Steve Ribera and Jacin Salis. They have their eye on the ball on Tucson
Sports Stage. Chef Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Hey, welcome back to Winning
the Ball hero Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve, He's Jay, Now
Kevin with breaking news. This is I on the Ball, breaking news on
Fox Sports fourteen fifty. All right, so we're gonna go ahead and start
with some news from up and north. The national champion UH swim and dive
team for ASU has just lost their director and head coach, who has just
signed on to become the new director of swimming and diving at Texas. That's
kind of like the remember the Jay Johnson thing they lost in the lost in
the College World Series and then like two days later, who was the head
coach at LSU. Same thing. So the ACU swimming dive coach wins the
national championship on Saturday, and by Monday he's the head coach. Del Conte.
It's all here. But so what happened to the previous Texas coach?
They fire him or her to get retired. I don't know something. I
don't know enough about swimming circumstances, but that is kind of funny. Yeah,
I mean he's coach Michael Phelps and just got asked you to a national
title. So high pedigree on him, but tough loss for a su uh
Arizona wing. Philip or vichen And as well as Paulus Morascus have entered the
transfer portal, likely due to lack of playing time. Well you know,
are they exploring their opportunities. Yeah, that's the one thing that we don't
know. We don't know. I mean, I would like to think that
Moroscus would would have a role at least next year. Is a guy out
on the wing. Didn't you like him? He got heard that's and he
played right right. I was if anything was wrong about me this last five
months. We both were on because I thought feeling and yeah he was.
We just thought you can play. He just couldn't play here, I guess.
And then the Moroscos can shoot. He can shoot. I mean he
was a joke around at the at the stat table like you know when Yeah,
I mean, if he gets the ball, he's gonna shoot. Well
that's Philip too. I mean, anytime I gotta get some numbers, man.
Unfortunately his numbers were turnovers. Who knows what the situation is, but
you know, it is what it is. That's the way it is.
Now, will it be interesting to see do they really leave or do they
stick around or they're just checking out to see what's out there for them?
Let me ask you, because I always get this wrong or don't even know
an I L for the international players, does it exist or does it know?
There's some that there's a there's battles. Yeah, there's a If Bruce
explained it to us, and Bruce can we can ask him again. But
it was something like if if it's if it's something for them, if it's
just for them, they can accept it. But if they're getting paid through
the school, they can't something through through the collectives. Okay, okay,
So directly, if follow if Romberto Lopez wants to pay Umar Balow to do
something, he can't. But if you're getting through the collective, then that's
deemed employment and he can't. We'll check something like that. Well, ast
Bruce, it's one way or the you can do one and not the other,
because it's tough to be an international player. If this is the case,
right, it's or those are the two ways that you can get money.
One way if you're an international student. One way you can in one
way you can't. I just don't know which way. And there's kind of
like, yeah, there's some loop poles or whatever it is. Okay,
okay, okay. Tennessee The Lady Volunteers have fired their head coach, Kelly
Harper, after just five seasons. She replaced the legendary Pat Summit was able
to get them to the same kind of I saw them this morning. The
coach following the legend Yeah, yeah, you don't want to be that Persson,
right, you played as well and she and she did very well to
get to the sweet sixteen. She had twenty or more wins at four times,
but they never advanced past the sweet teach. Well, guess who they're
looking at. A former Tennessee the dude coach, former Tennessee player. Gotta
win, baby, it's the results profession, especially there because guess what they're
a blue blood. They are blue blood. Tennessee is a women's basketball blue
blood. Oh, we got a call. Let's take this. HI,
you're on there after knowing you guys, this is Gabe. How you guys
are doing? Gave fine, we're in the middle of breaking news, but
go ahead, what do you have. I was just gonna call to see
just to talk about Arizona's lost at Funston, And uh, I'm not too
bothered by the loss, to be honest with you, because I kind of
know that Arizona was gonna go on a scoring drawing that would lead Arizona to
lose the game. But Arizona is certainly had the best chance to go to
the final or or went all. To be honest with you, is what
it is. Let's just move on, and I just kind of have a
few questions. Well, let me let me let me know that top is
this game. You sound happy or not happy? Reasonable, I'm just getting
over a cold shot. Anyway, go ahead. So I'm just kind of
interested if Colin Bosbo is gonna transfer Allen as the program or if Tommy Lloyd
is gonna just have him on a short leash. And we know that Tommy
Lloyd can't go in the transfer and get players, so I'm not too worried
about that. But yeah, I guess Arizonia is finally a football school.
Now, oh you guys, I think Tom we will try and keep because
I think he really likes it. I think he'd want him to stay now
whether or not Kylon feels like the role he wants to or if he.
I mean, I would think the time would say, well, you know,
this is what you're gonna do, and he's going to base make it
based on the best way to win games. Right you would think, yeah,
yeah, I totally agree with you. But if Colin Kylen ball Island
Boswell decides to leave, what I mean, I know that Arizona has a
pretty good Nils will and there, and they're good in basketball. He seemed
like a Kentucky or Oregon or like a dude will probably go after him.
