This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports
fourteen fifteen powered by Nova Insurance Services. Make sure your most prized possessions kat
z R two Side and I Heeart Radio Station The Good Afternoon. Everybody,
Welcome to I on the Ball here Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera,
He's Jaginsas got our guy Jason in today. We have fifteen minutes if
you guys want to give us a quick call to say what's on your mind.
We have a lot of football talk today. Absolutely, it's a it's
a you know, we're getting to be that time PACTAW Media Days tomorrow,
so we're we put in a call to Yogi Roth and he we're gonna get
him in the second hour. Just you know, he's the he's the studio
host of uh of A PACTOV Media Day, him and him and uh Ashley
Ashley Addison, so they'll be working. I don't know who's there anymore,
and you don't. I did see some tweets from Ashley Adamson that you know
she's got she doing pacbaw me today again and then but they're you know,
the cats Jet Fish with the Jaden Delora and Trade Trade and Stukes will be
on at ten thirty UH, so you can watch that. You can start
picking up on Pactweb Network. UM. UH. George Clioff Cooff starts off
the day and his highly anticipated remarks will be coming up. And so we'll
be talking some Packtwell Media Day with UH, with UH, with with Yogi
and then UH. In the first hour. Carrington Thompson, wide receiver for
the Sugar Skulls, who's he's been on our show before. He's a lot
of fun. He's a really great guy. UH. He's gonna come on
and just talk about they got a playoff game. They're here in the San
Jose for a playoff game on and they play on Sunday at three o'clock tuson
time. That'll be the last of the four playoff games this week. And
for the IFL the other three rds. So are they you're done? If
they win, you're done? Well, yes, you know, if if
the IF both lower seeds win in this first round. So you got the
Rattlers playing Northern Arizona, UM, and then you got the Sugar Skulls playing
Bay Area. If Northern Arizona, who is the defending chap they do something
kind of ridiculous and beat the Rattlers, and then if the Sugar Skulls win,
then the Sugar Sculls will host because they'll be the higher seed. The
Sugar Sculls are the three seed, Northern Arizona is the four seed. Unlikely
but mathematically possible. But they're at San Jose three o'clock Sunday. You can
watch that on YouTube. You'll catch the uh, the Bay Area announcing team,
and then we'll see what happens. And uh, you know, the
Sugar Sculls beat They beat Bay Area up at their place earlier in the year,
so yeah, anything can happened. And they play well on the road,
or they have at least they have been there. They win six and
one on the road this year, just kind of ridiculous, so they're certainly
walking in with some confidence that they can win that game. Yeah, okay,
we'll see what happens when we talk to all these guys later in the
afternoon or later today, were already year in the afternoon. M okay,
um, what else is going on? Else? Well, the pack twelve
pole came out. Yes, I don't know if we're want to wait,
so Jason, sorry, it's all good. We're taking a Jason. Um.
The media poll came out and it came out like you would have thought
it would have come out. USC was, uh was it was picked to
win the league by by a healthy margin. Um. They're thirty six h
thirty six voters. Twenty five of them voted to USC first. Not surprising.
You got the Heisman trophy can Um quarterback back. Um, USC should
be the favorite. The thing is that I still think that Washington wins this
thing. Um. Where are they? They came seconds? Uh the vote
the vote total was not closed. Uh what USC was got twenty five first
place votes, a total of four hundred and thirteen points. Washington got four
first place votes three hundred and sixty seven points. Utah got third. Actually
got more first place votes, they got six, but they got three hundred
and fifty nine points, so they were eight points behind Washington. And then,
as you would expect, Oregon and they got one first place. Yeah,
so in Washington state seven number seven. Uh, not a shock,
but but that's gonna be the key game, one of the key games.
We said, yeah, and you and I you know when when we talked
about it yesterday. We both thought that Arizona come out about eighth, and
that's where they that's where they came. H You've got after Oregon at four,
You've got Oregon State five, you see LA six, Washington State seven,
Arizona eight, Cal nine, ACU ten, Colorado eleven in Stamford.
I think the final four, final four in this poll are pretty accurate.
And I don't it doesn't matter how they fall, but those four, because
it's a it's a big drop from Arizona to them. Yeah, so Arizona
eighth best and everyone's saying they could win six, seven, eight games.
