Streaming live. I mean, iHeartRadio WAPP. This is I on the Ball
with Steve Robera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports fourteenth fifty. Welcome back to
Welcome back, Trying the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve,
He's Jake now Sammy with breaking news on the ball. Breaking news.
All right, guys, So I guess it's not breaking, but it's feel
good. If you're football. We have fifty straight days of either NFL or
college football at least one game a night, So for the next fifty days,
you have something to bet on, something to watch. That's exciting.
I love that. It's fantastic. I love that. Do you watch Do
you watch like the Tuesday Wednesday match games? There? I know, but
it's football. It's kind of like when you're you know, no Bowl season,
right, I don't care who's playing. I want to watch it.
This is on. I mean, there's usually it's hard. It's a nice
fallback if, like, you know, you don't have a good TV program
coming on or whatever you're doing anything or watch watching but a football game on.
Yeah, I love that. Or if you don't have a baseball team
in the playoffs, you're waiting at the NBA to roll around. Yeah,
like when he's not gonna have a baseball team in the playoffs in about a
week. We're just trying to get through today. We're just trying to get
through today. Also in NCAA football news, Ole Miss beat LSU this last
week, one of Lane Kiffin's biggest wins as an old Miss coach, and
rightly so. I think the fans stormed the field. And whether you think
it's safe, whether you like it, nonetheless, I think it's a good
thing for college football. But Ole Miss was fined one hundred and seventy five
thousand dollars in total for that. Again, that's trump change for that type
of university. But do you guys think it's a safe not even a safe
thing. Do you think it's okay? Well, did you see there was
a an LSU player, I think it was a video. LSU player got
a beat up another guy coming on the field. Yes, did you see
that? It was the dude should have never been on the field firstball,
and he was being obnoxious in the first place, and the guy was I
don't know what the guy from l she was doing trying to defend himself or
whatever grabbed him pretty badly. I didn't see the whole thing, but you
saw it. I missed it. No, And what happened to the LSU
guy. No, I don't think anything happened to LSU guys. You should
have never been acting like a fool. That's the thing, you know,
And and then and you know, and then you want you want something to
happen to the player for defending him, something protecting him exactly. Often right
when people do that, get up in their faces. Look, look,
I've rushed the field, right and I but you know I didn't go up
and jump on a player, right right, you know, but I saw
people who did. And you've seen it on t You see it, you
know on TV all the time. You know, I don't know how you
stop that, but you know, so often they want to say, well,
you know, he's a football player, he shouldn't have thrown that guy
on the ground. Well, that guy on the ground shouldn't have been on
you know out there. You're right if you're going to be a fool and
you get treated like one, exactly, and uh so maybe tough for that
LSU player, but Utah football players. We were talking at the break and
an nil deal saying that they're they're all getting trucks. Right, each player
on the Utah football team is gaining least a truck. When they say the
least, I guess I don't know what that means because I'm sure they're not
paying for it. But you know, the truck has got advertisements on it.
So basically they get the truck and they get to drink. But it's
advertising, I think is the collective? Yeah, you know there's like a
you know, a QR code and phone numbers and you know there's a picture
of one of the trucks. So but it's a it's a brand new I
think it's a Dodge Ram. How do you feel about that? How do
you feel about that? Somebody said, I wonder how Jerry Tarkanian would have
felt about it. That's a great point. Well, you know, if
it look if if they get to have a vehicle while they're in school and
it's within the rules, then one hundred percent fine. Yeah, I'm not
sure how I feel about that. Okay, so everybody on the team gets
a truck. I'm just thinking, now, how do you feel? That's
exactly when this all started. That's the exact thing I thought about, if
you're a girl, a woman of an athlete or a minor sport, a
person and all and and gear. What it was his name, the just
the choppler Jordan guys and he and he kind of just said, it's not
about us, it's about the football basketball players. And he's the he's the
face of the program right in. Yeah, it's hard. I think it's
hard because the ni L is obviously focused on football, even basketball, some
some programs baseball. But it is an opportunity for players in track, swimming
or smaller sports to where if they wanted to, they can go seek that
opportunity. Before an i L, they didn't have that opportunity. And so
I get the the trucks maybe a little over the top, but that's that's
the that's the way of the world. That's the way the world is working
right now. And I get I see it from both sides. I just
think that some of these things should be special. And this is this is
old man and this is the rivera thinking which is stupid anyway, it should
be special. But you get a truck, Jay, It's like Copra.
You get a truck. I get a truck. Simon gets a truck.