So maybe not to that level, but somewhere a good program because we all
know Boswell can play. I think that he was kind of in a fun
call year and maybe a change of sceneor real help, but he can still
help here. I mean, yeah, I know next year we're gonna get
he's a good I think I think he needs to put him on kind of
like a short leash and just he needs. I mean, I know he's
eighteen, but I think I think, I think I find I think most
Arizona fans are frustrating. Compare with like if when Colin Boswell was not scoring
or not doing not playing his ass off. I think that's the frustration with
Arizona fans and with Colin Boswell kind of playing Blackshock in Vegas. I just
I think most Arizona fans I was just saying, what the hell, what
why are you doing that? Come on, you're playing for Arizona. So
anyway, thanks Gabe, we gotta go appreciate. Okay, burden down,
Arizona, go cat, Thank you the reasonable Gabe. Today, welcome,
ladies and gentlemen. Uh back to some we're breaking news FAU center. Lad
Golden is entering the transfer portal again. I'm sure he's pretty good. He
is very good. I remember him in Vegas. Yeah, at him in
that guard there wasn't who doesn't need any bigger guys. They have a bunch
of guys, big guys. Uh So you know, Jay, how can
say this? It's been forever since Arizona's had a shooter, a maker,
A shooter and a maker right. A guy a shooter right, a guy
that made Yeah, the guy that you throw in the ball and he's gonna
make the shoot right, and and and those are rare. But like Caleb
loved, there were some games he was that guy, but not every not
a guy that you throw the ball and you get. Okay, here comes
the three going in. Well, let me ask you, do you change
your mind on my evaluation with him or Mathrin? You've got to change your
mind, please, Yeah? Yeah, no, yeah, because he was
just two up and Mathron did more things. Mathron did had had a he
had more game. But if you wanted if you're talking about just a guy
who scores, I thought it was. I thought Caleb Love. But that's
change. Well, yeah, because he he didn't score for the last six
games. He didn't. Right, that doesn't happen by accident. So yeah,
okay, let's move on the NCAAA. I don't know if you guys
saw this yesterday, but the women's tournament had a three point line in Portland
that was nine inches shorter than the other three point line the other end of
the court. It was nine inches short. Uh, And both coaches agreed,
Hey, we've already came this far, we came out to start warming
up. Let's not delay it X amount of hours. I mean they would
had they would have had to sand the court or go get a new one
or something, because it's painted onto the court. Yeah, it's not likely.
Yeah, it was an issue with the manufacturer of the pieces on the
court. They got their measurements wrong and so like when you put the puzzle
together, it just didn't look the same on each end. Because the how
they didn't figure it out though until yesterday is beyond me, right, because
they went they played four games on it, right, you know, on
Thursday. Apparently it's been fixed tonight for Yukon and USC. So it's fixed.
It's fixed. Undo the puzzle and redo the puzzle apparently. Yes,
So there's no unfair advantage to anybody because you have the side on each side.
I mean you both play on that side during the half. Yeah,
it's kind of like, okay, we got the wind or we don't have
the win. That's actually a really good comparison for us, to be honest.
We have an update on the SMU situation. They've gone and poached the
former USC coach Andy Enfield to replace Rob Lanier. So so there's jobs opening,
right, So who would be nothing We don't have to worry about it
anymore because he's gonna be in a different conference. But who would be a
good fit for that job for USC and don't see Josh Passner, Kevin O'Neill.
He already already did that. It's hard to say that's a hard job
because one, they don't give a crap about basketball at USC. Two you
got to take that program into the Big Ten. Now if if the money
the Big Ten and the money is that's that's one of those jobs where you
go to get fired, right, Andy Anfield, or you Andy Anfield beat
the posse out of and you joll be right exactly a good way because you're
not gonna tell me that SMU is a better job than U s C.
But he's going to the ACCU. You know, he's gonna go back and
play. And remember he came from Florida Gulf Coast. I don't know if
he's from Florida or that area, but I never thought he was a good
fit there. He just didn't seem like a USC kind of guy. And
I don't know what that is basketball who is, but just that it wasn't
Andy Enfield, who is from Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, but okay, East Coast
off Florida, you know, But the point being that he just you know,
he he had that great run at Florida Gulf Coast until we partlaid that
into a into a you know, a power five job and just didn't really
get there. But who's going to get there at USC It's not you know,
especially now with a big ten. Yeah, Okay, a couple more
pieces of breaking news here. So lawyers for chiefs Wide receiver for she Rice
is saying that he's not cooperating with the Dallas police after his act, well,
allegedly after an accident that he was involved in, uh this past weekend
with two well six cars, but two a Lamborghinia Corvette that were racing,
apparently racing one hit a median effect. She's not going to help, He's
not gonna be accommodating. Well, he is cooperating. He is cooperating with
the police doing the quote from his well he ran from the scene. Yeah,
well yeah, what what's what's the attorney saying? So, the attorney
said on behalf of Rashid Rice, his thoughts are with everyone impacted by the
automobile accident on Saturday. Rashi is cooperating with local authorities and will take all
the necessary steps to address this situation responsibly. All right, did he go
to Georgia? Chance We're got to see if his transcript actual transfer where well
the credit hours transfer. Yeah, I don't know if Georgia or not.