You know, some people, good luck with that, knowing how tough the
league is gonna be. This is This is probably about the way I would
I if I was voting, and they haven't asked me to vote, but
if I was voting, I probably would Bush in USC and I think the
rest of it would have been the same. Maybe maybe put U c l
A over Oregon State, but I'm not not one hundred percent sure of that,
but seven to seven to twelve is exactly what I would have done.
The first four I think everybody agrees those are the first four and whatever word
you want to put him in. And then the middle three Oregon State,
us c LA in Washington State. So it looks about It looks about right
to me. Yeah, we'll see what happens. So funny thing about it
is this poll is pretty much contingent on the quarterback. It is it is,
and and you know how they and how they ran them, right,
I mean, wait when you look at Arizona and look, I don't know
how good Jane Delora is going to be, right, but you know,
if you let's let's let's project Jane Delora out to do what he's capable of
doing. Okay, as good a quarterback as he should be, there probably
haven't been a whole lot of better quarterbacks than that at Arizona ever. Right,
Nick Foles was really good, Matt Scott had a really good year.
But they were a six and sixt team. They got into or seventy five
team, they got into a bowl game. Andrew Solomon had arguably the best
single season of any quarterback ever. You know, just be you know that
team went, you know, went to a Fiesta Bowl. You know,
you can say Danny White, but you know the you know, those those
teams in the early nineties. Then they ran the hell out of the ball
um. You know, Ortiz Jenkins and and and Keith Smith split it.
You know. So if Jaden and the point I'm making is Jade Delord is
that good. Where he's mentioned among those years that quarterbacks had and yet Arizona's
picked a finish shape, that's how good this league is. That he could
be that good and they could still be the eighth place team in the league,
which is a crazy, crazy number. Okay, so they picked any
This is a dumb question on both of you. Would you bet him to
finish eighth or higher? I've been a finished higher. Yeah, I think
higher, as high as six? Yeah, I think I think high is
probably six and low is probably eight. I think I think I think the
ceiling is six. I think they can finish ninth. You know, because
we don't know what Cal's got. AC is a little bit of a mystery.
I think Colorado and Stamford are gonna be bad. See I don't as
much as we kind of poop poo on Colorado and for obvious reasons, they're
gonna be better. They could be better, But then you know, if
you're better than one in eleven. You're still really bad, right, No,
Hey, but you apply goes that same thinging with Arizona last year and
they want some games and they want some games, and no, Dion,
we don't know how good of a coach he is, although he's shown the
cam coach and with better talent coming in coaching him up during an X Factor,
would I bet him know? But you don't know they're there, You
don't know, you don't know. I agree with you, you don't.
I just don't see Arizona finish eleven. No, no, god, no,
okay, no, no, no. I think eighth eighth is accurate
and I think they'll finish um though. This is the thing if you don't
know already, Jason, Yeah, Arizona historically and Jay will attest to this,
wins games that shouldn't and lose those games that shouldn't. Yeah, that's
that's a definite. Yeah. At the given that the given we've talked about
all this week, we've tried to figure out which is the one that that's
going to happen or two where they pull something off and then the next week
theay lay an egg. Right, yeah, yeah, no, you feel
expect I mean, look, there's going into that UCLA game last year.
There was no way that I thought it was you know, you said it
was ranked. I think they were like thirteenth or twelfth or something like.
Yeah, I think twelve. Yeah, it didn't even enter my mind that
Arizona would go win that game. Yeah, I'll sudden it up. I
think you're fourteen to nothing. You're like, wait a minute, you know,
and then it because it's just been so long since Arizona has been a
team that could do that, right, right, because they just they did
it all the time. They did it all the time. They did it
under Stoops, they did it under rich Rod. You know, they obviously
didn't undertow me. They did under Larry Smith. They were always doing that.
They are beating somebody like that every year. But it's been so long
since they were capable of doing that. There was no thought in my mind
that they were going to do that last year. Then they did because yeah,
because you're you're not expecting it. But then but then we're back to
we're back to Okay, if they can do that, they can also do
the office. Yeah. Sure, sure they're gonna lose one. They shouldn't
lose, you know, but it's just your definition of which games should and
shouldn't they lose. Right, And this is another theory, Jason's because we're
just gonna use some history back in the day thirty years ago, probably now,
a former UA football coach told us. J told Jay, it's the
reason why you don't bet money on kids who are nineteen years old, because
you never know which kid's gonna show up. Very very true. They don't
know if they have girlfriend, probably them's academic problem. You don't know any
of that, right, it's always or today, if you're you're having a
video game problem, I elbody didn't show that alb problem. Yeah, week
to week and never know. No, you're right, I mean that was
that was probably one of the biggest pieces of advice that I've never heated.
