's maybe full circle moment, maybe, I
mean, this is the world we live in. But then somebody posted,
uh that, he said, the person that's posted this, it's called blue
Blood's bias whatever that is, says that it's been confirmed. I'm just reading
this okay, because I don't even know who this guy is. That Miami,
Ohio State, Texas, A and M, Washington and Auburn are all
interested in Yeah right, yeah, yeah my listing. Did it also include
Auburn and Oregon? It was Oregon, Washington, Notre Dame, Texas,
A and M and Auburn. Yeah, Oregon is losing. Bonis the ancient
quarterback. Speaking of full circle, we kind of brought how Jane delore might
you know, jokingly go full circle and go back to jazuo h. Bobby
Petrino is has that agreed to return as offensive coordinator and a deal is being
finalized. Sources tell ESPN, you guys want to talk about Petrino behind you,
I saw the universe Markets has a policy that if you've been I've just
read this, if you've been fired for cause from a job at the university,
you can't come back. He's not going wait, except with special special
permission from the president of the university. Would be a football coach exactly.
So they're gonna bring this guy back who embarrassed the crap out of them.
He's the one who got riding his motorcycle with with with a young employee of
the of the of the football office they hired that he had hired. So
obviously there was a little something going on over there. Rex his motorcycle with
her on it, and he you know, then they fire him on believe
she was also a member of the volleyball team before she graduated. What what
price fase? What not? What price fame? But what price victory?
You know, why not? Go ahead? Unbelievable. So I guess he's
sounds like he's going to get that special permission from the waiver from the president
to get to take that gotta win, gotta win baby. The thing is
the nerve the nad of the Arkansas football program to do, say screw all
you, I don't care what you think. We're going to take this guy
who incidentally was on the staff of a football coach that just got fired,
you know, because they why, because they couldn't generate enough offense. They
were only twenty five, they were just top twenty five. They were fine.
You know, it's not good enough. I know, we were just
talking football. Justin Jefferson has been activated off the off the I the day
light, Yeah, one day late for sure for Jays, for Jays more
help God, could you've seen more worse football game than last night? Wasn't
that? I immediately after the game, got got a text from from my
brother said that had to be the worst football game I've ever seen. He
goes, I want all my money back that I bet on that game because
he lost, but because it wasn't fun to watch on a clear day.
I mean, there was no snow, there was no rain. You know,
you see those games on the snow day. This was a perfect game,
and they couldn't move the ball, or they did, but other people
got it. The scoring was five. That's awful. It was just awful.
I mean the amount of that. That was the most text I've received
talking about I'm just thankful it's football on because in March we're gonna be wishing
we had this game. But I was like, I'm not even sure I
wish I had this game in March. Conversely, Arizona's most watched game,
this might have to be the most least watch. It was horrible. It
was awful. People, I was looking for the weakest link. You know,
you're gonna change it to snap. That's quality television. I was in
on that decision. We're talking like datelines, little brother, it wasn't even
date line. Like you said, you kind of have a good life.
Tiger Woods is making his next comeback at the hero World Challenge this week.
He was talking about how his ankle feels a lot better. He's a little
more sore in other areas because of that, but overall he feels like his
health is in a good place to compete right now. You know, as
I've told you guys before, I why I look at ik talk for an
hour or two every time you hit the sack. Just keep you young,
keep you young. Right. But I and you know, it's one of
those things where whatever you see, you then start seeing more of it.
So I get a lot of Tiger Woods on my thread. And you go
back and look at the things that he used to do to you know,
you look at him today and you see what he did back then, you
go the guy was inhuman. He was not human? Yeah uh. You
know shots that he hit or rounds that he had, or you know,
just things that he did and you go, you know, how does this
guy? How was this guy able to do these things? And how did
we we knew we were seeing something spectacular. But I don't think we realized
how spectacular it was, how rare when it was happening. Exactly exactly you
were watching something special, but you didn't know we might never see this come
back around. You know, there's certain talents where you're like, oh,
this is this is great, this is all time. But well you never
know that until till Nicholas and all these other guys, and you look at
Tiger Woods, Notine, you go, you know, there's nobody like that
and there, and maybe there never will be me. Maybe his kid will
be I don't know, yeah maybe maybe maybe you know, but the kid,
wouldn't that be something? Huh yeah, that would be That little kid
really pisses me off because oh, that's what he does. That's all he
does. It's like, it's like the Europeans coming to play basketball. What
do you do for living? Play basketball? Go to school? Play basketball,
go to school, play basketball at school. Last last bit of breaking
news has to do with basketball. Last night, Lebron James and Lakers suffered
a forty four point loss that was the worst loss of his entire career.