And then we do have some some more sadder news. A former NFL Cornervonte
Davis passed away at the age of thirty five, so that no, if
I'll play is suspected, but we don't know what the story is on that
yet as well. And then we have a huge night of women's hoops unless
Iowa tips off in about five minutes, and then yukon usc tonight at six
I believe versus page. The funny thing about it is, if she stays
three more years, she gonna break She already broke the freshman year freshman record
and night she's gonna break the overall freshman record, right, but she's not
gonna stay well, who knows. But you just see a lot of I
mean, if she's making plenty of a lot of money. My point is
you see a phen phenom and then you see a phenom at the same time.
It's really cool. Thirty years old. The women's game has been really
to watch. But that's all I have for breaking news today. I did
you, I didn't. I still to go read the kiml Key article.
It's fantastic. Did you read it? It was? In fact, in
fact it was It wasn't nothing. It was a good story. He wrote
it really well. It was more to do about nothing in her mind or
when she was coming off us. She's just a petty vindict not vindictive,
she's just a petty mean person. No, yeah, but yeah, but
she's she's got a little jay in her she's she's what the hell does that
mean? She holds grudges? Oh, contact post contact? In fact,
I was gonna call you here, j Mulky because I think that's the one.
I gotta go read it. It's a fantastic story. Yeah it was
not. It's a nothing burger with a little SATs on it. Right.
Well, but she got all worked up staying with the hit people, right.
No, it was just a piece that maybe it was maybe a little
unflattered and got on our guy from La Times, Ben Bolt was he did,
Yeah, I saw, but that's see that's what the other was.
Yeah, did you that's what I read his article? Yeah? Yeah,
so the edited it. Let me just put it this. I'm glad we're
not gonna need to get him on our show. Anymore. All right,
let's get out of here. We're gonna take a break, We're gonna come
back. We've got Bruce Pascal will run down his rundown of the twenty twenty
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com to schedule your free evaluation Today. Steve Rivera and Jacin saliz they have
their eye on the ball on Tucson's sports stage yet Fox Sports fourteen fifty streaming
live on the iHeartRadio wapp Hey, welcome back to ying about here on Fox
Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera, he's jacobszas. Now on the phone,
we have Bruce Pasco from the Arizona Daily Star. Bruce, have you
recovered from the weekend I had yesterday off. Yeah, I mean, you
know, trying to do some other stuff today. And of course guys are
who are transferring already, so that's the way it goes, as they say,
And then you got these dang radio guys calling and bugging you and taking
more of Yeah, no, no, you guys are funn no problems.
What we've been called a lot of things. That's no fun is one of
them. But we'll take that. We appreciate it. I appreciate Yeah.
So read your read your wrap up piece yesterday or your kind of your season
perspective or whatever you want to call it. And you know, I think
the most interesting point that Steve and I came out of it was that you
said that they landed about where they people thought at the beginning of the year.
Well, that's certainly what I thought. Yeah, I mean I voted
them like, I think sixteenth in ap A pre season. I think they
were voted twelfth overall, and they were voted to win the PAC twelve,
probably not by a large margin. I think USC got a lot of votes,
and I think there was maybe a sprinkle for I mean for Oregon or
something like that, so it was sort of like, yeah, they were
considered a top fifteen team and a team that would probably win the Pac twelve.
And that's exactly what they did. And like I said, and I
said this before too, I think they just you know, and it's it's
nothing you want to not be but they win too many games in November and
this raised expectations through the roof really, especially with the final four being here
in Arizona. And I think, you know, it was easy to make
that jump to think, wow, this is the year for them, you
know, but it's you know, it wasn't. I remember I was with
you in a duke in November eleven. I think there's the year. And
one of the questions I asked after that big win, and because because Tommy
talked about something, and here's the quote, I went back to my story.
My goal is to win all our games in March and April. Lloyd
said, that's might go. That's really my goal. I don't have a
November little checklist to win all my games in November. I'm glad we're winning,
but it's better than losing. And here we are five months later talking,
well, exactly what you said, What does it mean in November and
December not a damn thing. Well, I mean, you know it's funny,
Steve. I mean, like, you know, I've been doing this
long and you've been doing batherer than me. Even like you look at it,
and like I think, if you have some perspective, you look at
the regular seasons and say, wow, they do a lot of good stuff.
