This is High on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez Son Fox Sports
fourteen fifty. Subscribe now to the podcast on the iHeartRadio. Wow, just
surgery. Hi on the ball. Hey, welcome back to Winning the Ball
here on Fox Sports fourteen fifteen on Steve. He's Jay. Now we've got
Sammy with breaking news. Hi on the balling news. All right, so
we've touched enough, I mean, maybe not enough on you of a football,
And we talked before the show. There's a chance that Ve could could
run the table and win the Pac twelve and that would probably have a mathematically
yeah, mathematically not eliminated. That would bring a second game with Washington who
I feel like if we play them neutral field. Not saying we're gonna win,
but there's a chance. But Noah Fafida is now the fourth freshman of
the Week in a row, and it looks like he'll win Freshman of the
Year if he doesn't. Something astronomically is gone poorly, but I thought it
was interesting. Jane de Laura one freshman of the Year at Washington State before
transferring to U of A, So maybe there's no pattern there. Hopefully Fafita
is the guy for the foreseeable future. But this kind of brings the question
of will DeLaura stay in Tucson and the transfer portal, will he go somewhere
maybe he can play who I don't know what you guys think about that.
Yeah, you know, I mean, he get injured or whatever. But
I mean, if things stay the way they are, I wouldn't be surprised
if de Laura was not on the roster this year. You know, take
it, take a transfer that I mean. The key to him is is
you know, will he get his degree this year? Sure, because then
it opens the door for him to leave his a graduate transfer and go wherever
he wants without having to sit out. He's already got a transfer. I
don't know that he can transfer if he does again, right, that makes
sense. But Fafita is the guy for the foreseeable future. And we talked
about some of the Bowl games you has been mentioned in that may change with
the playoff rankings to come on Tuesday, right tomorrow, those kind of obviously
we won't be in the top fifteen, but they'll they'll do their rankings and
then the Bowl people will do theirs. But now, as of now,
it looks like the Las Vegas Bowl against Nebraska or Minnesota. That's not sexy
at all, No, not one bit. But the second one we talked
about, the Alimo Bowl against Kansas, that seems a little bit more realistic.
If that was that was the biggest, that'd be fun Kansas. Kansas
is a good football team. Yeah, that'd be a good that'd be a
really good, a good football team. No, that would. I mean,
I think I beat by Michigan State this last week. I don't know
how some of these teams. Well, it's still plenty of time. And
then the last one that I saw. This will probably change. But we
talked about the ACC. They have us in the Sun Bowl against Boston College,
gonna be a better ball than Yeah. The Holiday Bowl is also an
ACC opponent. It's on the table right now. I saw Oregon State in
that game before we beat that. For Arizona fans sake, I hope they
stayed closer because if there's this is a football town, they'll be able to
go see them playing. If it's Vegas, heck, it's gonna be Vega.
They're going to turn out the lights their last one out exactly exactly,
which is good. Great because they played basketball, same we played basketball.
Yeah, exactly, That's what I'm saying. So last one hit the lights,
yes, yeah, borrow somebody. Well, the thing is about that
is you'll be spending your money on game tickets and because you're not gonna have
time to gamble it blood blood, And so we talked about you of a
possibly at the end of the year being the third best pack of school and
USC who was preseason even the first couple of weeks where national title contenders.
And now I don't know if you guys saw the clip this weekend. Caleb
Williams, I think with his mom quite emotional after a loss like that,
and I mean we talked about it, I think a week ago of oh
should Caleb stop playing? Some people are saying, oh, he should stop,
and I mean, say what you want about Caleb Williams the individual,
but he's he's still one damn good football player. He really is. No,
he really isn't you know what. I saw that clip of him.