Uh, they are missing a ton of guys, but that Lakers team is
just not up the snuff right enough. And something closer to home, the
Golden State Warriors. Holy crap, it's like Peyton Place every day. Peyton
Place every day. I guess Kela Commie, I don't know if you know.
Kelakami is pretty good. He had a great column on on Klay Thompson
because Clay jumped him on a question. It's just a great story about nothing,
you know, great story about nothing because Clay's not playing well, Wiggans
not playing well, and Steve Kerr God help him because he gets a lot
of money to deal with this stuff. Yeah, I mean it's not about
basketball now. He's been dealing with non basketball stuff for a lot. About
it. Steve has always been able to handle it, handle it, yeah,
but it feels like it's gotten so bad that even he can't. And
dream On is not even involved, yeah, because well he's not involve because
he was involved, right, he's not involved because he had his neck around
or his arm around with Yeah. He comes back tonight, so and they
play they play sacrament Sacramento, right, yeah, right, the beam more
power to him. They get him millions of dollars. Good luck with that.
I guess I would put up with it too, you know. You
know what, he give me five hundred K and I'll just sit next to
you and I'll fight all these guys. And he's coached tam USA for a
long time too, so he's been talking to all these guys. All right,
we're going to talk to some just some Arizona sports or Southern Aarson Sports.
And he's with the the head of the Southern Arizona Sports Tourism and Film
Authority efforts to get spring training back here if to see if there's anything going
on Triple A bas awesome changes would cause by the yoaklan Ase moving to Vegas.
Uh, just whatever's going on over there. So the types of things
they trying to do sort of an updated on what we might have going on
sports life here in Southern Arizona. So stick around with Lake Eager, Don't
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This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox
Sports fourteen fifteen. Hey, welcome back to Eye on the Ball here on
Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Out of Steve Rivera, he's Jacobzaus. Now in
the four we have Blake Eager from this Southern Arizona sports tourism and film authority.
How you doing, Blake, I'm doing great. Thank you guys for
having me. Sure sure you guys are busy? Guy up there? What's
going on? Any breakthrough with any possible spring training news? Oh? We're
just jumping right off, just jumping right into it. Huh yeah, we
we we we're planning our Southern Southern Arizona International Baseball Event for twenty twenty five.
It's currently being championed by the Arizona Diamondbacks and Derek Hall. We're hoping
to have one to two teams from Mexico. There'll be housed out of Keino
Stadium, uh, you know, sports Complex, and we'll have teams from
the Cactus League come down and play hopefully multiple games. So we'll create a
similar aspect of spring training back in Tucson in Southern Arizona. So there's a
lot of movement around the big leagues with the Oakland A's moving to Las Vegas,
and is there will there be some other shuffling, I mean, like
are some Triple A teams going to get shuffled and things like that, and
you know what, you know, is there any potential there for us down
here? Yeah, that's a great question. So we've we've actually gone down
that path a little bit looking at the potential of bringing back a Triple A
team to tuson on it. There's still talks to be had. There's a
lot of moving parts until everything's confirmed. As you know here in a couple
of weeks or not too far away, they're going to have the GM meetings
Winter Baseball Meetings. We should know some more information after that, but we
are going to continue to work on anything from the professional base class that we
can do down here in southern Arizona. So how optimistic are you? You
know, it's funny. I'm a twoson in right, born and raised.