You know, they won the league, they beat Duke at Duke,
they killed Wisconsin on their home floor. You know, they had a lot
of good saturdays in Michale where it was crazy and they delivered a you know,
a great product. The fans were going nuts, et cetera. I
mean, all that's great stuff, right you're an Arizona fan. And then
okay, but they get judged on three games in the tournament and those three
games aren't great, and and but that you know, if that's the way
you know, you look at it, and most college basketball fans, and
especially fans who aren't die hard basketball fans in college look at they just look
at the tournament and if you look at them, yeah, okay, they
maybe didn't do so well. But but overall, I mean, and there's
been a lot of years. I mean, if you know you've seen it,
like the ninety eight team, the three team, five team, you
know, the fourteen and fifteen teams, all those team's great Arizona teams didn't
achieve what they should have in the tournament. So how do you look at
it. I guess it's you know, up to the way you define it.
But I still think there's some meaning to what they did. But then
again, I'm probably in the minority because, like I said, most people
judge judge college basketball in March, and that's not where they've been well,
brus. One of the things that I keep saying is that I thought they
had the talent to when the national championship. Were we off, I mean,
did they not have the talent to win the national championship? I've you
know, I mean, well, you know, Beck Steven, I were
watching that. We were sitting together during that Dayton game, and I remember
we were talking about like Boswell was having a lot of trouble with the press.
There was some they were pressing and didn't look great, and I thought,
you know, I think we were discussing as like, Okay, they
might pull this one out, but this is probably not going to be a
Final four team if they're having trouble like this, and that that was kind
of the case. I think going into it, I thought they had a
chance just because you never know what's the matchups and and they did appear to
be the deepest, most versatile team that Lloyd has had. But you know,
it's just it. Probably you know, they probably aren't as complete a
teams as Peru and Yukon for example, are, but certainly you know that
you can make a case sit up and down there they're as good as the
other two in the final four, and then if they get matchups and or
injury here, break here there, I mean, yeah, sure they could
have won it. I mean they were, they were. I think that
that group, you know, every year, I don't. I think there's
a couple of people, Kem Palm and one of the other analytics guys who
will give you like a dozen teams who could win it, and it almost
always is one of those teams. And Arizona was one of those teams.
So yeah, I think it's fair to say they could have. But I
think goodds were. We're not not in their favor, you know, to
your point, Jay, you think that they're good enough and have the team
to do it, but you don't know until you know, right, you
find out, right, and we found out that Thursday that they weren't because
there was a lot of issues in terms of playing a team that's slower methodical,
although we knew that already, right right, you just gotta yeah,
if you have that team and then you lose. We did, although I
think we didn't know that. But I think the one thing again, this
speaks to their versatility. I mean when I always think back to that UCLA
game and McHale was it was really slog it out kind of deal. And
they granted it was that McHale, but they pulled it out. They figured
a way to do it. The same thing against sc and the and the
their quarterfinal game in the PAC twelve tournament. You know, they they could
win those kind of games, but they really had to be locked in and
you know, and executing at that pretty high level, you know, and
not not it so thrown out a whack, because those those kind of styles
always seemed to throw then at a whack. And and I think against Yeah
Clinson, they just they couldn't overcome it. And then let's just it affected
their shooting and vice versa. That affected their defense and then their lack of
defensive they're shooting. It just went downhill a big snowball. What was what
was the best thing about this team? You know, what what attribute was
their best attribute? Would you say? And then you know what was the
biggest uh you know whatever, you whatever? The opposite of that is the
biggest uh liability? Well, I think, you know, it's weird to
say this, but I really think the biggest thing about them was that they
were versatile and they could win in different ways. They could score in different
ways. Now I say that, and they just they just lost the game
when nobody could score period except Lumar Bollo, you know, when he wasn't
at the PRESI And but but over the course of the season, I mean,
they got scoring out of every position. They could cause problems with every
position. They had real versatile players, and Kishaw Johnson and Tela Larson,
and then they had a shooter and Caleb Love who was really good until he
tailed off the last five or six games whatever it was, and and uh,
you know, and then a pretty effective pair of point guards in Boswell
and Bradley and and you know, and then towards the end it became just
Jayden Bradley and that that wasn't enough. But I think overall they could do
it in different ways. Where's that first team that Lloyd had. You had
Ben Mathrin just like the guy give me the ball, I'll get out of
my way, I'm going to score, and he did. But there wasn't
you know, it was it was a big drop off after that offensively,
and then last year I think, you know, you've probably even have less
ways where they can get it done, and then this team had a lot
of ways they could get it done. So, you know, I thought
that was good. And then as the other part of question, Jay,
I mean just as far as downside, probably you know twits Steve was saying
earlier they still having a lot of trouble with uh, you know, slower
games and zone defenses and just and just not that they can't handle it,
but it just seemed like they never had the same rhythm, you know,
And that even goes back to like, you know, when they played at
Washington State in mid January on that super cold day and they just they just
weren't they just weren't themselves, you know, and in a case when you
know they they they could have been. Yeah, and That's been Arizona's skryptonite
for forever since I started covering, and you've covered in the last twenty some
years. It's just slow him down. You have a chance against Arizona,
and I don't care about the talent, because you could you can find ways
to be talent, and Arizona gets found out somewhere along the line right right
well, And I can't remember Bruce if it was you or Michael in yesterday
said that maybe Tommy needs to evaluate how they play. You know, what
was that you? Or was that he? It might have been him.