I've just never followed. You just said, you guys are crazy for being
on eighteen to twenty two. How you actually do that? Dick said that,
Yeah, he said that to me. I think it was one of
those times I said we need to cover right. Yeah, I don't understand
anybody who bets on eighteen to twenty two year old kids. Yeah, I
mean, you never know what's going on. You guys are crazy. If
there's anything I've learned, that's the thing. You don't know because it's so
emotional. It's an emotional game, yeah, especially at that and the problem
is not so much to go and play in college. Who knows what's gonna
happen. Yeah, definitely, you know, and then then it happens and
you say, how did that happen? Yeah, you're like, what the
hell? Yeah? What the hell? Yea extra good storylines? It's fine,
but you know what, look win or lose, it's fun, right,
Yes, No, depends depends depends on what side you're on. I
mean I felt I felt worse about teams that about games that I didn't have
money on the games that I lost and did have money one hundred next step
baby step Yeah, okay, okay, oh anything else before we have three
minutes here before we know just again we're talking to who we're talking to?
First? Were first? Um, you know, he's been one of the
leading receivers in the in the league. I think he went into last week,
I think second in the league in touchdow I look up his stats.
He's a fun guy. Actually want invited to come into studio, but they've
got business to take care of, and I think they leave for they probably
have when more practice than they flapped to San Jose on Saturday. On Saturday,
they're playing that that arena where they had the West Regional and that SAP
Arena, and they play a huge arena. Yeah, but I think get
a pretty decent following. So there'll be there'll be five, six, seven
thousand people at this playoff game on Sunday, which would be a big deal.
It'd be fun for them to play in that in that atmosphere. But
you know, good for the Sugar Scalls. You know, this is three
three out of four years that they four years in existence, that they've been
in the playoffs. Yeah, which pretty damn good. You know, they're
just kinda kind of break through. Yeah, breakthrough win a game. Uh,
you know, go take your shot at the Rattlers if that's who you
end up facing. They beat him, right, didn't They beat him earlier
this year and Kevin Guy survived, so he's fine. Yeah. I even
saw him a couple of times. Talk to him. You know, he
seems all right. Yeah, I you know, he's They had some injury
problems and their quarterback was hurt for a little and stuff like that. I
think they've won eight in a row now, so they're on a roll.
They're gonna be hard to be um, but uh, you know, they're
certainly the favorite in the in the West, which is, you know,
the division with the with the Sugar Skulls. But I think that you know
anything, when you're looking at the Sugar Sculls, they've they've beaten all three
teams that are in the playoffs with that or in Arizona, Arizona and Bay
Area, they've beaten all three of them. On the roads here you can
never live without hope, yea, and here we are might be there right
exactly. So all right, let's go and take our break. Um Carrington
Thompson, wide receiver for the for the Sugar Skulls. Alit one of the
leading receivers in the league. Good guy, a lot of fun, great
sense of humor. We'll have him on and we'll talk about this game coming
up on Sunday, so I'll stick around. For more than twenty years,
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Radio WAP, this is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez
on Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. Hey, welcome back to Why the Baharo Fox
Sports fourteen fifty of Steve Rivera. He's Jakin Sauce as we have worked a
call from Carrington Thompson of these Sugar Skulls, let's say, finish out their
year in the playoffs, which is a good thing. Yeah. Yeah,
we're just three or four in the playoffs, three of the last four three
of the last four years. Uh um, you know, three or four
years in the league. So they were the they were the first new franchise
for the first expansion franchise to make back when they did it in the first
year, and then they then they didn't make it the second year, and
then they made it last year, lost in the first round both times.
So they're in for the third time and hoping to get hoping to get a
win. So uh, and I'm still waiting for Carrington to give us a
call. Hopefully he does that here in a in a second or two.