I've moved and lived all over with my career path, but I've always come
back, and optimism has always come back to bite us in the butt here
a little bit in Tucson. But I am. I am fairly fairly optimistic
that something special is going to happen. And we've got a lot of help
from our Phoenix partners in this, and we've got a lot of help on
MLB from MLB and MLB International and from Mexico. Tucson is a perfect landscape
and a perfect place for professional baseball, and we're hoping that we can make
all the right connections and get this thing off the ground and and create a
sustainable event for the long term. You sound like Jay, who's an Arizona
football a little fan who's good doesn't want to go there because you never know,
and it's guys hesitant. He's been bidden enough times that you know to
be optimistic. But good for you, good for you. Well, you
know what's you know, what's funny is that I probably wouldn't be so optimistic,
but we were able to get this this bill passed through and become an
official authority. Our big brother authority is the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority in
Maricopa County, and they own and operate the State Farm Stadium, so they
bring in the Cardinals and the Final Fours and the Super Bowls, Taylor Swift
concerts, if you may. So, we've been very fortunate on that.
And our sister bill was a was a film and centive bill in the state
of Arizona. So we were able, I should say Senator David Gallen was
able to do uh we call it political jiu jitsu, and get both our
bills passed through. So optimism is at the forefront right now. For me,
it's awesome. So you know, look, we've got a long history
of baseball here dating back to you when the Cleveland Indians came here for spring
training. It's kind of always been a part of who we were. But
you know, obviously, you know, we lost that, you know,
over the last you know, several years. But I mean we still have
that, like maybe that core of people who would love to see baseball back
here, don't I mean, what what what you know? How are you
reading the tea leaves out there as far as that goes? Yeah, I
mean for me, I'll and be honest every time I talk. You know,
for our authority, we cover six counties and all the tribal nations amongst
them. We have four distinctions. We have sports, we have tourism,
we have film, and we have workforce development. First question that I always
get is spring training, baseball, professional baseball. So I think everybody's really
excited. We're hungry. We want to make sure that we're supporting professional sports
in southern Arizona. We've got a great relationship with the current professional teams down
here, and we're here to support them. I think I think we're hungry
to have a professional baseball back down here. Yeah, you know, I
mean it was great when they're you know, the UFA baseball team moved to
High Corbett, but they're done in June, you know, and you've got
the whole rest of the summer, and there's that gap from between when they're
done and football gets going, and we've got to have something down here,
whether it's you know, Triple A or whatever. I mean, there's got
to be something going on here as far as sports goes, because I think
we are a sports town in our own way. I mean we're not you
know, New York or Pittsburgh or one of those, but you know,
we've got our own way of watching sports, and I think having something like
that, you know, we we should be ready for something like that.
Our our people here should want that. Yeah, and jac if you guys
both know this, But it comes down to supporting what's here. You know,
when we're lucky enough to get something, we've got to make sure from
a public standpoint that we're willing to support it. Summer is always going to
be tough. I mean, we're we're not blind to the fact that it's
taught down here. But you know, if we're able to pull something off,
we need to come together as a community. And I'm not just talking
about Tucson, but I'm talking about southern Arizona and coming out here and making
sure that we can stand in a positive movement to maintain, create something and
sustain it for the long term. There's a couple other different obstacles that we
have in our way. You know, from a Triple A standpoint, a
lot of those teams have signed the long term lease to the current stadiums that
they're in, so we're actually looking at different routes and that could be potentially
bringing a Summer League team from Mexico to Tucson or a Winter League team here
to Tucson and the Winter League team is the one thing that I think is
it would be really impressive we're able to pull that off. That's a great
time of year, that's a huge market. It gives you the opportunity to
compete and play in a Caribbean World Series. There's a lot of things there
that would happen. So we're really trying to turn over every rock we possibly
can along those lines. What else is going on, what's really well.
I had a meeting, I've had several meetings with Bob Hoffman, the than
from the Tucson Roadrunners. We want to make sure that we're prepared to support
uh them in any way possibly can. But also the NHL preseason game that
they had last year, about bringing that back. I think it's a huge
event. So anything from that nature is important. Uh, hopefully start having
some conversations here soon about potentially bringing the Phoenix Suns down here or even maybe
the Arizona Cardinals. Anything that's on the table we want to explore. You
know, we're we're a new eventor at this standpoint, we're a political sub
body of the state of Arizona. Our job to really promote, market and
assist in anything we possibly can, and that's what we're here to do.