I don't you know. What I was writing about was more like I was
looking at the number of things that the way the season went. But I
kind of closed with how he was saying that, you know, he this
This was from a conversation when we talked before the tournament, you know,
as I said, doing something like, you know, people do judge you
on March. How do you feel about that? And he said, yeah,
it's not really fair, but the way you do it is by keep
keep doing it a long time and people will eventually forget the stumbles you had
along the way. And I think that's true, especially if you look even
at loudle and I mean everybody talk, I mean legendary coach final fours,
national championship. But there was a lot of first round games that he lost,
and people at that time were on him. But you don't really hear
people talking about that as much anymore. And maybe someday, if Lloyd sticks
around for twenty years and takes them two a couple of final fours, nobody
will remember Princeton, or at least not talk about it much, and certainly
not not this year. I don't know. We still talk about Santa Claire
a lot, well, you guys, because only because yeah, only because
of Tommy Lloyd's first round failures on it would be gone if they didn't happen.
Come on, we cover, we cover a good team here, a
good program here. Right. But the funny thing about it is these guys
suffer from the yips. They just do if those first games aren't the yips
for any But even Tommy Lloyd worries a board about that, lout, I'm
sure worried about that again, Zaga. They don't worry about these first two
bucks exactly, they don't, but certainly do they do. Okay, right,
Okay, there are some schools that they just do. Okay, you're
exactly Kentucky now exactly. Well, yeah, but Theirs. Yeah, but
that's those teams we don't cover, so we see it here. It's just
weird the dynamic here Arizona. How they worry about stuff that took good enough
to not worry about it, but they do. Yeah, yeah, you
know, And I always wonder, and I you know, you don't,
I don't know, but I did. Since some of the guys are talking
about the pressure, you almost wonder now that it's been twenty three years and
counting since they've been to the Final four, it's almost like it builds on
itself now where they're you know, every year is going to be talk about
is THEIRS can't What did they say this year? Like can you trust Arizona
in your in your pool? You know, I mean stuff like that,
Like they have a reputation year in, year out, decade and decade out
of not achieving what they're expected to achieve, and that's got to be tough
on the players. And then on the same token, this program, you
know, has much attention on it, fan support, you know, they're
all this stuff, and it's just you know, more so than in almost
any other program in the West, and they just you know, it's just
it's a lot and and so the one one, one and out situations just
seemed to be not not a good thing for them. And yeah, I
don't know if I could you, because Jay and I find about this,
we've I've kind of got him off the ledge with the with the blue Blood
stuff because people are talking talking less about that now and more about the failures
that Arizona has because through the years they're a higher seat than they get beat
by a team they should not get beat by. Yeah, I think,
you know, Miller actually changed that for most of his time until until they
lost that game to Wisconsin the second time I think he had never lost in
his career is Avery and Arizona to a team that was lower seeded. And
then of course they lost a bunch which Stu stayed and Buffalo, et cetera.
And you know, and then Tommy Lloyd's had three years in a row
where that he's lost to a lower seed. So you know, but you
could argue, well, he got them a one and two seats, so
you know, at least there was that or whatever. But it's yeah,
it's a it's a thing. And you're right, You and I look at
it and we you know, we see this program has been pretty good overall,
you know, for decades now, and you know nationally, especially people
you know, casual fans who are picking a poll and you know, Massachusetts
or someplace, so they're probably looking at thinking why would I pick Arizona?
You know, because they lose every year? Right, That's that's the reputation
that they do have, unfortunately for them. Yeah. So so we've seen
a couple of guys jump into the portal, you know, do we know
anything more other than that? Are they just looking around to see if there's
something out there for them or do you have a sense that they're actually gone?
Well, I mean it's hard to say. You don't get to know
these guys that well, but I get the sense they're both gone. I
you know, I talked to both of them during the tournament because, as
you guys know, it's the one time of year where you can go in
the locker room and actually have a conversation with guys and stuff like that,
and uh morowskis I mean, you know, you never know. I only
talked to him a couple of times this whole time here, and but he
didn't seem comfortable answering questions, you know, didn't seem to be saying anything
other than I'm ready and I believe in myself and we'll see, is what
he said. And so I just thought, after that conversation that was before
the Pac ten Pac twelve tournament, I thought, well, that doesn't sound
like a guy who's going to stick around and then bor Veachen. And you
know, I think he's been a you know, a good team guy or
you know, a real personal little guy. Everybody likes him. You know,
he probably just wants to play more. And you know, I think
I think it's it's these are kind of like the way I look at these
are kind of like the old old fashioned transfers, the guys that just aren't
playing much, that want to go somewhere and play more. And then now
with the NIL you have guys who want more money and they're they're transferring to
But you know, I don't think that that's you know, uh, driving
these guys as much as they want to play, and you know, so
yeah, I think they could both find probably better fits for them. Okay,
A couple quick questions. We only have a couple of minutes, Bruce,
so yes or no on Boswell sticking around or not? And then I
have a quick question after that. Yeah, I don't. I don't think
if I had to guess, I don't think he does. It just seems
like it, certainly it doesn't seem like him and Jade Bradley could come back
together. They both said nice things about each other. They like to play
with each other. I think there's probably some truth to that. But you
know, in the long run, they all want to be, you know,
the best player they can be in the best NBA prospect and probably you
know, it probably votes well for Boswell to either go some well or he
could you know, he could, he could sign a pro deal somewhere and
you know, he might even get drafted. He's you know, he's still
well, very well regarded with the high up side. It just you know,
it's kind of ended on a on a tough note here in Arizona for
him. Okay. And then the last thing we were talking about this earlier,
J and I n I L how does it apply to international players?
