This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jakin Zalis on Fox Sports
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Welcome to I on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm
Steve Rivera, here jakmes As. We're by ourselves today. Is it Saturday?
Yet? Almost? Almost? Soon? Man? I can't wait.
I'll take a nap. Yeah, we have a there's a scrimmage tomorrow,
so I'll get to see some of the players at U of A. Right,
you wouldn't have been working hard this week. See what it looks like,
uh, you know, in live actions. So we'll see two weeks
already, two week, three weeks, three weeks three, we're three weeks
from the three weeks from the opener, well already, yeah, yeah,
three weeks from the opener and au year Yeah, seven o'clock. I think
everyone was gonna revenge day. Yeah, that's exactly why I said that.
Yeah, I agree with you. We need I should say we only needs,
but like a fifty, you could say we you're a fan, I
know, but fan boy. There's still a little piece of me that says
you're you're still kind of a journalist. You shouldn't say we on the ring.
Good that you remember that. Yeah, do you remember something you're from
journalism school that is not a wee? I remember there's no team. Yeah,
there's a wee weakness. Yes, Hey, okay, cool, Hey,
we have a different show today, A cool different show. A dream,
A dream, a dream for any coach at the little league level.
Right, Uh, we've got a mister Mills coming in, Males coming in.
He's the coach of the Marana Little League Softball juniors that got all the
way to the Little League World Series, and not only the World Series,
but I got any of the championship bracket of the world They got a full
play, so they got to go up there and experience a full thing,
played a bunch of games. And you know, if you ever coached a
little league, your kid was in a little league, you know, somewhere
in your mind the thought entered, how cool would it be without will support
or wherever without question? And so we'll we'll talk to Sam Meals about what
that was like for him. Right, No, every little girl's dream where
we coach's dream, guy's dream, you know what I'm saying. Yeah,
And then we have, of course of Jake Fisher trying to give us some
his sound bites on whatever was going on in the world. Uh, you
know, controversial with good straightforward. Yeah. You know, we always pick
his brain for you know, because he had an experience that none of us
had. And e was to play, you know, major college football.
There was a what was on the other day? There was a game on
and because there goes Jake, He's on. He's on our show all the
time. Oh really, I can't remember. It was a game. Yeah,
it was a game from Uh it was a game from the It was
the Mike Stoops time. Okay, I know that he probably saw it.
We'll ask him, and I remember got it. For some life of me,
I can't remember who it was, but you know the goes number thirty
three running around over there and uh yeah plays yeah, okay, okay,
anything else going on we have? Uh we have, uh, just football.
The guys are in Israel, I think now, I no, no,
we're seeing We're starting to see pictures. They were in Jerusalem. Uh.
The Bruce is sending is posting photos of various events. They're also posting
some photos. They had a dinner at at somebody's house, and they were
at the the City of David. They were at at the Ventivity. Uh
okay, there was a photo of Lumarbala who could barely fit in there.
Where are you? Where are you seeing this? There was on the Twitter
Twitter was Bruce's posting some stuff. I don't know who else, but I've
seen a whole bunch of different stuff, but it is on Arizona site.
One of Arizona's I haven't looked, I haven't paid attention to. Like one
was athletes for Israel. They were posting some stuff. Okay, I'm not
sure who else. You know, it's funny when you're eighteen, nineteen,
twenty years old or whatever you're seeing this kind of going play and come home.
I know that's what it was in ninety seven day when they won the
title, they went to Australia and they didn't want to go. They didn't
want to go. They just didn't want to go. Let's go home.
It's a long season. But then you get there and it's okay, I
guess we'll make the most of it. Yeah, you know, Arizona basketball
is posting some stuff. Okay, I saw some of that that I'm look
cool right now. Cool some airport shots, some train station shots, and
as I said, Bruce, Bruce Past has been posting some stuff. So
yeah, just a lot of you know, just a lot of background.
I think there's still a couple more days before they play play any games.
But there was a picture that you know, they're going back into Israel and
going through this checkpoint and there's a guy with a major weapon slung over his
shoulders standing there. Yeah. No, those those are real moments, real
moments. So I wanted to start the show a different way, and I
think I may have asked you this recently, just in a different way.
When was the last time you got you got turned down in the lastic effort
to to save a marriage or the same save a relationship got turned down.