What's special about that? If everybody gets a truck, we all get the
same truck. Oh, you know what I'm saying. I do. But
but and there's no point. I'm not trying to make a point. But
everybody gets a truck. But what makes you different? I don't think the
people driving the truck? No, I know that. But you know what
I'm saying. Yeah, that's why my points moved. But I get it.
It's nice. Congratulations, we'll move the We'll move to college basketball now.
CBS came out with a top five college coaching staffs in college basketball?
Who Kansas, Michigan, Houston, Villanova, and Duke Arizona left off that
list, amongst a couple other squads. It's very who did the who did
the who authored it? Is it Nordland or Okay? You know what a
lot of these guys do. And this is what This is what endeared Sean
Miller to Goodman or getting in with the writers. They they do these little
lists and then they become friends with them. Oh you're the guy that put
me on the list. To the sharp dressed assistant coach or the sharp dressed
you know, the coach who should be at the best at his game,
you know what I'm saying. And then all of a sudden they're endeared to
these reporters because these guys put them on a list. You know, you
write something nice about me, I'll be your friend, be your friend.
Come on, we see that. Of course you do well, but that
you know, and that happened anywhere. I mean, like if if sure,
you know, if you're covering the police beat, then you said something
bad about a cop. He was your enemy forever? Right, No,
I get it. No, but but it's not the right way. But
it's it happened. It absolutely happened. I agree. I just think the
last two years, I think Tommy Wooden and his staff has shown they are
one of the better staffs in the country. Exactly. But you know,
you're coming off a round loss as the as the two seed, they're gonna
you're gonna get in lost. Sure, you know, if Tommy takes a
team to a final four, then he's in that conversation. I mean,
you and I and Steve and and Sammy sitting here in Tucson watching seeing what
we're seeing seeing Tommy. Okay, we're thinking he's one of the top coaches
in the country. They also he's only been here three but he's done so
much in in those first two years. We think he's one of the top
coaches in the country. But he's still under the radar because nationally, uh,
you know, and let's let's not say nationally in Nancy double A tournament,
he hasn't done. You know, he's under achieved. Try so you
know, he's got this schedule. They're gonna be on national TV a whole
bunch of times in the preseason, you know, or in the in the
non conference season. You're gonna see a lot of Tommy Lloyd. If he
wins a bunch of those games and then does something in c double A tournament.
Now he's in that conversation as one of those guys and don't be and
don't be now you just think this. People know who Tommy Lloyd is percent
you know. Some national sports news. The twenty thirty World Cup obviously not
this next World Cup, which will be in North America, but the one
following that. We'll span over three different continents. Europe ye, so Europe.
It'll be in Spain and Portugal, Africa, Morocco will host some Games,
and then South America, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. So I don't
know how much sense that really makes. They'll probably have the groups already picked
out obviously well beforehand and get them there. It's where they're gonna play.
So Uruguay is celebrating its one hundredth year as a I don't know if a
country, but so they just got added to that list and so it'll be
interesting to see what that looks like in twenty thirty. Well, I wasn't
a geography major, but the you know, the Morocco Spain port thing makes
sense right. Sure, they're probably close to the same time zone, but
then you're gonna go over to South America. That everything that's the other side
of the world, I know. So we'll see, we'll see what happens
there. Other national news, Lexi Thompson will play in this weekend's PGA Tour
event, the Shriner's Children's Open. So if you don't know Lexi thoms I
know we have Judy McDermott coming on. She will definitely know who that is.
She's the youngest woman's US Open qualifier. She qualified when she was just
twelve years old back in seven. She's the youngest winner on the LPGA Tour
at sixteen. And it's worth noting that no woman has made a PGA Tour
cut since nineteen thirty five. So that'll be maybe something interesting to run by
Judy and the Yeah, I know that was late. And Alexi Thompson's she's
been really good. She's kind of faded a little bit the last couple of
years, but certainly, you know, big hitter, long hitter can probably
you know, handle that. Probably she's not gonna be one of the long
hatters among the PGA Tour players. Probably hits long enough to be able to
play, you know, whatever the courses that they play. Yeah, so
we'll see. So we'll just I mean, it's just a it's a good
story. I think that hasn't happened in a while. So and le say
Thompson a great person to have out right here. You remember Anika Sorenstan played
in a PGA event. Yeh didn't she missed the cut, but she you
know, and she and that's when she was at the top of her game
and still didn't make the cut. Yeah, it's hard. And then the
last couple of things we talked a little bit about the MLB. But the
Twins won yesterday. They're up to zero I think right now. So yesterday
was their first playoff win in over eighteen years, and so in that span,
how many times have been in the playoffs in those eighteen years? Honestly,
probably quite a bit. Joe Mauer was probably pretty good. And they're
looking for their first series win since two the year before that. So it's
good for the Twins. They're up to zero. Like we said, the
Rays obviously bounced earlier this morning. Both games were at home, and there's
been a lot of discussion about so Tampa and the Rays are building a brand
new stadium for themselves, but in these last two games, they haven't been
able to sell out their own stadium, not even twenty thousand, Yes,
not even twenty thousand. I don't know. I don't know what the tendance
was today, but the attendance was nineteen and changed last year. And people
are making a big deal about all the all the empty seats. So that's
that's that'll be something to look for. If they can't sell out a playoff
game, how are you going to sell out a new show the stadium?