Well, well, it's it's complicated, but it basically is, you know,
the rule is it's a visa rule where you can't take the you can't
take a job away from an American or an American student. So that's why
you don't see the international guys at autograph signs and you know, I'm doing
a gym, click ad or whatever, because they can't. If they do
that, they're in danger of losing their student visa. And it's not incent
label to an ICE rule really. And but what they can do is they
can get what's called passive income. And that's that's basically the income that you
get from these collectives because the collectives can pay the guys and say, okay,
it's a membership deal for fans to pay into and then we'll have some
events and you can come. You don't have to come, but if you
come, you know, then you're you know, the collectives will pay you
if you're part of the organization. So they can kind of get income that
way, because then you can argue that they're not, you know, taking
the job away from anybody. But it is really all a lot of gray
area. But that's the way everybody's doing it. The international guys are getting
paid. It's like everybody else seems like it this one. So let me
ask you, how does bollow do that AC commercial, that one that's actually
really interesting. I don't know, honestly, you know it Maybe that's something
I haven't even had time to look into. But it's possible that he uh,
you know, I think guys that are towards the end of their eligibility
aren't worried about it anymore. Maybe, you know, because I think Ben
Mathern did a he did an autograph signing like in April before he left,
and it was kind of like he's out the door. He doesn't care if
he loses his student visa because he's not a student anymore. I don't know.
That's that is interesting though, I don't I don't know right now.
I don't. Okay, Bruce, thank you always good to talk to you.
I'll miss you until next November. Yeah, well we had a good
time the last few weeks. Yeah, yeah, I'll talk to you.
I'll talk to you. We'll talk to you. Hey, you know,
the season is the playing season's over, but there's a lot of there's a
lot going on in the next you're right, Oh, you know, there'll
be tough to talk about Arizona basketball. Never sleeps. Thank you all right,
appreciate it, all right, thanks Brice. There's interesting stuff. Yeah,
you go to reverse. I had reverse. But still there's still questions
about whether what what does it all mean? Right, let's go back and
we'll kind of we'll take the break, come back and talk to you a
lot about this. All right, sounds good. If you're an Arizona men's
basketball fan, you know it's been successful for nearly forty years. Now take
a look back at the Ludolsen era. In my new book, Lessons from
Loot. It was a labor of love through the eyes of twenty five former
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live, Honey, iHeartRadio app. This is Eye on the Ball with Steve
Rivera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. Hey, welcome back to
iliball here Fox Sports fourteen fifty on Steve, He's Jay Kevin with us thirteen
minutes five two, oho four one, six seventy four forty. If you
want to give us a quick call, let us know what you're thinking.
Even the post mortem five days, four days after the fact. Yeah,
you know, I got a little on Saturday. You know when that when
the got a little I got. I got Saturday. I am misty,
but I got a Saturday morning. I said, damn it, there's one
should be playing today. Yeah, they should be playing today. I'm sitting
here instead, I went out and did some yardworking crap. I mean it
was like Arizona Friday night. I didn't even want to watch basketball. We
went to the baseball game, went to the uf A baseball game at the
U c l A game and stayed for the whole thing. I mean,
I was, I was keeping eye on the games on my on my phone,
but I didn't even want to watch basketball on Friday, and and uh
we we went, we went to the U of A. You say,
how about that I should have been breaking is U of A three walk off
wins against U c l A. It's funny you say that, because actually
I've read that on Arizona Athletics website today and I couldn't tell if I was
misreading it if it was the third walk off three of the year, three
walkway in a row, an extra inning homer on Thursday. Then on Friday,
uh, you know, they scored a game tied, they score a
run in the bottom of the bottom of the ninth to win it, and
then a walk off they were down a run, walk off homer to run
homer corre. Yeah, on on Saturday, which I thought was it's incredible,
unbelievable. They're like in the top three now right, Oh yeah,
in the standings. I mean they're they're like sixteen and fifteen or something like
that. But they are at the top of the pack pack twelve standings with
the three game sweep, but I'll walk offs. We saw a Clark Candiatti
throw his dad was the knuckleball. I'm trying to get him on the till.