Well, I've been in one relationship, Steve, for going on actual obviously
forty years. So well, okay, yeah, I did at okay,
at the air was on the Daily Star all right when when I left there,
Okay, I wasn't on trying to say the relationship they were I got,
I took I had I had accepted a job at the at the at
the Star, I mean at THET I was getting a fifty percent pay raise,
okay. And I put my letter uh on on the Imagine editor's desk,
my resignation letter on the Maagine editor's desk, and no I was on
the executive editor's desk. I put on his desk. And he comes back
to me and he says, what can we do to keep you? I
says, too late, because I tried for promotion. Oh, he didn't
get it. So I went looking for a job. Oh okay, okay,
So you initiated. And the reason I asked this is the obvious reason
is the PAC twelve. I mean they thought they thought they had something in
their hand, or they were cocky or whatever word you want to use.
Well, they're a bit full of themselves, yes, and we've known that
for a while. Though it started they were up. They started when Larry
Larry Scott showed up. Yeah, I used I have been using the word
the word uppity because there was all that you know again, and and it's
something that you know, Bobby Robin said to you know, to somebody I
know very well, said, don't don't overlook the academic piece of this,
and then they overlook the academic piece of it, went to the Big twelve.
And I don't blame them for going to the Big twelve under the circumstances,
but you know, the academic piece was a big deal to the Pac
twelve. It wasn't a big deal to anybody else. Huh. You know,
people were thinking, why do you care about the academics, and it's
these schools. I felt they had sort of a a common mission academically,
and you wanted to stay together because but you know, in the end,
you know that didn't hold together. But you know, reading what we're reading
now, you know there's all the not I don't want to call it Monday
morning quarterback, but now everybody's fast what was going on? Sure, it's
funny because you know how it always is. No one talks during the when
it's going on because they can't. You're afraid of jobs. Blah blah blah.
And even an Ashue Guy, a former Area Issue Guy coach, comes
in and rips into the program, rips into Richard the a d ray Anderson.
But dare him say that during the time, right, because he's got
a job. But now no one's capable of no one's smart enough, all
these things, and it's funny how all this stuff comes out after the fact.
Yeah, And because where I wanted to go with that is that apparently
the Pac twelve, where they're gonna get thirty million, they were gonna get
what they wanted. I had a deal for thirty million, what not what
they wanted, but what they could have survived with. And then they asked
for fifteen They told it and and they told George Flaff to go get fifty
and I wasn't in the room. I'mon said, they threw him the finger,
the proverbial finger, you know. Yeah, Yeah, that's the main
thing that we're hearing that a year ago, and it was before it was
before the Big twelve got their deal. The Big ten had gotten their deal,
which the number was sixty five million, and somehow the Pac twelve thought,
uh, you know, with UCLA and USC gone already thought they could
still get fifty million dollars, and and the and the and that that's there's
two things there that to me, that's a sign of having a bunch of
presidents who just don't know what the hell is going on when it comes to
this. And then the second piece of that with the George Kleavkov, whose
jobs should have been Look, people, we're not gonna get fifty million dollars.
Thirty million dollars is the deal. Let's go ask them for thirty five
and see what they said and getty and they yeah, and get whatever instead
they said fifty and ESPN yeah, walked out the door. It reminds me
a little of the Internet twenty whatever. It came twenty twenty five years ago,
and nobody knew what to make of it. Oh, don't worry,
it's gonna go away. The newspapers started saying, no, then we gotta
do this, and got to do that. And then by the time it
kind of snowballed. It's swallowing up newswapers, every everything. And then by
that time people are thinking, oh, maybe we should have done something different.
Well, it's too damn late. It's too damn late, and it's
already swallowed you hole it, did you know? I mean, look on
you know. It's it's that it's that ugly feeling that we we always get
when we try and go buy a car, we're buying a house. You
know, how much is how much do you ask for you know what negotiating.
Negotiating is hard, and you know there's some people haven't stomached for it
to some people. Yeah, I don't, I don't. I don't either.