Um, but uh, you know, it's it's been Uh, it's been
a strange season, Steve, you know, watching them lose all these games
at home when these games on the road. They did finish out with a
win. Uh, you know in the last game last week. So um,
yeah, you should be happy. Hi is this Carrington? Yeah,
Hi Joe, this is Jagnzalez. Then we got Steve Steber Verry here where
you're on the air, So I just want to make sure you knew that
how you doing. We're doing well. Thank you very much, thanks for
joining us on the show. How's the team looking before they get to the
road for the playoff game? I was like saying that one more time.
Yeah, how's the team looking as you guys get up to the road to
get on the playoffs playfrom Yeah, we're we're we're looking pretty good. We're
just doing everything that we can control, and that's practicing and getting better and
paying attention to the little details every day. So you guys that this is
the second year in a row three out of four that you're in the playoffs.
Carrington, you were on the team last year, got to the playoffs.
What's the what's the approach this year that you know? Is there has
there been you know with the guys who were back this year that we're on
it last year. Is there any benefit to the fact that you guys have
experienced that? What are you guys talking about as far as that goes,
Um, we really haven't talked about last year with or anything like that.
We've just been focusing on this year and pretty much just focusing on our details
and everything like that, because it really don't matter about experience. But if
you don't, if you don't pay attention to the little details and doing your
job and your job only anything can happen. The game can go anyway.
So we just haven't focused on that this year. With that and I mean
the experience and the best that we have on our team that it does help,
but our main focus is just paytage in the details and doing everything we
can do with our job. So, Um, you've been on the team
for a while now, right, a couple of three years, years,
a couple of years. Does this team look different than the last years from
the playoff situation. Um, I wouldn't say this team is any different.
I would say our mindset is different from last year. We are more of
a team oriented team for real. We do a lot of things outside of
football this year, and I can tell that we were more kind of more
of a bond this year as a team than we did last year. Interesting.
So, UM, you know we I was telling Steve when we were
talking about the fact that you've been one of the top receivers of the league
all year, very durable. You've been in all fifteen games. We even
see you out there making tackles on special teams and that kind of thing.
You know, being a receiver in the endoor football league. You know,
you're not just not the catching passes. You gotta do a whole lot of
stuff. Tell us a little bit about, you know, just kind of
what it takes and the mentality you have to have to play in this league
when you you know, you suit up twenty one guys you know on a
given day, and all the other things you got to do besides catch passes
and score touchdowns. It's we have a lot to do. Um, It's
not as much has been like a load. I mean, I really would
say pretty much. Being a receiver in this league or any league, it's
just so with the will to want to do it. Um I do everything
I do with special teams and playing offense because I want to sell the younger
guys. I mean, a lot of people come in this league looking to
get to the next level. And when you go to the next level,
it's not you're coming in as a starting receiver. You're gonna be coming as
a role player. You're gonna be coming in playing special teams. So if
you get that aspect of wanting to place press teams and wanting to go down
to make a tackle, you can make any team at the next level.
But it's the willing and the want to do it. We had coach on
um Well back maybe two three four days ago. How is it practicing getting
ready for this in this heat? It's pretty high man. We kind of
kind of I'm sorry, monitor the amount of time that we outside for practice
and everything like that. But we're just taking care of bodies, making sure
we're doing everything to be able to practice in the team. We know our
environment, we knew what we was getting ourselves into. Coming down here.
So it's just pretty much just doing everything we can do to take care of
that so we are able to practice out in that heat. And it's a
lot of people think that the heat is a bad thing, but it's just
with the league we're playing, we're playing indoor. It's actually a good thing
to be practice the outside of that heat because it gets you in conditioned way
more especially going into and it's endurable. So, uh we we've talked a
lot this year about you know, Ramon Atkins at quarterback, a new guy
for coach for coach Chen, learning a new system. It seemed like it
took him a while to sort of get acclimated to what was expected of him
offensively. What tell us a little bit about what you've seen him and how
you've seen him progress from day one to where he is today, where you
know he hasn't had a turnover or he hasn't had an interception. I think
it's it was his eighth game now without an interception after throwing eleven in the
first half of the season. Just tell us about maybe the connection you've developed
with him and just what you've seen him do over these last several games.