So besides, obviously, you know, some of this obvious stuff aout getting
pro sports and stuff down here. But what what other what are what else
are you tasked with from a sports standpoint, because that's obviously what we're most
interested in. The other types of things, you know, whether it's youth
tournaments or you know whatever, what are the kinds of things that you have
targeted as far as stuff like that. Yeah, so we're talking about p
MAC County only, but working with PMC County, City of Tucson or visit
Tucson on the event that they currently have, or essentially going after new events
and uh, were we'd be the sponsors of those or help help be the
sponsor of those. One of those is the n j C Double A Soccer
Championships. We were a sponsor of that. You know, looking at any
of those avenues as we possibly can to bring them here, making a connection
or being a partner with large national tournament organizations. One of those is Pathway,
which is baseball or prospect Wire. That prospect Wire was just here.
Hopefully they're coming back two times a year. I don't know if you guys,
if you guys know this, but Phoenix is kind of the mecha on
the coast for youth baseball and you softball, pretty much anything youth sport,
youth sports tournament wide. We would like to we would like to be involved
in that market and make sure that we're able to to have some of those
tournaments come our way. Well with the new building, I don't even know
of the update on the one. Yeah, well, yeah, the the
facility that they're talking about building out down there by Keno, you know,
hockey, hockey rinks and all that kind of stuff. How's that going.
So we we had a meeting with Frank Nott the other week for the Mosaic
Quarter. It's it's I got to see the new rendering. It looks phenomenal.
He's got a three phase approach to what's going to happen there, and
if if we're able to be lucky enough for it to succeed and get built
here, we're going to be very fortunate. It's unlock anything else in the
United States, and you pair that along with what's currently it's the Kino Sports
Complex, we would be very very lucky, and we would be high on
the high on the market list for anything youth sports wise. We'd be able
to handle anything you can think of. So let's maybe take away, get
away from sports a little bit. Today's one of those marketing days for Tucson.
What's seventy five nice great weather, the reasons why you're here? What
is going on with that? Any any films being planned things like that.
Yes, so there's there's a lot of movement, so I hope everybody's aware.
But the strikes have ended in Hollywood, so it is it's o season
right now for any potential film projects being filmed in the state of Arizona and
in southern Arizona. So our film chair Peter Catalanotte, who's also the film
Tucson, is extremely busy fielding those phone calls and doing just a phenomenal job
of making those connections. So there's a lot of things moving there. I
don't know if I can stay specific on that, but we're really excited to
see what's to come. I just had a meeting this similar this morning with
Tony Sanders from Old Tucson. They've got things happening there, a lot of
good things and potentially growing some projects and different events. So we're we're really
excited with where that's going. Tell us break it to us, because no
one listens to us. No, it's just between us three are we are
we pulling at Howard's start on me? Am I going to start opening up
and crying on the radio. I don't know how many specifics I can get
too, because I don't want to crush any projects. But let's just say
you guys will be excited to see what's coming. Do you do you get
to or do you have an opportunity to work at all with the with the
U of A, with their facilities that they have here, try you know,
long ago, I mean they used to do stuff with Michale. We
all know about that concert back in the seventies that was at the stadium.
Are they just not interested in doing that kind of stuff anymore and keeping their
facilities to themselves? How's that relationship? Yeah, so, because we're so
new, we've met a couple of times, but we we haven't got down
we haven't gone down that road. Are One of our our first big sponsors
sponsorship was the Arizona Bowl, which is the second largest event in southern Arizona.
They have a great relationship with you of a they use the football facility,
so I know there's there's Uvey's great to them and they've they've had a
great partnership and a relationship. So all I know from that end is is
what I hear from that side. So I know you as I know you've
Ay's opened two different things, and we would love a strong partnership. You
know. The Old Guard, we're all old enough to remember the Old Guard
is kind of a separatist movement, and you know, we don't like Phoenix,
and Phoenix doesn't like us. This is ours, you don't touch it.