These guys were dumb. It turns out they were dumb. They thought
they were worth fifty million dollars. And then I wonder what they thought when
the Big twelve said, Okay, we're good at thirty one seven, and
like, oh god, weet thirty by that time was too late, right
right, you know, let's see it's your come up. Please please let
me a better husband please or boyfriend. No, sorry, dude, he's
too late. The comedy of airs. And then you know, and then
that, you know, the Big they then they still thought they had a
deal done on you know, last Friday morning for twenty five, for possible
twenty five and and and you know, and they thought Oregon and Washington were
in. And then they wake up and they find out Oregon and Washington have
left the building. Let me ask you this, and I just just pumped
into my head. Okay, so we've moved from the Pac twelve to this
to the Big twelve. In five years, there's another deal five years and
well they're gonna start, they're gonna start negotiating them in five years. Okay,
So so let me ask you, what if, what if there's a
chance to return to the PAC twelve. Well, again, I think not
to the Pac twelve, but to the to the west. What I would
like to see, and I've said this and what I would hope would happen,
was that, you know, they'll they'll they'll organize the upper echelon on
of you basically power of five football, and organize a regionally and then everybody
saying everybody gets money and relax. Again, I don't have faith that's going
to happen, because the Big twelve, I mean the Big Ten and the
and the SEC are is such a powerful position. They're gonna try and grab
as much of it as they can. Or they're gonna say, okay,
we'll organize like that, but we in the Big ten and we in the
SEC get more money than you guys who are coming from the ACC and the
Big twelve. Yeah, but I'm talking I'm talking more but organized the regionally
yeast. But that's what I'm saying. You know, you take all the
team. What I'm saying is that you got what eighteen teams. Now in
the big ten, you still got sixteen teams in the SEC. Those thirty
four teams are gonna want a bigger share the pie than the other teams that
are currently there, not that aren't in their league. And that may be
how it happens, but I would like to see everything get organized regionally.
Well, everybody does see that coming. And there's always that team like Florida
State or like USC which I've seen on Twitter. Now that's saying they blew
it when they didn't give you a see a bigger share, because because you
see what a bigger share just to make them happy, keep them in,
keep them in step. No, they didn't do that. And you see
Florida State say we're Florida State. We're the biggest piece out here in the
ACC. We want more. Well, sorry, you already saying what you
say. What what they need to do is the football needs reflects its muscles
and say, okay, TV networks, you want our product. Everybody.
These these sixty four teams all get seventy million dollars and you can have us
and it's an inordinate amount of money. It's a huge amount of money,
but you get it all for seventy million dollars, you get a playoff,
you get you know, and you givvy it up however you want between Fox
and ESPN. That's the number. You guys, get your butts together,
get in a room, figure it out, and you come back to us.
And when you got seventy or seventy five million dollars for every every school
and of these sixty four however many teams it is. Now we're talking,
then what's the TV you get? Then? And then but then if everybody
is getting the same amount of money, then you can organize it by read
what what po what? How much his bread? In your world? I
just had I just had a sugar free rip beer and I think it's because
but that. But that's that's what that's that's where you got. That's how
you got. You're trying to make everybody happy. They or you might say,
okay, SEC and Big ten are currently getting sixty five. You give
up, we get seventy five, You give fifty to all the others.
That's the pot of money. You need to come up with it. If
you don't do that, guess what we're gonna stream. We're gonna stream everything
you don't get it. Yeah, but they're not gonna they don't want to
do that either. That's a bluff. Let's call you. If you're gonna
make a bluff, you're gonna be able to form our own. We'll form
our own. You know college football? Well, uh, you know streaming
network in every game will be streamed and we're gonna make this much money because
people are gonna buy it. Will you hould you buy it? That's a
good question, right, you would buy it? See questions. You're not
gonna not watch college football? Uh no, No, I'd buy it.
I'd buy it, I guess, go reluctantly. But you'd pay as much
as you pay for direct TV, if not more. Yeah, and I
don't pay for that. Yeah, well you're going to but yeah, actually
I paid a lot for Comcast, which I don't want to. Yeah.
Yeah, I guess maybe, yeah, maybe, but likely. Okay,
Hey, we're gonna get a call here from coach Mills here and then we
have Jake later, so we'll have some fun with this one. All right,
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the iHeartRadio WAP, this is I on the Ball with Steve Ribera and Jay
Gonzale Sports fourteen fiftday. Hey, welcome back to Why in the Ball JILD
Fox Sports fourteen fifty I'm Steve Rivera. He's jakins as now and if we
have coach Sam Mills from the Moreno, Italy Junior softball team, Sam,
how are you doing fantastic? Steja, How are y'all doing the seven end?
We're doing well. How long was this summer for you? It actually
feel like it flew by a very very fast, you know, day by
day as you're preparing for these kind of things that it seems long, but
now looking back, it just snapped the finger and now now it's August.