I think the statement of building is going to have like less than thirty thousands.
Good. I think I've been so obviously growing up Diamonbacks games. When
it's not full, it's not time, so I agree. But speaking of
the Diamondbacks, they won six to three at Milwaukee yesterday. They're the sixth
seed in the NL and now they have their ace, Zach Gallen going up
against Freddie Peralta to try and win the series now and then go play the
Dodgers big brother little brother style. It's it's only a matter of time if
if the e Backs do win today, a matter of time for what for
the little brother to finally finally beat up the big brother. And we talked
about it before the show. If it were to be in a year,
this would probably well, yeah, the Dodgers there there there, they don't
have the pitching too write to do this this year. They just don't.
I mean they their offense is incredible, but you get you still gotta have
pitching. And the d Backs showed that last night six and the something going
here and here you know right here, Hey, okay, if well we
gotta win tonight, yes, you gotta wint win tonight. I believe they
will that Gallon is really good. He's been. He was on my fantasy
team all year's money. He was on your fantasy day. He didn't screw
him up. I did not have money, thank god. But I think
a win tonight and I'll feel a little bit more comfortable about the Dodger series
because then we can start meal. Kelly, you can get our bullpen some
rest, which went six and a third inning last night. So contingent on
winning tonight. I'm not going to say I love the d Backs to win
this series. But it's a it's a five it's a five game series,
right, I think we I think I think you'd go five. It's better
for the Diamondbacks that it's a five game series. I agree seven, but
yes, because the longer it goes, the more like we're young, we're
not deep, we have firepower, but it's it's a matter of time.
We Sorry, No, no, i'm not. I'm not criticizing we.
We are the Diamondback. No. No, you're good. You're good because
you're not a journalist yet, you're not a you're a fan. You see
for me, it would be difficult to hear that. But yeah, you
enjoy your time even if you're at the PGA doing yourselff. You're we you
know, because you're you can say that. Yeah you can. I slip
and say we on Arizona once in a while. Yeah, well you're not,
but you're trying not. Yeah you're not, but you're not really,
you know. I guess I probably say we more about the Dodgers than I
do. No qu I do it the most? Is the Suns? Really?
Oh oh man? Because I used to work for them. I used
to I was a statisian for them. Yeah. So we're on site games.
Yeah, this was senior year ice cool? Uh doing stats all only
home games. This is when we were terrible. So you couldn't pay anybody
to go do thats for sure, but it was. It was awesome.
I met Mark Cuban in the process, real real cool guy, and watched
the only player we have left in Devin Booker grow up. Yeah, so
very cool. Cool. I'd say we're one of us. Ye, all
right, let's get out of here, take a break. We're gonna come
back. Judy McDermott will come to l ask her about about uh, Lexi
Thompson, you know, playing in a PGA tournament. See what she thinks
about that, but uh uh. Judy McDermott newly elected to the Arizona Golf
Association Hall of Fame, so we'll be right back. For more than twenty
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at GAP Tax Credit dot com. This is I on the Ball with Steve
Rivera and Jay Gonzales on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Subscribe now to the podcast
on the iHeartRadio wapp a surgeon on the ball. Hey, welcome back to
I I on the ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Riverta.
He's Jakin Zauce. Got a guy Simon here. Now on the phone.
We have Judy McDermott from first t but now most recently the Arizona Golf
Hall of Fame. Judy, how the heck are you? I'm good?
How are you doing you? We're doing okay, just surviving this boring radio
show that we do. That's how we needed to bring you on, Judy.
You need to up when you found out, when you found out you
were to be when you're gonna get inducted. How what did you think when
you first heard this? I'm like, oh, what am I gonna say?
I'm a behind the scenes person, not an upfront person. Well,
you've been out front enough for them to notice you. Yeah, look,
you gotta you know, you gotta take it and say, okay, I
have done some stuff. I really appreciate it because you have me. You
think of how many I actually had the lunch with Wade down again today and
Hey and I both talking about that because obviously it's nice for people from Tucson
to be recognized. Well, you mentioned the well you mentioned Wade. I
mean I saw the thing yesterday. I don't know how I found it.