We're at day and age now where we all need to come together and
it's not a Cumbia kind of moment, but it's it's a sense of,
Hey, if we can help each other out for the greater good, that's
what we're here. And we're here to make sure that the community that we
represent has a strong workforce and a strong future in everything that we possibly can
do. Is there anything on the wish list that you guys want to happen?
Oh? Man, Yeah, there's a there's a big one. For
me. It would be to figure out a way to, let's say this,
if Major League Baseball expands to two more teams, finding a way to
build a new facility, hopefully spring training facility, youth multi use facility,
and drawing one of those teams down here as one of our own in southern
Arizona. That would be on my That would be a big thing on my
wish list. I think that's a big thing on a lot of people's wish
lists. Again, those of us who've been around a while and used to
love going to those spring training games, you know, you know, breaking
away from work or whatever and you know, going and catching a game on
a March afternoon. I mean that was like a thing, right you know.
So yeah, we would love to have something like that. You know,
you mentioned the authority that's up in Phoenix and them owning us the Cardinal
Stadium, them being the ones that bring in the final four. I mean,
that's that's huge, that's big time stuff. Do you get involved with
you do you help out with any of that? How involved can you be
in that type of stuff? Yeah, we're we can't be involved so much.
So. The counties that we represent are panal Pima, Santa Cruz,
CoA Chise, Greenley, and Graham and then all the tribal nations within So
Maricopa Counties out of our jurisdiction, but we would support it and they need
from our counties down here are we were formed a little differently. They were
formed through props, so they were they went into with the authority. We
we started as a taxing authority, but we don't have we currently do not
have the ability to tax the accountanties that we're in and uh, it's not
you know, we're looking to do in the near future. We want to
be able to create a sustainable revenue source so that way we don't have to
go out for voting rights at this center or a campaign and uh, and
make sure that we're we're strong with what we're doing before we ever go out
for that. On your website it said something that I was interested in.
You talked about amateur sports with the kids and stuff, but you talked about
pro sports. Do you do you kind of bring together pros or x pros
for events, autograph sessions and stuff like that. Well, so the autograph
sessions we haven't gone down. We're we are. We're really not in the
realm of creating our own events currently. We're more of sponsoring events or helping
promote events. One of the events that we helped promote just not it's just
in October with an event called Tennis Congress. So they bring tennis amateur tennis
players, anybody can go out there from around the world and they bring in
top notch coaching instructors, They have seminars, they have nutritionalists on hand,
and it's a three day event that they host at Elkin Keithsber And I was
out there. It was a phenomenal event. You had amateurs on the corporate
you had professional coaches or professional level coaches out there coaching them. I think
those are the kind of events when we're talking about merging merging amateur and professional
sports together is what we're looking at, or we've talked about potentially putting on
youth clinics when we do bring professional teams out here, would speak to that
at a greater need. Okay, makes sense. Well, thanks so much,
Blake, Thanks for joining us. We'll probably touch base again. You
and Edgar have been very good to us. Anytime you guys anything you let
me know, it's a pleasure. I'm honored to be on the show.