Well, I think that's pretty much what it is. It is not our
connection. Actually, it's pretty much him trusting the offense and trusting coach Chen
and our other receivers that we had um everybody know beginner to season first of
my virgin virtue, but sow with Chen going out to the grab weapons to
be able to help us be a complete offense. Yeah, I think just
him trusting other guys and trusting the offense is really playing a big part.
And every week we always are in our even with him me the running back,
anybody on our offense, we always are harped on uh taking control,
I mean keeping uh. And I think that's what the biggest impact is helping
him out and turning that around with it turnovers and everything. It's just focusing
on protecting the ball and taking what the details gives us. Turn to explained
this to me, Jay tells me, it's a very strange year or audi
year. You win a lot of games in the road and couldn't do it
at home. Thank thankfully you're on the road this weekend. Yeah. Yeah,
I don't. I don't know what what it was with us this year
with our home games and everything like that, but I'm very confident of us
going on the road. I guess we're just a team that like to upset
people at their home. But um, it's gonna be a good one that
that Bay Area came over there. I'm sure they're studying us pretty well.
And it's always gonna be a great bad especially with the history between the coaching
staff to hurt his chin and Dixie and everything. So it's gonna be a
great fight and I'm sure it's gonna go down pretty to the wire and nobody's
on both sides gonna give up. But as far as the only thing we
can do, pretty much though it's taking control of work, we can take
control love and like I said, doing doing everything to the details. Um,
looking at your stats, like I said, he played in all fifteen
games, seventy eight catches, twenty one touchdowns. I mean, whether you
want to admit it or not, you're your romanes guy. You're his go
to guy. What's that been like for you to kind of be in that
role where you're sort of the guy that you know he appears to be leaning
on. You know when he needs a guy to make a catch. You
know you got Mike Jones who does what he does, but then you know
Carrington Thompson is the receiving piece of that. Tell us a little bit about
how that, how that's been for you this year. Um, it's been
unbelievable, especially with them my last year playing in our football. But any
receiver would love to have that title of the go to receiver. UM,
I'm just able to be able to put our team in spots to be able
to win the game. Uh, just giving back to this game, It's
It's been other teams I've been to go to, but this year it kind
of been a little bit more special because everybody says, yeah, you once
it gets to the end, it hits a little bit different. And I
think that's that's pretty much what been so best about this year is just to
out turnout of this season that happened for me, especially with it being my
last year, just putting it all out there and showing everybody that if you
want to win, especially being a receiver in this league, you guys that
go one hundred and ten. So so WAYMNTE, did you just announce your
retirement to us? I think I retire. I not say I do not
say earlier in the season. I think before our last home game. Uh,
but yeah, everybody knows it's going to be my last season. So
what's the real world gonna happen for you? What's gonna happen, Um,
So it's going to be a father man, going to go get a career
job, be a father, being around my kids, and just getting getting
that time back that I kind of lost with having to travel and uh do
every team but this game. So it's it has it been rewarding for you
though? I mean you know you play your your professional football player, right,
I mean that's something that a lot of guys don't get to do.
Yeah, It's it's definitely rewarding for with it being the last one. I
tell my team every day, um that I'm so grateful for the season that
they gave me, with it being my last one, the memories they gave
me, um, And I'm just happy to be able to give back to
our rookies or our players that's two years or a year in this league.
I'm just able. I'm just happy to be able to get back to that
receiver room and see what they can do next year. When I'm watching the
game, well, you've definitely had some memories, right because you played in
the Cotton Bolt right at Western Michigan. Uh, that had to be cool,
right, Yeah, that was pretty That was pretty cool. It was.
It was a great run a lot of people. I tell uh when
I was younger, it was it was the next level buzz. But just
the game that I played, everywhere I went with this game took me to
a lot of places I never thought i'd go. So I'm just satisfied with
all that and happy that I was able to play the game and go see
the world as I did it. So now you can have to go out
and style with a championship. So so so so you're how old are you?
But so, what would the twenty nine year old Carrington tell the twelve
year old Carrington looking back? What would you? What would go? Advice
would you give it? Uh? You kept pushing. Uh, I'll never
give up, never listen to the outside world. And whatever path that you
wanted to go, you want to go down, is the path that you
you go down. They'll never let nobody control your life. They'll never let
nobody say that the path that the best pappen. Just continue to show the
world that you can do things the way, no matter what level That your
own all right, Well, Carrington had some sage advice right there. Uh,
you know, appreciate you being here, Appreciate you know what you've done
your last couple of years that you know, I think people remember you.