But Wade's just as quiet as you are. Yes, he is. And
so you guys are you guys are doing quiet scenes and enough to be recognized
by the people up north, correct, correct, Yeah, So, but
it's it's it really is an honor obviously, and you know, golf is
such a great game, and we've done so much in golf in all of
the state and so it's very excited and be inducted with Peter Costas and Howard
Twitty is you know, just obviously an honor. So yeah, very humbled.
Those are big time names. So you're you're, you've been you've been
at First Tear for a while now. You got out of the got out
of the game over at the at the PGA tournament. But just tell us
about, you know, some of the stuff that's going on over at First
Tea. You mentioned you've got to you're you're you're on your way to get
a cake for a senior tonight. Just some of the stuff that you get
one of our great kids. It's been on our program since he was five
years old. Frankie Felix. He's a senior at Tucson II and he's a
captain of the golf team, and tonight's a senior night, so he's as
his last home match at ol Rio tonight and we're going to have a party
for him to celebrate his senior night. And one of the girls in our
program, Olivia Munyos, made him a fat head. We were pranting around
with a fat head. Winnikita. Let me ask you. I know you
haven't been with the First Tea for a long time, but you've been involved
with the kids for a long time. How cool is it when you have
a kid who's started a five and now he's what seventeen eighteen years old and
doing what they do. It must be very rewarding. It is so rewarding.
I have to tell you. It makes every day just a great day
to wake up in the morning and go to work. And the hardest part
is missing these kids. I was lucky enough to go to Pebble Beach a
couple of weeks ago when two of our kids, yeah James Lebucas and Chase
Pickering, play at Pebble Beats in the PGA Tour Champions event and that was
just a dream of little lifetime for those two kids. And Chase played with
Michael Allen from the PGA Tour Champions and James played with Scott McCarron. And
the topper of it all was the pro am players that they played with CEOs,
you know, CEO of Nature Valley, CEO of a Hedge Fund.
One of the groups. They were right behind Charles Schwab, So we were
talking to Charles Schwabs throughout the day the day at Spyglass, So it was
there was quite an experience. And that's what's so great about First t being
a national organization. There's all these national opportunities for these kids to apply to
and it just makes your heartful. Well when you talk about, you know,
the program here and you and kids playing golf, where does Tucson rank
in terms of it's involvement of kids? You know, are there a lot
of kids in the First Tea program here compared to other cities maybe our size,
I mean, what's the involvement here and how many kids are playing golf?
Yeah? Well, in our program registered in the course of a twelve
months period, we have about a thousand kids that go through the program and
then in our competitive tournaments that we run, and we have like another two
hundred kids that play in those. We have some kids that are not necessarily
part of First Team programming but play our competitive tournaments because we started running the
competitive golf tournaments for kids here because basically nobody else would and we didn't want
kids to always have to go to Phoenix to play if they wanted to get
into competitive golf. So we're a great developmental training program for kids to learn
how to play competitive golf, and their scores are sent to Junior Golf Scoreboard,
which helps them get ranked for recruiting to go to college to play golf
of you know, any division. You know, you don't have to just
be the one school obviously, but we rank right up there. We're very
respected because we're at like ten locations. We're actually hosting a fall meeting with
other First Tea chapters next week at our chapter at El Rio. So our
home base is at Olreo Golf Course, but we operate at ten other locations,
and like I say, that number about a thousand kids is a sub
chapters are more more than us because they're bigger, you know, footprints,
but we rank right up there, very nice. So it's little Stevie Rivera
wanted to join this at whatever age. In fact, I wish I wish
I would have done this a long time ago. But what's the process.
All you have to do is register become a member. It's only thirty dollars
for the year, and you go to first T twoson dot org and that's
all spelled spelled out FI R S T and then tee and then Tucson dot
org. Make sure you spell Tucson right, yeah, And so it's only
thirty dollars to be a member, and that covers a course of the year
and you get a hat and a shirt, and then when you pass the
etiquette and golf ability test, you get a golf card to play the city
courses and the other courses where we have programming such as Crooked Try. And
then when you sign up for a class. Classes are usually three or six
weeks where you come once a week, and that range is only from like
ten dollars to twenty dollars for all that time, so it's not it's not
expensive to be a part of our program. But we also do a ton
of financial aid. So let me say this, just to give you a
heads up. I hope you vet this process very well, because you might
be getting an application for about a five foot nine, gray haired dude with
dark skin, yeah, to be a coach. I think he's talking about
me. You know, I'm a you know I'm a I'm a twenty two
handicapper, So I don't know how much good I'm going to be over there.