I listen to you guys all the time. You've done such a great job
of keeping everybody informed on what's going on. I can't thank you enough,
and I don't think the community can thank you enough. You guys are can
checks in the mail, checking the mail. Thanks so much. Guys,
have a great day. Thank you. That's nice. So people do listen
to us, they do, Steve, at least at least one person firm
used to look, I'm gonna I get text pretty much every day about something
stupid that I did on the radio, and sometimes that guy that guy,
Yeah, thank guy again. How can you remember that? But you can't
remember the guy that they talked to you? Right? Okay, Well,
were right back. We'll close it out, give us a call five to
zero, four, one, six, seventy four. Forty would love to
hear from it like the ceiling can hold, like the ceiling can If you're
an Arizona Man'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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security dot net. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay
Gonzalez sound Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Subscribe now to the podcast on the iHeartRadio
app just Surgeon I on the Ball. Hey, welcome back to Whying the
Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve, He's Jay got Kevin
with us today about thirteen minutes. If you guys want to call in please
do we have plenty of time for your calls. One of the things we
didn't talk about yesterday, Jay and maybe happened after the fact. But today
you kind of mentioned Stevie Rocker hit now entered the portal, did not play
this year? You remember they were really he came out early. Yep,
he came in and they were very high on him and his potential. A
good kid, obviously you're very dynamic looking. Uh, but but has decided
to move on. Let me ask this, and I don't even know halphrase
it, because you know, whatever local kid comes to his maybe dream school
and it doesn't work for him, no, you know, sorry to hear
that, but it happens. And then you have the two kids who say
yes and then they say no. That's kind of the dynamic of local kids
at their local university. I mean in terms of should they go, should
they not go? Am I gonna play? Am I not gonna play?
You know what I'm saying, it's a very difficult situation. Well, well,
in Stevie Rockers case, I mean, it just became a case of
where the program just got better. And you know, Stevie Rocker would not
be recruited today by Arizona, you know. So, I mean he was
a guy that you know, had potential. Uh, he fit, he
fit with the level of talent they needed, they needed, you know,
a kid like that. You know, he was local, he had an
opportunity. But you know, like like I mean, even jade Delora pretty
much god recruited over by Noah Flafida, right because he's you know, he's
so damn good and we didn't know it at the time, but you know,
Jadeen delare is not gonna play at Arizona anymore because no Fafida is.
You know, as as a program gets better players, you know, I
mean, think about some of the basketball teams, right, they had guys
and then all of a sudden, you're bringing another guy and he's way better
than the guy who maybe even started last. I'll give you one right now,
Gilbert Arenez comes in, a Ruben Douglas decides this kid's good. Yeah,
he's really good. So you know that's gonna happen. So you know
what, what you just hope is that it's a good parting of the ways,
right, that that Arizona does what it can to help get these guys
another opportunity. Say thanks, you know, we appreciate what you did,
but you know what you're you know, we've kind of lapped you a little
bit. And and that's what happens, you know, when the program,
you know, starts getting better. I mean, think about those early guys
that that you know started Arizona under lud Olsen. Right, he Williams would
not have been you know, recruited, you know, eighty nine ninety ninety
one by Arizona. Yeah right. And he was an undersized center and big,
you know, physical dude, good player and really well did well what
he did. But there's two guys him and Steve Kerr. Yeah again,
Yes, Steve Kerr a slow you know, a slow guy. He shoot
that hell out of it, but couldn't guard anybody, right, that kind
of thing. Let's take this call. Hi, you're on the air and
I on the ball. Hey, Jay and my buddy Steve. What's going
on? What's that powered? Okay, I gotta I can't talk long.
I got a meeting. I'm walking to my car. Go wild Cats,
Go Sons. Oh okay, I have so much stuff to talk about.
But you know, I've been to New York once. I was on the
outside of Madison Square Gardens. The Sons pretty much crushed him. But I
was on a Zoom meeting and they in the Nicks came back. But I
wanted to tell you, Steve, I'm going to agree with you one hundred
percent or ninety nine point nine that that's a dump because the city outside is
a dump. And you've been inside the Messice Square Garden. I've been there
five times. I hate it. It's all five times. I think you
know it. Hey, Steve, You've been about over coming the small and
the big venues at least ninety venues around the country, right, yes,
yes, at least yeah place. And the reason I went to Duke was
there's one place I hadn't gone to. The next one would be Kentucky.
And I think I completed your arena to your point, Howard people. Then
they carried the dome right or the whatever it's called, to your point.
I went to Yankee Stadium like three times, the old one, the old
one, the original, and now the hell Yeah. I mean you you
got there and you thought, okay, this is Yankee Stadium. Damn.