You were the guy you know for a couple of you. You didn't over,
ain't over. You got you got a couple of you, hopefully at
least got a few more games. Right, it's not over for so I'm
gonna make sure this last season be where I'm holding up that trop All right,
Well, best luck to you guys on on Sunday, and uh,
safe travels and let's see how it goes. All right, Thank you so
much. I really appreciate you guys having me on your shows every year i've
been out here, and the love and support you have gave me since doing
throughout my luck. Thanks. Thanks. He's a good dude, Jake,
dude. Man. He announced his retirement here. I mean, I'm sure
I'm sure his guys knew, but we didn't know. Holy cow. Now
he's gotta keep that dream alive. Yeah, you're not good for him though,
you know what, hey, you know, beat, you know,
look, twenty nine years old. Time to move on. With my life.
I got a kid either on the way or he's got one. Now,
I don't you know what. I'm not sure what that is. But
you know, you know, smart dude, you know, obviously recognizing what
he's got to do. Very cool. Okay, all right, let's take
our news break break, take a breakwa and come back. Take your calls
five, ten, zero, four, one, six, seventy four,
forty we'll talk some more football. If you're an Arizona Man's basketball fan,
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dot net. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez
on Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. Subscribe now to the podcast on the iHeart Radio
while just surgeony I on the Ball. Come back to I on the Ball
here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera, you're Jay Goon.
Gals got our guy Jason and us today. We have about fifteen minutes.
We'll give us call five two four one six seventy four forty. I'd like
to hear from you guys. Yeah, you know, it's interesting to talk
with with Karrington Thompson because, um, you know a lot of people ask
and you've asked before too. You know, these guys that are playing in
you know, in this league, you know why do they play? Yeah?
Do it? I love right? And they out of love. Some
of these guys got to get you know, they don't feel that they're done.
Um, it's almost like they got to get something out of their system
or something right right in fact, to move on. In fact, we've
had this before. We'll probably do this next week. You're not gonna be
here tomorrow, so do this next week. The two sons sorrows are playing
and they're they're the leading the leading league. Um, and this is the
lowest of the pros or whatever you want to call them. Uh, dudes
are just playing baseball, trying to live their dream with a slim chance,
you know, getting But they're doing something I wish I could do. Yeah,
not in one hundred and ten degree with other but well, nobody see
playing baseball. And I would bet one hundred and one that you would want
to do it, Oh, one hundred percent. I would have kept playing
if I'd had a chance. Look, you know all the sugar skulls,
Kuarington, Thompson, all of them. They can say I was a professional
football player, right, say what you want. And while you were in
your football league, you weren't in the NFL. Well you know how many
guys do get to the NFL. Right, but um, you know they're
a professional football player. They got paid to play football, as he said,
they got he got to go places and he might not have right,
not have gone. Yeah, right, he's heading up to sand Josey,
did you cut some stuff from yesterday's press press conference with Well, Well,
he talked about it, tell me talked about him not this is his first
chance to get out of the country to when they're going to Israel. Uh,
he's excited about that. He'd never left the continental United States outside of
well, Hawaii of course, but um um, he's exciting about it.
And sports gives an opportunity. It does to people who to people like me
and Tel Right, I wouldn't I wouldn't have gone to Europe or whatever,
to Germany to do all these things were professionally you leave in the country.
I'm a traveling around the country. I last Steve No, you know we
lived to earthquakes, right, you know you have Anthqua. Yeah, we
had an earthquake while I was there and everybody I still remember everybody come running
out the stud wells. We were outside in the high in the snow.
It was crazy. So, you know, but you're right, And that's
one of the cool things about you know, the opportunity you get from from
sports. What I have traveled like that, as a regular news reported.
No, because I was covering local news, right, So, you know,
I got to go to you know, the various places I got to
go to, and it was all it was all very cool. So and
that's you know, And so when you have an appreciation for that, UM,
it sort of makes walking away probably a little bit easier. Sure,
you know. Sure in the first year that the Sugar Skulls had a linebacker's
name was Zach Allen. Um. I know there's Zach Allen in the NFL.