It's not. We're teaching life skills my friends in the golf until they
get later. And that's what's great when they really really want to have true
golf lessons. We have PJ pro Hank Ravenal that helps us and Don Pooley
of all people, let me tell you a great story. We started doing
more with high school golfers this year. Of all the kids that practice for
high school golf at al Rio, and Don Pooley has been teaching the kids.
Don Pooley's been out there helping the Sunnyside Golf team, the Choia golf
team. We have a kid that was shooting sixty six for nine holes and
now he's shooting forty four for nine holes in one golf season. Wow.
Well, I definitely don't want to play play that kid for sure. But
but just you know, thank goodness, we have people like Don Pooley.
They are willing to help the program and it's just it's just wonderful. Well
you know, and those are the things that make a program like this go
right. You got to have people who want you know, they're credible,
but to they care and they're going to come out and give their time for
stuff like that. Yeah, and true mentors. You know, we have
retired engineers from raytheon and you know, we're teaching these kids how to stay
in school, how to set goals, you know, honor their key commitments,
and just learn how to you know, it's it's life skills. But
we make it fun and it's all group lessons and the kids just come out
and have a good time. It's not a bunch of pressure of left arm
straight, you know, keep your head down, do this. So so
are you are? Is First Team really the only youth program here? Not
because there was the old Ricky Rahrick there was Iron Eagles and stuff like that.
We yeah, we took over Ricky Rare. So that's the our junior
golf programs on Mondays and Tuesdays if you want to play in a golf tournament
and you don't have to be great, it's just going out and actually turning
in a score. And then we run Southern Arizona Junior Golf which is once
a month on the weekends on Saturdays and Sundays and the months that it's not
summer, and we run those tournaments. So we just weren't Fredding Golf Course
just this past weekend and we had about sixty five kids playing. Normally we
have about eighty eight, but with it being the high school golf season and
things, some kids don't play because they're so busy with their high school golf.
But we have kids that play in the competitive tournament six years old all
the way up to eighteen. So I've known you for a long time,
and I've really only known you as the executive director of the Tuosung Conquissators.
So niciness. In looking at your stuff from the Hall of Fame, I'm
thinking you came here from UCLA as a marketing person, right, I guess
there's something like that, and it started to be who you are today.
Did you ever imagine this career of yours? No? And I never I'll
be honest, I never imagined staying in Arizona. I moved here from California
in nineteen ninety two, and I was running LPGA tournaments in California, and
I came here because I was so impressed with the Conquistadors as an organization,
and I wanted to give, you know, selling the PGA Tour event to
try. And honestly, I thought I'd be here a couple of years,
and then of course Tousson bit me, and I could never leave. I
was offered, you know, a lot of different jobs, and I just
I never could pack my bags and get out of here. I just I
just love it well. And you and you know at the Conquistors, you
had to go through a lot of changes there, right. The tournament kept
changing. It was a match play, it was a you know, it
became a senior event. I mean, there were so many things trying an
opposite event. I mean, the the bigest story there is that, you
know, we were a regular PGA Tour event when I came here, and
then and then we became an opposite event, opposite the match play, and
you know, that was a pill to swallow for us. And then we
really rallied res Perlok, one of the conquistadors. We had a newspaper article
that my mom had actually sent me where Tiger Woods said while he was at
LaCosta being interviewed, he said, it's not raining in Tucson. Why aren't
we playing there? Yeah? I remember that, and we and we took
that quote and we ran with it and we secured you know, the censure
match play here for eight years. Well, I didn't know that. I
just what a story. Yeah, you know, And I remember that quote
because it was well because you put it out there. I mean, we
we all saw it was okay, get over here, you know, and
then we all went out there to the to the to the match play.
It still sticks in my mind. The year that it snowed at the match
play, Well, how crazy that was and that had to be a and
it made it made like international news. So censer was happy about it.
I mean, what was that like for you guys running that tournament and trying
to get through that. It was crazy and it snowed more than one year.