Yeah. I was trying to explain to my you know, because my
daughter, when my daughters were with us, and I was like, his
dad threw a knuckleball. He's like sixty miles an hour, and he was,
you know, he's thrown in the nineties. He was throwing. We
thought he was gonna get the immaculate inning in the first inning because he threw
six pitches six two strikeouts, and then he threw a strike to the next
batter and then on the next pitch the guy grounded out. But we thought
he I was I haven't explained what immaculate inning is. So he he was
throwing the knuckleball or no, no, no, he throws gas. He
throws gas. Yeah, I heard he was pretty good. I wasn't trying
to get the dad on. Uhs, I covered him. I'm sure you
did too. Excuse me for spring training. Yeah, and this is all.
If we get him on, we'll explain the story. But you know,
spring training, I absolutely I thought I'd like, but I hated it
because the guys were jerks of them. So I said, who wanted to
the Indians is a good guy, so you can just go up to me.
And he talked to you, well, he told me he was,
so I went to him a lot. Yeah, you're right. I I
had to deal with Wilio Franco. I have my stories with him too,
Wilio Franco mal Hall two, two big giant steaming piles of two guys to
Ken Cammeranini was for me to but but who frank you say that because me
too, my all time favorite guy during during spring training the year of Phil
Nekro got traded to the to the Indians. He was awesome. He was
He was just a nice old guy, just so appreciated where he was.
Well we go back in the day. But so of those stories, what
was your kind of you? That story with Phil? I love, Yeah,
that was my that That was the funnest story because I, I,
you know, feel Negro by that time he had been around a long time
and he was a legend. Yeah, and he was. He was kind
of the first knuckleballer that was really good. Yeah, right, I mean
because he stuff yeah, that was his joke. That was a joke,
you know, but but you know he uh you know, so he was
the knuckleballer of that of the time, and so he was great. I
loved talking to him. Jay Bell, who was who was barely come he
was nineteen years old, ended up playing short stuff for the Diamondbacks on the
World Series team. But I remember talking to him and he was awesome.
But he was he was happy to talk to anybody, right, So he
was very cool. You know. There was some guy, there were some
really good guys. Let me go throw two at you. Uh Rod carew
uh. I think he was not playing, he was visiting the clubhouse whatever.
So that was great. And then Jim Abbott, because to me,
that story is on uh yeah doing what he did at that level. Yeah
one arm, yeah, or you know one arm no, yeah, yeah,
with one hand, had one hand. I'm trying to think. You
know, there was some you know, they're generally good guys, but but
but there were you know, there were a couple that you just you just
didn't go talk to them because you knew you weren't going to get anything out
of it. But they treated you poor. Yeah, you know, I
had I liked it. I had fun. I had a lot of fun.
It was an easy job during that assignment if you got yeah. But
you know, then the game started and you would do I would do stories
on the other guys, you know, talk to you know a lot of
you know, big leaguers from the other teams that that I talked to.
That was that was great. That was also when I was covering them that
I saw Will Clark just scream at a kid and I wanted, I wanted
to write about it, and and I didn't. But you know, kid,
you know, he's talking to somebody, and the kid went up and
asked them for an autograph, and he just like a six year old kid,
and he screamed at him like if I if I'm hit that kid's dad,
I'm I'm dropping Will Clark with the Need of the Nuts in no time
flat. But I wasn't his dead. Let's what people don't talk about those
stories that we write about exactly, you know, exactly. Okay, if
you want to call with step seven minutes five two oh four one, six
seventy four forty, we'd like to hear from you. Did you have theres
no winning it? Good luck with that. Well, let's talk about that.
The the eye on the ball show bracket, let's not talk about let's
talk about it. Let's talk about it. There's the the join the entry
under I two so on twenty four, which is me is in the lead.
So the glitch that you say all fixed. Ye, So then uh
entry, I know who it is? An entry under the name of R.
Dobbs, as in Robert Dobbs, as in Bob Dobbs is in second.
We we're the only two who can win it. Okay, we both
got Purdue and Yukon in the championship game because everybody, everybody's only got purduer.
You showbody got anything. We don't have to buy anybody lunch or dinner
or whatever unless that guy beat you. If if Purdue beats if Purdue beats
Yukon for the championship, where yeah, he will wink, he will wind.
Yeah, but that's the only guy who because everybody who's still at the
top of the standings has either Purdue or Yukon. So since since the two
of us are highest in the standings, I have I have Yukon, our
Dobs has Purdue. We're the only ones who can win the pool. So
we're up there. I'd prefer to kind of have somebody else win it so
that we can go to dinner. Maybe we'll take the second place guy.
Anyways, the second that guy's not even here. He's in somewhere. He's
in California, so we'd have to send him. We didn't do that last
year. We had the chest. We offered two people last year, but
they never Yeah. Yeah, So anyway, so that's that's the only bracket
that I'm doing well. There's only twenty four people in it, so it's
like and it's not like, you know, the world the world on fire
with my I'm partly in the top fifteen, twenty twenty fourth. I don't
know. I just I just turned. I just closed it. Don't worry.