I went to Soldier Field before the before the renovation. Again you go,
and it's because they were old Comiskey Park. I went to Comisky Park,
the old Kmisky Park, and I go to the bathroom and something's dripping on
me from the ceiling. And I looked up. I'm like, I hope
this isn't a two story, you know, bathroom and I'm getting leaked on
because you know, I mean that kind of thing. But you know,
but then you go to Fenway. I went to Fenway, and Fenway was
clean and you know, not modern, but not a not a not a
decrepit in any way. Right, Hey, Jay, did you say you
were Soldier Field. Yes, I heard in the old days, probably even
before you were there. I heard they had because I'll make construction, they
had it shored up with like two by fours and two by sixes. It
was ready to fall down. Well you know what, I went on a
day that was so cold, I didn't even look around. Uh but that's
underneath the stadium. Yeah, yeah, they hold it up. They held
it up with two by six is and two but short up that's what it
means. Sure you put Oh yeah, you're there to make sure it doesn't
fall down. Yeah, I went I went to a I went to an
NFL playoff game with the forty nine ers and it was had a wind chill
of minus twenty seven. Now imagine the Tucson guy going to a game like
that, But I stuck it out. But I was born there so I
could. My blood is finally starting to sit out after being here for more
than fifty years, you know. And we're and we're getting old because I
love the cold, but well I'm getting I'm getting more mature. We all
three are sure. I'm sure, Well, okay, thanks that I don't
care. But really he does make a good point though, some of those
same I mean, right Masson Square Garden. It's like I gotta go there,
you know, Yeah you said I had to go yeh, yeah,
yeah, God those places were just dumb right right right, Well, because
you there and you have this is why you don't meet your heroes. No,
no, right, you don't want to meet your heroes because they don't
turn out to be the guy you thought you did be. Go to the
bathroom, just like they're just dudes. They get dripped on in the bathroom,
just like, Yeah, did you used to think that your elementary school
teachers didn't go to the bathroom. I never thought about it. I thought
I really did. I hadn't thought about where they live like that. They
you know, these teachers, they're like these figures, you know, and
you go, they don't. They didn't even go to the bathroom. That's
funny, thoughts. I took us into the gun or literally sixty years ago.
It was not quite but okay, where were we going? Oh well,
you know again, it's just you know, that's just the the evolution
of a program. Yeah. The guys that you would have recruited back then,
you don't recruit now. And and you know, and again I know
one I would say, knowing, but thinking what we think of Jed,
you'd like to think that really he's doing whatever you can to help him getting
you know, get another place, good references, all that kind of stuff.
Because he was a good soldier. Right, we had one of the
original soldiers to come here and like gunder Cruise, right, Gunner Cruz,
who we all were pulling our hair out watching him play. He's a graad
assistant. No, he's gone now because he got gone there. In fact,
he was at the game an issue and the President, Bobby was talking
to him. He was talking about working somewhere abroad. Now, Uh,
you know, he's he's your he's your typical, your typical airport dude,
looks great in uniform. But and then they got a five foot nine dude
who's just killing it. Who's killing it? There's I hope that kind of
squays your mind from the airport. Does uniforms are precise? Doesn't know.
I'm happy with no FA And but I was. I was skeptical. Was
why why because he's so sure? No? Yeah, but we saw him.
We saw him. We go to the practices in August, and he
looked fantastic physically. We just didn't know if he'd find a way because Jane
was the guy right or or we just didn't know if that could translate onto
playing at USC and Washington and all those guys. Oh and here you go,
here you go. I think that Murray, who I give a lot
of grief to because he is the same size about and he's running around,
he's real almost getting killed every play. But not Fafita. Well see,
because Kyler Murray. I don't even say this right now, in terms of
operating a passing game. Yeah, no, ifl Fita is a better quarterback,
he's because Kyler Murray, he looks, doesn't see somebody in you run
right, his game is to be running around or no, if a Vida's
game is to find a receiver and get him the ball. I'd rather have
that guy, Oh of course, right, of course, I'd rather have
that. And that's what's stunning about what Fafita does is that you know when
he's going to complete a pass the way he steps into a throw, right,
he steps into throw and says, Okay, there's a guy out there.