Yeah, so let let's start at the end. You got to the World
Series, which is which is the goal. You're made it into the championship
bracket, you know, which again, you know, it's just a hard
thing to do. Talk talk to us about getting to the world you got
you got there, the experience that that you had, and the kinds of
things that that that that the girls and and you know and you guys got
to see got to experience, got to do well, just fills in on
some of that experience. Was it was humbling to get the opportunity certainly one
of those things that just grateful that the girls got that experience, and as
a coach, they just kind of sit back and see the smiles that come
along with with everything that they got to participate in. You know, it
was it was a whirlwind. Once you arrive there in Seattle. They they
have you, you know, trying on uniforms and getting fitted and you know,
filling out ESPN questionnaires so that you know, they can make sure they
let everybody know that I think every girl's favorite singers, Taylor Swift and and
you know what they what their favorite dinner food is, and you know,
favorite TV show. It was. It was fun for the girls to kind
of sit down and and sill that out and hear their response and then have
him laugh about it when they were talking about it when they were watching later
on. So we talked about having kids and pood plaid sports and this is
kind of a dream come true. At foreign a parent and any coach,
at what point did you kind of have time to pinch yourself and say,
God, look at this, look at what we're doing. We're winning State,
We're going to the to the to the Nationals and TV. I had
to pinch myself along the way multiple times. I think it hit me which
was a neat moment was during the opening ceremonies and we're sitting there standing on
the field looking around and you've got ten teams and when they started singing,
you know, four other national anthems from Mexico, Canada, the Philippine,
Czech Republic, and then obviously are fantastic star Spangled banner, which was emotional
and just a neat moment. You know that that was I think one of
those pinching moments where like, we are at a world series, this is
best competition out there, and it was probably one of the times that I
pinched myself along the way. So so you you got you're you're there and
you're you're getting ready to play games and whatnot. Oh, you know,
with all, as you said, all the other stuff that was going on,
at some point, you guys have to start thinking about games, right.
Was there was there any nervousness among them, you know, oh we're
on TV or you know, we're playing for the world World Championship, you
know, nervousness among the girls that you got a sense of, or did
they just kind of take it all and we'll here, let's play. I
mean, how how did how did you sense the girls were handling all that?
No, there definitely was a sense, and it's it's one of those
things in hindsight, you know, You're we were just kind of thrown into
it as such a you know, we won regionals and within you know,
less than twelve hours, we were on a plane to Seattle. So you're
just you're you're really just kind of rushing through the moment. But you saw
it in the dugout and talking with some of the girls during innings and those
kind of things. It's like, oh, I'm on ESPN, you know,
and you heard them say little little things like that, and you're trying
to be the calm, reassuring voice. Hey, it's just a game.
Everything's fine, you know, don't worry about it. Everybody, you know,
makes mistakes here and there or whatever. But it certainly was was prevalent
and a reality we had to work through. And I think each girl handled
it in their own way, but at some moment, I think every single
one probably felt something different. Obviously. I mean I even cut myself going
and talking with the Empire and then all of a sudden, I'm staring up
into the campus. I was like, oh, yeah, what am I
here to talk about? You know, it was just one of those surreal
moments of oh yeah, this is on TV. It was. It was
pretty funny. It's funny because I was watching it today, the Little League
World Series, uh in the West part because they're getting ready to play in
Williamsport and the coaches getting miked up, right, some of you guys get
licked up, and I'm thinking some coaches are down and it's bottom of the
sixth they play sixth ennis, and I'm thinking, if I'm a coach,
I'm sure there's a time in there where I'm gonna be pissed, you know,
and the camera's gonna be on me. But you're not. You're you're
coaching twelve year olds. You can't be you know what I'm saying, you
can't be. Yeah, we, I guess, I don't know if I
want to say we luckily at the juniors level didn't have the mics on us,
so whether for better or worse, uh, we didn't have to go
through that. But still with you know, the TVs and microphones along the
side, you know certainly what you were yelling out and whether it was instructions
or anything. You're like, Okay, I just want to make sure i'm
I'm saying this the right way. No, yeah, okay, I'm gonna
get a chair in my asking you this question. But your daughter's on the
team, you're at the World Series, you know, excuse me any you
know any moments you had with her to talk about, you know, the
goal that you know you two had achieved together, you know, on this
team getting into the World Series of coaching player, I'm getting goosebumps just you
saying that I walked up to field in tears with her we after our last
game get into Canada. I just kind of took her aside and talked with
her, and it was a special moment I'll always remember with her and just
being able to thank her for letting me coach her. And and you know,
obviously all the girls you create a bond, but when you have your
own, your child there, I mean, that's why I got into coaching,
was so I could spend more time with my kids. And to have
that with her was was so special and very reflective as looking back on Regional
and all the hard work that we but in how difficult is this? And
we see it all the time when you have a coach and and and the
daughter or the son plays and that fine line being tough but not tough,
you know, because you have other kids to coach, you do, and
you know, I'm surrounded by other amazing you know, coaches that help out
along the way. And so I think we each play our our roles,
you know, Chris Beck, Jason names of Brett Winter, Jim Sayer.