But I don't need to know the white excuston me. Have you have
you otherwise? I know the pain in the in the butt of covering Arizona
and the losses and stuff like that. Have you liked the tournament? Uh
this year? Yeah? Uh yeah, yeah yeah, except when Houston's guy
went down, Shed went down. They've been great. The thing about it,
Jay, you know this. You know this. So we watch the
games right when we're there, but when we're not watching the games, we're
writing. Yeah, so we can't watch the game. We don't get to
see the games, and then we can't. I drove all day Friday and
we got to listen on the radio. You don't get to see them.
So it's it's you watch very minimal unless so your team is out and then
you get to And I on purpose didn't watch on Friday. But yeah,
I know, I know what you're saying. It's a seven hour drive and
you got to listen to it on the radio and you don't get the full
effect, but you know. And I was also trying to explain to my
family that the atmosphere, the excitement at the Elit eight is way more exciting,
palpable, whatever. Then at the Final four, when you go into
this big stage, you're going to this big stadium and it's like everybody seems
so far away and it's hard to especially in Phoenix, right and it's hard
to have that you know, what are the fans are on top of you
and they're screaming and they're yelling, and you know the Elit eights where you
know that you know with two teams gone, that fans of the other teams
went and bought all those tickets, and so the the arenas are half and
half basically, Well, did you see the pictures. I think I see
the pictures on the lead eight from from La. It was not nobody there.
It was half full probably yeah. Wow. And and that Thursday,
We've talked about this before and I said specifically, oh, Arizona has an
advantage. No it doesn't. Didn't. They had a lot of fans there,
But what did it do? Darns? And everybody watching that game who's
not an Arizona fans rooting for the other the other team. But like in
Vegas last year, you know it was a Yukon, Gonzaga was in the
Yukon U c l A. I can't remember who's in the in the Elite
eight in Vegas last Oh, I know it is Yukon. I can't remember
who they beat. Anyways, it was damned it was full. Now maybe
it was locals, it was Gonzaga. Well there you go, you know,
and there were fans there who you know, got the tickets and it
was jammed. And I remember, you know, I remember nine remember the
pond being full for that Arizona oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
because it was the second game Thursday night. Thursday's game was okay, had
a lot of fans Ubay fans, but it's like Vegas. They were waiting
for Saturday. Yeah there Saturday, and it never came. It didn't happen
for him, Yeah, because you know, why would you go spend Thursday,
Friday and Saturday when you can go Friday, spend Saturday at the game.
I mean, if if otherwise liked the tournament. I liked watching North
Carolina State beat Duke yesterday, but then got to the end of the game
and I thought that game beca is producing to be horrible game. Now maybe
North Carolina State. I just don't know that North Carolina State has the chops
to to compete with Purdue. They might the fourteen games they won nine in
a row as you know, uh elimination games. I don't know that the
big the big dude for for North Carolina State is going to have that kind
of success against Zach Edy. Do you see that Zach Edy cut down the
nets withou kidding on the ladder? Did you see what he said? Yeah
after oh yeah I did, and f bomb on the thing. Well that's
Yeah, that's him. In addition, he kind of he didn't say anything
wrong or said they were passed that. He also just sounded like they had
won it all. Yeah. She was like, well, I don't care
what people say. We're winners. You know, we're winners, and what
we do here we win. And like just his messaging, I was like,
well you have another game or play game from Arizona stuff for the first
they got to the final four now and there. I mean, ye,
what they have to fight is just being happy with getting to the Well,
they could be the Virginia of two years ago, whatever it was. I
mean, I I think that that would be a that'll be a war if
the two of them play, which I think they will. I don't know.
I still have a hard time seeing Yukon losing. But because you've seen
the games, I think the one thing I was gonna say, you haven't
seen a standout player, but you have. It's the North Carolina state guy.
Typically this time of year, you see who is that dude? Who
is that guy? And that's that guy guy, But he's the only guy.
True. Obama has the shooters, but it has a few shooters who
sears or whatever they are. I mean, in terms of the stars of
the tournament, it's probably is just DJ Burns ed clinging serious, I mean,
I guess serious. Yeah, but you kindlady knew those dudes. They're
not some dude. Oh Burns is like, who's heard of that guy before?
Four nine games ago? Not any There's not any new faces except for
Burns exactly. And he's a good story. He owns his own vetting machines.
No, it's his own personal business entrepreneur mission. Someone told him about
it and he started to make money of those. I'm gonna go get me
a candybar right now. I'm gonna call him. Apparently he put some of
his teammates onto the trick. See him on Saturday. Okay, all right,
Uh, let's get out of here. Good day, Our condolences again
to the the Brave family. Very sad, and well we'll move on.
We'll get news from Cody about a scholarship fun. Yeah. Well, we'll
give you some details when that comes along. So thanks everybody for being here,
and we'll be back tomorrow.