I was watching the sixty minute version of it, and in that in
Arizona's first drive, they had like a third to twelve and he goes back
to throw and he turns and he steps into a throw. You know they're
going to get the first down here, and they did. You know,
because you you in that flash of an instant that you your mind can well
can translate that. He looks like he's found to receive. He knows the
purpose, he has his purpose. There's there's only one flaw I think is
from time to time he overthrows guys because he can't throw the long b he's
right, And Jed was asked about that. He said, he just,
you know, he's It's a thing that you you get with experience because he
you know, he's missed some guys. Although he dropped one into Jacob Cowings
hands at the end of the at the end of the second I remember that.
It is like, how did that pass not result in the touchdown?
Right? Even the throw he made him McMillan. McMillan was off by himself,
just a nice throw on the run. Didn't have to come back and
get it. Nobody in the neighborhood. Nobody in the neighborhood. Yeah,
that that game was fifty nine whatever, that could have been very well,
seventy to seventy to something. Well, they two touchdowns that they didn't get,
that they that they should have gotten, and that could that would have
put him at seventy three, which so fun. I was thinking about that,
like about halfway through the game. I was like, what if we
drove seven zero it was seventy six on p seventy six to sporurteen maybe yeah,
early, Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I was like,
what if what if that happens? Like that would be ultimate revenge on that
sun. I still I still believe that's what his purpose was because he was
passing with passing and passing with forty point leads. You know, he wanted
that back. Oh yeah, you know he wanted that back. Yeah did.
All right, I'm gonna change the subject on you. That's a relationship.
Comeback Player of the Year award, Okay, okay, I thought Comeback
player of the year in baseball, right, in baseball, you win that
when you had you come back from an injury, you had some sort of
a tragedy, something that happened to you that that costs you a season or
whatever, and then you come back the next year and have a great year.
The American Lye Comeback Player the Year, Liam Hendricks, you know,
cancer survivor comes back, you know, he gets your ward, and then
nationally they give it to Cody Bellinger, who all he did was sucked last
year, right, he just sucked and then he had a great year,
not even a really really good year. Yeah, and that's all he didn't
have. He didn't break a leg, he didn't blow a knee, he
didn't you know, lose a family member, he didn't have a disease.
He just sucked and now he's the Comeback Player of the Year. I don't
get that. Yeah, maybe I don't. I don't agree with that.
Was that was the field just weaker in no options And look, I love
Cody Balinger. He was a great Dodger, helped him win a World Series.
Nothing against Cody Balinger. I'm just it's like, you have to do
more than suck then to be able to get Comeback Player of the Year.
And you know, the people are talking about it for Russell Wilson, that's
all he did was sucked last year. Why should he get Comeback Player of
the Year. Give it to somebody who really had something bad happened to him
that he had to come back from. And it's kind of like it reminds
me of the conversation that always year after year gets had with the NBA's Most
Improved Player award when they really just give it to a thirty year guy who's
making the expected deep. It's like, wait, isn't most improved the guy
that was horrible and now he's amazing, Not the guy that was pretty good
and now he's great. Yeah exactly. Yeah, a guy who he thought
this guy's not gonna be in the league very long and all of a sudden,
man, he you know, he impacted the team. Yeah, most
improved. I'm a little disappointed. Yeah, I mean that's fair to be
a little disappointed in that one. I think, especially especially because of the
circumstances in which they was given up. Yeah, okay, well, good
show today, all right, Blake Eager, thank you for giving us the
lowdown on what's going on sportswise here in southern Arizona. And then John Whitaker,
the Big Game Boomer. Big Game Boomer likes Arizona. Dude, he
likes Aazon. He's gonna have a shot at Arizona when his Oklahoma Sooners player
zone in the Elet know, Bolt, that's the one game that everybody's saying.
That game is like satin. You know, it hasn't been finalite,
but it should be a fun one though. I think I'll be real watcha
road trip on the ball road trip. All right, thanks for being here,
everybody. We'll be back tomorrow. Uh spite where our Facebook page says
this isn't the last show of the week. We'll be back tomorrow. Dok
to you tomorrow. Stom On Hold Wayne