You know, he cares, he cares, you know, and then you
really realize he's what maybe twenty twenty one, you know, you know,
I mean, he's still he's still a virtual kid and pretty much a kid
and upset that his season has gone into the crapper and he's not going to
be hiding the trophy winner. You know, they're not going to the they're
not going into the playoffs. The season is a disaster for him. You
we're going to really find out a lot more about him how he handles all
this the rest of the season and goes out there and plays and does the
best he can. Look how you put it, but not really like how
you put it. He goes one into the crapper. It is in the
crapper, totally in the crapper. They just see, Yeah, that was
coming up. They just well, that's the thing that everybody's saying, and
and you know, and and and and uh what the Lincoln Riley. There's
a lot of people who are really pissed at him that he that he let
he had a guy like Caleb Williams and he would just not do what he
needed to do with the defense so that Caleb Williams and the offense they put
together could possibly win a national champion. That they basically he wasted two years
of Caleb Williams because he wouldn't fire his friend. I mean, well,
if you look at Lincoln Riley's teams. Historically, you'd had Kyler, Kyler
Murray, and Baker Mayfield. The Baker team was in the playoff, but
all of his teams they were never well defensively. Right ever, they will
they probably won't be, and they never were. But so Caleb, he'll
be He'll be fine in a couple of months. I'm pretty convinced he'll be
fine. He'll be fine. At the end of November, he'll go he's
not gonna I'm sure one hundred dollars says he doesn't play in whatever bowl game
they they play, and he's not gonna play in that. And then he's
gonna make about forty million dollars and he'll be just fine, fine, and
he won't be a crying with his mom anymore exactly. And we talked a
little bit about the playoff round. Wait, unless he goes to the Bears
Arizona. This is part of the bringing news. Kyler Murray is gonna start
this weekend. Oh is he really? Yeah? In quotes from Gannon coach
Gannon, if all goes according to point at home against the Falcons, if
all goes according to the planet, or they get tired of losing. He's
not gonna be the solution, that's for sure. No, he may not
be the solution, but I think it's important as a franchise to see what's
left. If they got to get back, they have to they have to
see if if he still has the goods quarter right, then maybe you don't
need to draft a quarter Well, yeah, I mean that's the thing.
They want to see what he's got left and then say, Okay, you
know, let's keep him or let's go let's let's tank and go get a
quarter for the price that we paid for about three years. About three quarterbacks
out there, So Arizona's gonna get if they want a quarterback, they're gonna
get a good quarterback. They're gonna get Drake May, They're gonna get Caleb
Williams are gonna get there. The dude's state can't. So I mean there's
there's guys Is Nix, will b Nicks will be there right Like. I
like him a lot. Yeah, he's locked. I don't know if better.
I think he's a better version of Justin Herbert. I don't, man,
that's that's some crazy. I don't think he's going to translate to the
next level. But really, now, I don't even think some people say
I look like bon Nicks. I don't know. No, wonder you're a
little critical of the guy. No, But nonetheless, Kyler and the and
the Cardinals have a lot more to to figure out. But last thing on
NCAA football this week Penn State, Michigan, Ole, miss Georgia two games
that could start to switch them things up. And I was talking with some
friends. Maybe we talked about it, but in a week and a half,
maybe three weeks, we could have eight teams all with one loss,
and the committee won't know what to do with that. But we'll we'll see
over and there's over. I mean, I think there's twelve teams that could.
It's gonna be fun. It's fun. It's great. It's better like
that than than having the normal normal people. I'm wondering again, you know,
watch out for Alabama again? Yeah? All of a sudden, you
know, I already thought they were the dynasty was over, right, all
of a sudden, they're kicking the crap out of people, right, yea?
And yeah, and if yeah, can I throw something in here real?
Yeah? Sure? College football related, everyzone is number twenty twenty three.
Three and twenty four. Okay, so twenty three and ap let's go
with that one. Yeah, uh too low? Too high? Or what
do you think? Because I have some thoughts. I think it's about right.
You know, they're just breaking in, you know. I think it's
perfect. I think it's about right. Okay, but they weren't in the
rankings before. So this is the question to ask Jed. But I didn't
only because you get a standard answer. Erizone has been one of the last
games in the world every weekend. Last week. The voters aren't staying up
to watch this baby, so they don't know how good They're not seeing the
team we're seeing right, because they don't see them, right, So does
that affect it? I think of course it does. It always has that's
my point. So twenty three twenty three is probably not really acturate. Well,
yeah, right, I don't think If you want to say, where
do they belong? I think they're in the top twenty. That's my point.