But the one year where it really really snowed, where we you know,
the rules officials thought we could play the next warning like at ten am
and the course didn't clear until late late late that afternoon. It was just
crazy, but we still got the whole tournament in. It didn't finish on
a Monday or anything. Visions no, one couldn't predict how how long it
takes for snow to melt on on a fairway exactly. I sat visions of
watching the the video of you know, Ricky Fowler, you know, starting
the snowball fight out in the player parking and all that stuff. That was
just great and crazy stuff. So on our Breaking US today, Sammy mentioned
that Alexi Thompson's going to play in a PGA tournament coming up. I thought,
you fine, yeah, I mean Anica did that. It's a tournament
in fort Worth years ago at Colonial. But yeah, that'll be something,
you know, I mean, she's she's been a great player and you know,
one of the longer hitters and that type of thing. How do you
think she'll do. Oh, it's really hard to say. I mean you
have to manage the nerves and right, you know, the distance. So
it's quite interesting. So I haven't read you know, I haven't read all
the headlines yet on it, but I look forward to doing that I'll be
you know, I'll be rooting for her, you know, because you want
to say, somebody do that, right, nobody's done it, Sinsonica,
so it's it's going to be interesting. Well, we appreciate you coming on.
We always well, thank you guys, and thanks for the recognition.
But it's all about you know, like say, just I'm glad two sons
getting the nod. So well, congratulations. It's a big honor. So
you take it for that. You earned it, so you know, good
for you. You could either I'll buy you a beer at the shanty.
There you go. Thank you, all right, Judy, thanks about well.
Bye bye, Judy, one of the great, great, great ladies.
Yeah right, and again you know it's funny that she said she never
intended to stay here, and now her Twitter handle is Tucson Judy. That's
that's awesome. Jay, And I know you've never left here. I mean,
you don't know any other places with this place with was fright. But
I came here in eighty seven. I was gonna be here. You know,
we all have dreams. A couple years, gonna move on to next
one. And then you say, you know what, this is a pretty
good town. Yeah, pretty good school, you cover, Yeah, why
would I leave again? And then we you know, we think of all
the people who have come here over the years and we've stayed right. Yeah,
people like that, you know, the Huntleys come to mind. Yeah,
all the basketball players that are still here, sure, baseball players that
are here. You know, various sports and it's not a big thing,
and it's not it's not. Yeah, we're trying and keep that a little
small town, all right. The Twins just clinched their series, so they're
moving on. Who they beat. They beat the Wow so they're moving on
in their series. But they were the home team they were. Yeah,
all right, let's take our last break. We'll come back and we'll do
some We'll take a cost five to zero, four, one, six,
seventy four forty great song right where I come from. It is all that
great. Matabile is a piece of crab fashion sense. If you're an Arizona
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Take a look back at the Loudolsen era in my new book, Lessons
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org. Steve Rivera and Jacob Salaz they have their Eye on the Ball on
Tucson Sports. Stay shat Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. Hey, welcome back to
I'm the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. I'm Steve, He's Jay.
Got a guys, sim me here with us for twelve minutes. Did
you guys want to call? Please do give us a call, let us
know what we've said or how we're doing whatever it. Maybe Richard Toll call.
He sent me a note, talked about his time in Tucson. No,
there's a lot of there's a lot of mees here and a lot of
views and natives kind of like, yeah, are here, right, they
stay here. But there's a lot of people from out of town who just
finally stay and that's the cool thing. And that's why, you know,
we get a guest on I say, how did you wind up here?
Right? Because I'm fascinated by that. You know, some of these guys
come here. You know, some people you know come here for you because
they come to college or whatever. But there's a lot of people to just
come here and they just wind up here. You know. I've done some
interviews with you know, some you know business stories right where uh you know,
people say, well, I you know, we were we were gonna
go here, but we stopped in Tucson and we just never left, you
know, stuff like that. Let me let me do this guy. I
saw some of the Tucson I'll plug shamelessly plug my story, but I saw
your story. You did a couple you're doing for Channel four right, How
how was that? I was that was cool because that that was a history.
It's Channel Channel four KVAA celebrating at seventy fifth anniversary seventy seventy seventy seventy,
right, seventy and so you know, when when that came up as
a as a story that we're gonna do for the magazine, I said,
I want to do that because it's history of Tucson. I loved write about
the history of tuson. You know, talk to Lupetamurdillo, who's been here
for a thousand years. Uh, you know, a couple of other people
who been around for a long time and just growing up watching TV here,
you know, and you saw many of these people, well her Sean Moody.
It's a business of transitory, right, they don't stay very right,
and they you have people who have stayed for you know, I interviewed Jimmy
Stewart, right, who was the you know, who was the weather guy
for twenty years, you know, after following another guy, Michael Goodrich,
who the weather guy for a lot of years. And and so you know,
I love telling, you know, telling those things because then you get
talking about, you know, the history of Tucson, things that happened,
you know, Uh, Lubita who's been again, she's got forty years in
this here. You know, she said her first what she considered her first
really big story was that plane crash that happened right near then we talked about
I remember that day. Yeah, I remember that day. And and so
you know, uh, a guy named Almazeka who's been a behind the scenes
guy, but you know he's got forty years. Then we're just talking about
things that happened that they saw, you know, as part of their their
work in the news. So they were in the middle of big things happening
in Tucson. So I love talking about that stuff. Yeah, I saw
that story. Uh. And we did a big thing on our tour.