I mean, you know, they they're all awesome. And so I think
between the balance of us working with our own daughters and that also knowing how
to approach each one because we've we've been together for you know, I think
four or five years, that that helps you know who who needs to go
talk with that one at that time, at that moment. So it's a
it's a good balance. We talked about your being in the regionals that you
had, you had the home field advantage, they were here, But at
what point did you think you guys had a chance to do this, you
know, to get to the World Series. Yet you thought you were good
enough and if I could act to that. Was there a game in there
where you were maybe one out, two outs away from not going or advancing.
Yeah, no, it was, you know, I'll tell you a
little bit about that. But like the moment that I felt like the team
was ready and prepared. It was pretty neat. We was about a month
out from regionals and we sat them all in the dugout and I took a
Washington postcard and handed it to each one of the girls and I said,
I want you to write a note to yourself, as if you've already won
regionals. I want you to describe how it felt to win regionals. I
want you to talk about a play that you might have had in regionals that
you know was the game winning catch or home run or you know strike,
you know, striking somebody out. And I said, I want you to
hang this up on your mirror and every day I want you to look at
it. I want you to touch it. I want you to say,
I'm going to Kurtlyn, Washington, which is where you know it was held.
And I was like, you you visualize that, you verbalize it and
said it and it was it was. There was like a special feeling in
the dugout. It's like, you know, you're kind of as a coach
is like, how are they how is this going to be received by the
girls. It's going to be goofy or whatever. But there was a buy
in with smiles on their faces and you could kind of sense that. And
fast forward to the regionals and in game two, we faced a tough Washington
team and we actually lost. They beat us ten five, and it was
one of those moments where as a coach you look in their eyes and in
their faces and every single girl is like, we got this, we got
this, We're going to do it. We have a goal, We've put
in the hard work, and we're going to do it. And that was
just rewarding as a coach to see that response. And then we went back
and won five straight to win out the regionals. It wasn't easy. We
had a tough game against Nevada, we won two to one against Alaska,
and then we had to go back and beat that Washington team twice in the
championship. But and you did, and you did right, So yeah,
you know, so you know, Steve and I have talked and you can
you can plug this into you know, teams at all levels. There has
to be a certain you know, obviously you don't have a locker room in
the Little League, but you know, there's a lot a feel in the
locker room, a feel among the players to be able to do things like
this. You can have all the talent in the world. Father players hate
each other, you're not gonna you're not gonna win championships, or you can
be less talented than others. But if your team is you know, very
together and all on the same page, you can achieve more. Did you
get that sense from your team that there was there was this commonality that they
all had, uh you know, playing together, liking each other. Uh,
you know, no drama, all that kind of stuff. Was there
a sense of that? Oh? Really, there really was. I mean,
they their friends off the field as well. You know, they're they're
just a tight knit group. And you know, they've got amazing parents,
They've got amazing you know, extended family that you know, we've got to
know throughout the years. And and that family extended not only just the girls,
I think is just such a fantastic support group. And couldn't be more
grateful to be associated with each one of those girls and their parents, and
you know everybody that comes up to support us at the Games, and that
was supporting us here and you know Marana Southern Arizona when we went off to
the World Series. So so you know, we're both parents. Like we
said, Uh, then you win the regional here and you think, we
know, we've got to come up with money to get to Seattle or how
or how is that because you know it's not cheap, Well, it's it's
fortunate, Little League. When you go to the World Series, all of
the players and coaches, their expenses are covered. They take care of the
flights, the food, the hotels, accommodation and everything, which was a
huge benefit. And then there were some you know, amazing people and group
that helped to you know, chip in to you know, make sure.
I think every single one of the girls had parents there during the week,
if not the whole time, at least we're able to go and watch them
play. And you know, there was just an overwhelming amount of support.