It's not the same Zach Allen. UM. And he was like an
all All League guy. I've been playing at the barn Stormers with uh,
with Dixie Wooton and those guys over there. He was here. He was
the best player on the team that first year. Um. And then I
remember at the end of the season, Um, you know, the season
was over and I'm in the office and guys are coming in and they're turning
in their stuff and whatnot, and um, and I just on a whim.
I don't know, I guess I just said, I said, what
now, Zach? What meaning you know what's next? What? What are
you gonna do this? The rest of the summer right, and he was
and he was like, that's it for me. And I'm like what he
Because that's it for me. I'm done, I said, you're that's it.
You're didn't play football? Go But yeah, because because man, I
got I got kids, I gotta go do stuff. I gotta get and
and and because they don't make a lot of money here, because they have
to have a real life. Yea, the football they play and for what
they played for, it's because they played because they love the game and it
gives them enough to be able to do it right and not uh not not
be a financial hardship for that. And that's that's what they get to do.
And then at some point, you know, you say, okay,
I've you know, I've done my I've done my stuff and I'm ready to
move on. So that's that's where we're at, right. I know these
guys want to play three more games. That's how many it to take.
How can I say this? And I think you could talk about it.
So if they go another week to get paid another they get paid per game
per game, okay, right, they get they get paid per game,
and then all the things that they get with at the room and board and
the room and board, the medical, the meals and all that stuff that
continue that just it just continues until they're done playing. Um, I don't
know if there's uh uh, you know, they get an extra check,
say you win a playoff game. I don't know if there's if there's an
addition, an additional mount or anything. Because you know, somebody wins the
Super Bowl, they get X thousand dollars or whatever. But I don't know
if there's that. The rings involved in this too, I think it will
be. Yeah, I think they would get rings if they they were to
win it. Okay, because I was assuming that the Riders have a few,
right because they want Yeah wow, but it's been a while since they
won a championship. Don't remind him. Don't remind mister guy. I know,
if he's listening bringing that up, don't talk about to bring that up.
Yeah, but you know, but um, I don't know. I
would think there would be you know, I mean, it's not gonna be
a Super Bowl ring, but it's gonna be a you know, there'd be
you know, something like that that would be sort of a keepsake from winning
the league. I would think the league would would pony up for something like
that. You know, you'd like to think that they would. Look.
These guys sacrifice a lot. I mean, as I said, they don't
make a ton of money at this. They make enough to live right and
and be able to play football. You know, they don't, you know,
they don't have careers because they're they're spending you know, however, but
three or four months doing this, so they don't. You know, none
of these guys are you know, lawyers in a law firm or taking a
break. What they all want to be is is um Oh. I know
I do this to myself. Think about names and I can't remember the names
the Cardinals quarterback from Iowa who played um um um, Kurt Warner, Kurt
Warner. They don't want to be that story that gay, right, and
there's that, you know, And I honestly believe that some of these guys
do it because of no because they see, because they see that there was
a dream that got realized there what's that? Why not me? Why not?
Why not me? Exactly? Why not me? Why not you?
Jason career in journalism? Yeah? Why not? Set the storm? Got
a tan ESPN. He'll be re hiring by then, yeah, yeah,
who knows? So how many how many guys do make it? You know,
good questions league like, um, a number of guys And when I
say a number, there's there's there's what fifteen fifteen sixteen teams okay, okay,
and so they probably and these teams got twenty five guys. So I
would say probably maybe ten twelve guys might move up and go play the USFLM
NO in the league. Yeah, you know, some guys move up.
Some guys are on their way back from those leagues, right, Yeah,
you know a lot of these guys have Some of these guys have they've had
some time in the NFL and then or they've been uh, they've been um,
you know, they've been in training camp. They may have maybe made
the practice squad and then got cut. Yeah. Try so now they've had
a taste of it and try to stay alive to uh, you know,
to keep playing. Let's take this call higher on there and on the ball.
Hey you guys, this is Gabriel Gabriel from California. How are you
guys? Are you guys are doing well? Gabriel? Wow, we're doing
well? What do you and where are you been and how do you feel
on the eve of something that could or could not happen. Um, well,
I'm not surprised that they don't have a TV deal, So I guess
that the TV deal is gonna be on PBS Kids or Nickelodeon. So I'm
being a mod ass so no, you never so anyway, I just wanted
to see I just wanted to talk about this. Um, I'm not surprised
that there isn't no TV deal. So and also, can I just voice
my opinion about George klia Coffin and then we can discuss about Arizona's football schedule.