I did something on the Loop. Uh. And and then you're my guy
with I did a couple of stories on Tommy Lloyd. Uh and those were
fun because we don't get I don't get access to him. Those are really
good. Seven I got that was some of your best works. Really really,
you know, you can tell my best work when I have fun doing
it. Yeah, and it was easy to do it, but you know,
because these things are hard, and you know, to explain to some
folks out there is that when we ask you to do a sports story,
we somehow need to tie it to business because we're about business. And and
you really got you know, captured the business angle of what Tommy Lloyd is
doing here by being on in the community, being out among business people and
all that kind of stuff. And it's a it's a great read. I've
been telling people to read it. Well, the funny thing about it and
I didn't realize this, and I've done a number of stories for you guys
how business is centric to the issue, uh the thing about it And I
can't see the acronym here. He's not a Byes or he's not He's not
a Byes, sir. And he's just a normal dude talk. And that's
why it was so good because he just spoke right and that and that was
the headline of the story, and it was easy headline. You know,
there's a normal dude, your guy from Peter Rabbit Peter called him a regular
guy. I read that quote. I'm like, that's the headline, right,
And and then you know, well I saw him at the game on
Friday night, Right, he goes up to you guys what you guys were
laughing whatever he was saying, because he came up. Yeah, yeah,
he comes up and talks to us about I can't even remember what what he
what he but he was kind of joking. He comes by all the time
and and jokes with us that he used to do. That guy, he's
that guy. Well if you remember when when we had him on the show
the very first time, you know, after he got here and I you
know, being on the stack, Tommy, we're just gonna ask you one
thing, come by and say hi before the first game, and that's it.
Just come by, he goes, I'll come by every game, and
every game he came by the table and went all the way down the table,
giving everybody knuckling. And one time he forgot all right, he went
and said hi to the other coach. He walked right bast well looked at
him like, you know, are you coming, you know, like little
kids, right, and he walked right back, got to his huddle and
came back. You know, he said sorry guys, you know, and
and gave us all. You know, he greets us. And he's that
guy that will you know, we'll he'll talk to anybody. Well and not
to compare him to the last guy, but he's just a dude. He's
just a who likes to do it. And he he gets his ramification right.
He knows his bandwidth. If it takes ninety minutes to coach him.
That's all I'll take. What are you gonna tell him in two hours?
You can't do a ninety minute? Well again, and look, I mean
I know this. This town loved Luke, but lou was very protective of
him, very much of his away from the court person I did that to
him, yes, because he could talk about he couldn't do much out of
Biowa. Yeah, so it was hard to get lout to kind of loosen
up to, you know, just being among people. Sure, right,
Sean, forget it right? He never did. And then you get that,
you get Tommy, who's you know, my my? You know the
guys that I was having lunch with they talked about they went to one of
his one of his uh uh radio shows at at at Union and during while
he was on the air, one of the guys kind of a way for
him to come over. They took a break and he came over, you
know, and then they just want to ask him a question. He said,
I thought you were gonna buy me a drink. They had to write.
But he's that guy that will do that and hard to Jetfish. I
think is a lot like that very much. I haven't seen him so much
because we don't. You know, I'm not on the stat crew ring,
I'm not around the football program as much. I'm around basketball. But you
know, you get the sense that Jed is a similar kind of I don't
know for sure. I think that seems like I think, you know,
and I think if they allowed him to and I don't even know who who
would be the day is because they protect him too, the university does,
and I'm sure he protects himself. And it's mostly the program. You know,
we had no access to someone because of the hangers on there. But
Jeed is more. He's looser. Yeah, he's looser. I'm sure if
I'm sure we can get him on the show too, he'd say, sure.
Well it was funny like he I, you know, I missed the
Monday press conference, right, but I heard the very beginning it. He
walked in and yeah, Leve wasn't there. You know, where's Lev?
And then Justin said, well, he's doing a basketball thing. So then
Lev walks in in the middle says, we're your priorities as a football but
he's poking at yes, of course, and Tommy pokes at Bruce Pascal all
the time, but in a fun way. And it's it's it's refreshing.