Get parents there or they could experience to vote with their girls. Okay,
so when when did this group of girls win a stake championship somewhere? Well,
we've got to ten of them headed to Morana High. We're trying to
get the two they're going to Ironwood and cdo they need to come come and
stay in Mirana so we can foster that championship there. But you need to
see that's exciting. So let me ask you, where did you come up
with the postcard thing? I just one of those inspired I'll give it my
one, my one good idea as a coach for my entire career. I
guess I don't know. It just it just came to me. I was
like, there needs to be something they can do and see every single day
so they keep their eye on the mark. And that's that's what I came
up with. And the cool part was we took those postcards with us and
then they put them in the mail and send them back. They sent them
back to their their homes and we're able to receive them once they got back
home. That's so cool. Well, that's a nice lasting memory. And
maybe what is your lasting memory from this? It's hard to sum up in
in one I think just the softball. I don't know outside of the team
and family and all that, but was just the softball community and experiencing it
from a worldwide perspective. When you hear Banish being spoken in the dugout in
check and the Philippines, and to meet players and coaches from all around the
world, you know that that to me would be hard to rectlicate in anything
going forward. And you know you're on a bus after a game and you
got girls from the Czech Republic in Canada and Arizona seeing and justin beaver baby
baby at the top of their lungs. You know, just you know,
you can't those are those are things that they're just one that will will be
with me for a very very long time. Okay, coach, great,
have you on the show. Congratulations coach No, Steve Kay, thank you,
appreciate the opportunity. A lot of fun thing. All right, thank
you very much. Well, we'll see you in about four years. I
guess let's put it on the calendar. All right, thanks so much,
good afternoon. You know that's cool. That's that's a dream come true for
coaches and kids and all that stuff. You know. I mean, you
know, I was the I was the one of the coaches on my son's
twelve year old team, right the team that plays for Williams. We don't
even get out of districts. But you know, you had that little thing
though. I think we're really good, you know, we have a chance
at this. Yeah, and then you get out there and you play and
guess what, everybody else is really good too. That's my lasting memory of
my little little league team. We played in the state tournament and then got
beat, got beat. It was tough stuff. Okay, let's let's take
a break. Okay, maybe get some calls in there. We'll get some
calls. We'd love to hear some little league experience. There've been some teams
I've been very much in another World Series, very much so. Some teams
that got to the regionals this year. Canyon View, the twelve year old
team got to the regionals this year, so you know, one state.
So I would love be here here from some folks five two zero four one
six seventy four four. If you're an Arizona men's basketball fan, you'd know
it's been successful for newly forty years now. Take a look back at the
Ludolson era. In my new book, Lessons from Loot. It was a
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Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Subscribe now
to the podcast on the radio. Hey, welcome back to twy on the
Back here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve, he's Jay. We
have about twelve minutes. You'd like to give us a quick call five two
o four one six seventy four forty that'd be great. That'd be great.
If you want to talking about your little league experience, that'd be cool.
Yeah, I we'd love to hear that. There's been a lot more than
five. I mean, well there have been in the various World Series.
I know, you know when you're talking about teams that have been to Williamsport,
there have been two two right right, the Vosburg Ex team and then
UH team in eighty five. Yeah. I did a twenty five year reunion
from those guys. Yeah, and he showed me Tims. It was a
lot of fun. The one thing, this is, what are you guys
talking about? Well, our girlfriends us talking about it. Well, you
know, I had a I had a weird, just a crazy trip covering
that team. Because are you are you told me about that? It was
a crazy you had to get their name or something. Well, in in
all of our in all of our uh uh, we just didn't think too
because at that time at the paper, it was a single elimination tournament with
eight teams. Single elimination. You lose one game, you're gone. So
our our management didn't think that maybe we should go cover them to to where
Williams. You didn't go to December the day. No, no, we
didn't even think about that. We just had them call in and so they
so they qualified for Williams Sport they're going for So they get there. Nobody
thought, you know what, maybe somebody should be there. So they win,
they win their first game. Now they're gonna play for the national champ
for you know, the American National American Championship, and so you know the
games in the afternoon, they win, and I'm in the office working doing
whatever I'm doing. It was a summer, right, and they said,
hey, we need somebody to go, and you're in because I was at
guy Steve Emery, probably Chuck Kramer, Ramer sevem co manage because an internet
somewhere. I don't remember this, but okay, you were, you were
an Internet but you weren't news. Were you in news in sports? Well?
I started sports right before that, maybe a couple of weeks before.