Okay, but you're not allowed to cuss, okay, because then you're
it sounds like you're mad. No, no, no, I'm just I'm
just not surprised by anyway, I'm not gonna cuss. Don't worry about it.
Um anyway, So my opinion about George klia coff is he talks a
lot and does him back it off and at bets he's way way too over
his head or he just a we're all famous encompassed him buffoon. Well you
didn't cuss, Well that's short of cussing. Okay, all right, respect
your opinion. All right, what makes you say what makes you say that
because nothing's been done? What if? What if nothing could be done?
Well, here's the scene. He didn't, he didn't, he didn't he
he he basically didn't. He didn't know that USC and UCLA wire basically staff
in right in the back and tw the knife and decide to go to the
bid ten. So that is on his ass and he and just mainly I
just I just basically set up with with him all saying well, well,
I'm just basically sat up with seeing well TV me always coming. Well,
that's basically more of the patrol STEMP step boys just like um not John,
we'rener the of your guy because Dono, he's just a huge steps for the
conference. I just said, up with his his personality. I'm trying not
to cuss. Yeah, I can tell you're working hard at that. All
right, so what do you So let's talk about the football schedule we got
We got a few minutes. So yeah, first of all, how many
wins do you see? I see I think eight wins. I think they
got an upset either Washington. I think, well at home, that's a
good upset upset at USC because I think they're probably gonna feel motivated to get
to give the Chargings best sat L and upset and win against against Utah.
And they gotta beat the teams I needed. They need to beat um like
a fu Colorado, Washington State, Danford, definitely, Nau, definitely uh
al Pasto. So a whole lot of wins in there. You went.
You went from being the most pessimistic guy to the most optimistic guy in a
matter of seconds. Well, well that's because Kevin Bumlin was running Arizona and
I wanted I wanted his ass gone. So luckily is that has gone.
So I'm running myself. A note, do not piss off Gabriel's kind of
mean. Yeah, I love you, Gabriel. You know that's three hell
within the USC, Washington and Utah. Holy cow, those are the three
best, three best teams other schedule. Yeah, I mean, like a
rousing snake. Well good luck, all right, man, we're gonna take
your eight winds. We're gonna mark that with Dow Gabriel. Okay, all
right, man, appreciate And I'm being really patient with the whole TV deal.
And you know that I want Arizona to go to the bitchall because I
still think that Aaron Arizona needs to be producted and survived as a whole athletic
to parment a whole conference. And I really don't care about the other schools.
There is no such thing as conference loyalty, just like USC and UCLA.
So Arizona needs to do where it's best for Arizona, not to Scumdale
is not Utah, not Oregon, not Washington. Hear about you, not
them. They can go to the dust town of history. All right,
there you go, Bobby Robbins, that was for you. All right,
Gabriel, thanks a whole bunch for the call. We always appreciate it.
Thank you, guys, I help you guys are doing good. And State
State, thank you, thank you. Oh he's trying to be nice at
the end. Thank you, Gabriel. I got tears in my eyes,
man, Kevin. But of all all this time, all these years,
I've never I've never thought of that, and I'm really upset at myself for
not having thought of that. That would have been a nice headline in the
New York Post. Way to go, Gabriel. Nice call. That was
fun. It was really fun. He win. He's got his beating Washington,
Washington Uh, because they said you got those three he had a beating
Washington State, Arizona State, Colorado, and Stanford. So that's what that's
that's seven you tapping, you tapping, and a year that's nine. He's
he's been listening to Jake Fisher if you called nine wins. Yeah, because
then because the only the only teams he didn't say that they were gonna beat
were the teams he didn't mention, right, didn't mention Mississippi State, he
didn't mention us Lay, and he didn't mention Oregon State. So so I
mean he might he might be thinking they're goundefeated. Maybe Okay, Brooke,
thanks what we call You're in the clubhouse leading for the calls of the day,
all right, uh man? Breaking news? Uh we well, we
already covered the pack Talk Media Day, but a lot a lot more stuff
going on, some stuff in the NFL. So Jason will be back with
some breaking news for everybody. We'll we'll go through it. So