That's more than an it's refreshed. It's easy to poke out when when he's
not you bet yelled at like the other guy, you say, yell at
them. We all been there, all that, you know, all that
stuff is refreshed. This is not brain surgery, just not Steve, you
know, And it's not hard. No, no, we're not. And
I'm not speaking as a journalists. It's not a town that wants to go
after you, right, it's just not Yeah, the New York Times is
not here, The La Times is not here. You know, the Chicago
Tribune is not here. These are guys, the guys who are covering you
are just guys who are doing a job and really and in a lot of
ways, they're rooting for you. No, I'd say that all the time.
Look at the room, I don't you Well you were in the room
last year, right, Yeah, Okay, dudes like Bruce me, Jay
Greg we bring up the age group tremendously. But if we weren't there,
it's a bunch of twenty somethings. Yeah, right, wasn't there almost every
game? So you got to do you know what I'm saying. Oh yeah,
here you guys are talking going back and forth about Tommy. It's like
as a student. First he comes in and he just is able to talk
to a crowd and talk to his fans and like you can sense a real
passion obviously that's undeniable. Then as soon as he steps in that press conference,
he's the same guy. Yeah, you ask him anything, you ask
him about what he did last night or about the team on the floor,
He's gonna be honest with you too. And that's something that's I think really
nice. Well, I love this summer, you know, both before and
after, when he talked about how much that overseas trip meant to him personal
right, right, he gave us a little insight into who was who he
was and those kinds of things, and that those kinds of things matter where
you know, his life isn't just about basketball, right, No, no,
no, right, that's exactly who he is, right, It's about
travel, it's about family, it's about and when he says that, you
know, when you say, well my family, well other people and all
my family, and really no, he actually he actually means he really means
it, and and he and and he acts it, which I think is
just very cool and again, more than anything, refreshing when you see so
many coaches that coaches that have come through here, but coaches that are the
places where you feel like you can't get near them, right, you can't
touch them, you can't talk to them. Uh. And and maybe some
of those coaches are a little looser with their local media and whatnot, but
you see them on you know, other places you feel like they're they're up
on this hill that you can't get near. And and it's you know,
and if you feel like it, as you said, it's not that hard
to be who you are. You can connect well, to be connected to
the to you know, to the people that know of course, that know
that you feel like you should know you the most. Yeah. No,
In fact, they went down south, right, they went to the South
Side not too long ago, maybe a week or so ago. That doesn't
happen very often. Yeah, uh And and that was great. It was
a decent crowd, I was told. But opportunity for people to beat him
who wouldn't have the opportunity otherwise. Yeah, yeah, no, again,
you know, one of the things that he did after his first season he
invited the entire scores table. All right, everybody for lunch. He better
pay it. Well, I think, man, that'swort paid. But you
know, we went over there. We went over to the Sands Club and
we got and we just sat around the top. You know, he sat
in the middle of the table. You know, it was a long table.
He sat in the middle and just had a conversation with everybody. You
know, that was cool. How easy right, how easy and how it's
not a huge effort, but it means a lot. It meant I know,
it meant a lot to all the guys, all the people, not
just guys who were you know, we're at that table and felt like there
was some appreciation for what we were doing. Yeah, no, he gets
it. Yeah, many times you don't get it. And you know,
you just hope guys like that stick around, right, you know, you
know there's always the the you know, the court sort of the thing on
the side that says, well, when Mark Few retires, he'll go back
to Gonzaga sure or something like that. You hope that he loves it enough
here that he'll stay. You know, does Jed Fish love it enough here
that if he's having success and uf A wants him to stay, that he'll
stay, you know, I mean that. I think that's why Dick Tomy
is so you know, everybody just enamored with him when even it ended badly
with Arizona. Well, him and him and I come on all these years,
but yet you know, he you know, he remained attached and people
were kind of sorry. You know how everything happened with Dick right, Well,
I think revisions history. He's become more of a great coach now than
he was than they thought he was. Right, because you're hoping for those
times exactly whatever River those times, they weren't always great. They weren't great.
They weren't great. And you know what, I Mike, because he
was such a good friend of mine at that time, you know, because
I was out of out of the sports department, going to THEIRS on football
games when he was the coach was very stressful. I got headaches from that.
And that's why and that's why he got out. Yeah, I got
headaches from because I wanted I wanted the attendance to be great. I wanted
him to win their I bought body and you know I wanted him to win
for this, for himself off and for this community. All right, good
conversation. All right, we'll be back tomorrow. We're heading towards the USC
Arizona football game on Saturday, so we'll see who. We came up with
some guests for you, but trying to line up some things. So we'll
be back. Hope, hope you're here. Well, well, well times