Okay, I hadn't been in sports. I went over to sports after Sam
Pollock and okay, yeah, yeah, yeah you were there. That was
a year after that noise. Okay, So they say, hey, we
need we need to send somebody now, and they're like, what the hell?
So they put me on a ten pm flight out of Phoenix. Okay,
so it's a red eye, red eye of Pittsburgh, puddle jumpers to
to uh to Williams Sport. I get to Williams Sport race. You know,
I got no sleep, right race to the Little League office. The
gout a credential for me. I, you know, go over and the
game is about to start and I covered the game. Didn't you spend more
time with them after the game? After they lost? So then they win
again. So now they say, now we need a photographer because they played
for the champions. Wait wait, so you went there and saw them win.
I saw them win. Okay, Okay, I saw them win the
American champil that's right, because they they win. So now they say,
now we send a photographers. So they send Benji Sanders, the photographer on
the same deal. You had, the exact same fly. I got him
at the airport. We raced over to to to the Little League office.
He gets his credential. We raced to the stadium and we get there in
time for the you know, for the start of the game. And we
cover the game and they played, Taiwan played, Taiwan got beat bad.
Taiwan had a bunch of eighteen. That's what. That's the one thing they
always talked about these guys. Look, their picture was bigger, The picture
was bigger than me. And he had hairy arms. That's what. That's
what they said. That's what they said. He picked up his catcher and
he held him like a baby, you know, just like he heild him
on his step like a baby. That's so so Now, so I,
you know, I gotta do the you know. So they asked me to
a game story and then do a color story on the kids. So I
go to their dorm, you know, because they've got dorms. So I
go to their dorm fully expected. Walk into this dorm and they're gonna be
crying and upset. They're jumping on the jad having a party. They're having
a great time. They did them. It was I was I felt I
was more sad about it than they were for that. But I thought that
was such a great thing in that and I'm sure the photos the photos were
perfect, oh yeah, and that they were just having a great time and
they loved being there. They had a great time. So I just went
up to each kid and asked for their favorite memory. And that was my
story. I just did a you know, every kid on the rosters,
easiest story. But but so who's the coach? I can't remember. I
had to. If I could have google the citizen, I would do that
because I remember we had pictures and all that. A lot of a few
of them have passed away. I have the newspaper clipping somewhere because okay,
because my dad before he passed away, gave me a box. I'm he
saved all my sports clips to your death. Yeah he was. There was
a big guardboard, Bob, you know I still have it. Have been
a hoarder. I don't know what he was doing. Man, I'm gonna
see if your can kind of google, you know, from your natually do
all this stuff. If they can find that. But it was great.
I loved it. They were having a great time and it was a great
story, and I felt really good about it at the end because I felt
like they weren't having it great. Their kids being kids. Kids are being
kids, you know, it's that's what it's supposed to be. You know,
we get nervous, we get upset with Sure, I'm not saying they
didn't care because they cried on the field. Sure, of course. We
got to the doorman, they were I mean literally, I thought somebody kid
was gonna break his neck because they were jumping from one bunk bed another.
Something like that happened that a couple of years ago. They were doing that.
But it was great. They you know, I love those kids.
Or a couple of them went on to play. You know, they were
good, you know, high school baseball players. But it was a great
experience for me. It's it's one of my highlights as a sports writing Yeah.
No, those memories are fun and it's an easy story to write because
when they're there to have fun and quotable, and the coaches are fine and
they're just not a worry in the world. They didn't worry about what they
were saying. I was having to it. You know, I loved this
and you know, this was a great time. I loved the you know,
that's a cool bucket list story that that's you should It was one of
those things that you know, and not a lot you know, not everybody
gets to cover that. It's all of these teams are from small towns and
stuff like those reporters. They're not at the New York Times in the lap
stuff there weren't you know, the airs on a daily Star and the Kurpland
newspaper, remember, you know, And it was a blast. I had
such a great time. But and then back then it was had a great
time. They gave me a clip from the it was ABC. I remember
they showed him an ABC on the VCR and it was just nothing. Not
how they do it now. It's it's a production. Yeah, yeah,
it's a big product. It wasn't near what and the stadium is much not
I mean I got to the stadium, right, I got to the stadium
and it was leaking water in the bathrooms and stuff like that. It was
it was you know, you know two or three, right, there's two.
It reminded me of a mini Comiskey Park. Just it was old,
and you know, there were their beams in the you know, in the
seats and stuff like that. I remember that, you know, and they
they they've dulled it up really nice for ESPN. Sure, No, no,
it's it's a fun time for the kids and all that. I didn't
I didn't realize that the girls softball team played there too, because I was
watching it today with girls Majors whichever ones it was. It was today and
they were playing in Williams Sport. I said, I guess they used it
the facility before they changed over to them with the boys. It's a it's
a it's a massive facility with practice fields and stuff like that. But back
then it was the one stay and that was it. Yeah, you know,
and that was it. No, no more power and more power great,
great for the kids. Uh And maybe we could talk about this down
the road if we get you know, more high school more literally naturally,
the Cactus team that went with Bosburg and those guys, my little league Gosbar
team played against them the year before they You said that, you said that
Bosberg wasn't on that team, and they were pretty good and a bunch of
those guys they won. Yeah, they went who was the Hispanic guymbers that
there was another guy with must tell Mike Fembers and there was had to be
another Mike Fembers was that he was a little left handed. Pictures Stu who
had a ball to end all. Yeah, and he was he was their
ace. And the next year Bossburg was the number two pitcher on that team,
but he was their ace. And what I remember was he they they
would he had he was he had an asthma medications. They wouldn't let him
use it. Oh, because the drug STUF and there was a big controversy
over you know, interfected him. But they also played Taiwan and they also
got their asses kid. Yeah, Tian Taiwan used to own that thing.
But you know, very fun, very fun experience. And I can only
imagine the spectacle that it is now with with you know, with the ESPN
and wits, because back then all they all that you saw on TV was
the championship game on Sunday. I'm going on Saturday. That's it. That's
the only thing that that was televised was the championship game. Now now they've
got regionals, you know that they're that are on ESPN, So a lot
of fun, a lot of fun, a lot of dreams of those kids,
do you man, you know what I know ed? Bosberg went on
to play, you know, in the Major and stuff. One of those
kids you made, they some of them played high school stuff. That's their
memory. Yeah, sure of course their athletic. There was another guy,
and I'll have to come up with the name. Maybe i'll uh, and
you st Mark's Yeah, that's it. Yeah, he was. He was
on that. That's the guy was saying. Yeah. He played at that
point with Bossburg and also played it. He was also the Major And and
you think, who do we talking about these girls here? Uh? At
some point either they get burnt out or catch up up. We're gonna We're
gonna see. You know, when when you play, when you have a
team to get there's one or two girls in there and they go or players,
I should say, whether boys or girls, they go on and do
great thing. Well, I'll be a great picture or a great hitter.
I saw I covered something at the start of The Citizen fifteen twenty years ago,
and there was a little girl, a little blonde girl with a ponytail.
She had to be eight ten years old. And I'm taking this little
girl could play. I mean, you don't see little girls who can physically
play and they look great. And then she turns out to be the kid.
Uh, I can't remember Foothills or somewhere in the Northwest. And then
she plays at Stanford and they have the sisters, the sisters, and they're
unbelievable. If Hobbiers listened to me, they're just the bostrooms, the bunch
rooms. These girls are just amazing. I'm thinking I would draft here tomorrow.
Yeah. No, it's it's it's yeah, no, I mean,
it's just it's it's great to see them because you know something, like you
said, some of them stop, but some of them keep playing and they
go right. You know, Eddie Bosborg, right, played in the Little
League World Series, you know, played in the College World there's only one
of three lay in the Major League. Only one of three dudes. Yeah.
Yeah, we've had him on the show a few times and these we
talk about it all the time. Yeah, very cool. Yeah, it's
just it's a it's an experience that I hope that at least with the with
the Williamsport piece of it has gotten too big where it's not fun for these
kids, nobody. But if you're able to have a pool play and you're
able to stay there, now you get to go play some you spend some
time. It's not a one and lose one and go home, go home,
right right, right, No, that's that's always always should have been.
Yeah, we maybe we would have survived, but yeah, okay,
so this is a good first hour. We're gonna have what are you gonna
breaking news? Yeah, we've got some breaking news and more discussion of all
the realignment stuff that's leftover stuff that's going on. And then Jake and then
Jacob will remind everybody coming out of our show, uh, the airs one
of Cardinals first preseason games tonight at seven o'clock against Denver. Right after our
show, we go into the Cardinals the pregame show and then they kick off
at seven o'clock on our station right here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. So
we hope you'll stick around for that. We've got Jake Fisher coming up at
three fifteen and breaking news here at the top of the hour, so I'll
stick around for all of that.