Okay, point, but I'm not. But in terms of them being
twenty three, I didn't say, oh man, they should have been higher,
although Oklahoma State did jump in for the first time and they are fifteen.
Yeah, that's crazy. Okay, well yeah, so because they saw
that game again, So they saw the game, but they haven't done what
Arizona's done. Right, then I'm not trying to be you know, well
three straight maybe with with them playing Colorado this week, people are still paying
attention to I don't know, you know, it's a noon game our time.
You know, more as you say, more eyes on them. You
know, if of a sudden they do a forty eight to ten on on
Colorado, then people go, holy aw, what have we been missing?
But it's funny you say that because us one of only three teams in the
rankings with three losses, and I get the I get the run we've been
on. It would have been we would have been ranked last week. How'd
we be usc run? That's a game, people, or exactly if they
you know, there were some people who were grapping about them not being ranked.
Let's pasic, guys, it's Arizona with three losses. They're not going
to be ranked over a bunch of teams with no question unless unless what we've
done in the last three weeks is right. Three ranked. But you know
how these rankings are. Most of the people don't even they look at records.
They just look at records and the school time and be sort of history.
You know, if you're if you're six and three and your Nebraska,
you might you gotta be get a chance of getting ranked if you're six and
three in areson, even though Nebraska, Arizona has been better than Nebraska since
the Holiday Book. I'll keep you another one, but you go ahead and
finish your stuff. If we have I have a bunch of you. I
was gonna bring up college basketball. Go ahead, go ahead, good and
we have time. But so the NCAA basketball starts. There's over fifty games
today, and I know Ryan was talking about it when he was on the
parody in college basketball seems about his level as it has been. And so
I wanted to ask you guys, if you had to pick four Final four
teams right now, would they be the typical kind of Duke Kansas, Perdue,
Gonzaga or would or there's is there are there teams that you think could
maybe like a U of A or Tennessee, Auburn, Miami. I don't
know if you guys have looked at it a lot enough, but well there's
teams that somebody you know somebody's gonna be in the final fourth who we just
absolutely don't expect. But if you're gonna pick, you're gonna have to pick
now and put money on it. Whatever. You're gonna take the chalk,
aren't you? You know the Kansas Duke and the Florida team that if they're
gonna suffer some team the games because they gut there. Now people understand who
they are. Fau. That was a flukey final four last week last year
with San Diego State and Florida Atlantic in there. So you know, I
mean, yeah, i'd be picking some of the chalk. And you know,
you see final four projections that they're all over the board. Yeah,
I've seen Arizona and a bunch of them. You know, I saw God
who was there was one I saw other day that it was just like really
and it was like it wasn't San Diego State, but or somebody liked that
Creighton c there you go is good. But yeah, that's why, I
mean, we see it in the NBA, which I'll talk about it in
a minute, but the level of talent in basketball now is just is on
the three. So transfer portal, dude, Yeah, transfer portal, That's
what that's all about. And speaking of talent, Lebron almost at forty years
old, by the way, is third in MVP odds. It's open.
Wow, the first week of the NBA season. I don't know if you've
got a chance to watch any NBA, but as the nerd NBA fan that
I am, Lebron Webin Yama, I don't know if you guys watching it
a little bit. It's unbelievable what he's able to do. And there's been
a lot more rumors, a lot more talks about the NBA expanding to thirty
two teams, getting a Vegas team and a Seattle team back just because of
how much they're how much time? How about them Golden State Warriors road games?
There an road games? Now I get pull out the team and look
how good they are. I don't even think that. I mean personally,
you guys can have Chris Paul for all the marbles you want it like,
I'm so glad he's as long as Eton didn't go there were fine. Hey,
he's off the Suns and the Sons don't look very very good either.
But that's that's a topic for another for another day. My guys, the
guys are just hurt. But it doesn't matter. You got what else?
I was going to talk about Craig Council going to the Cubs. That's easy.
It's a big deal. That's a big deal. And I just saw
charge he's the highest paid manager in baseball at eight million dollars a year.
It's forty million. And then they showed the chart of the other sports,
right, so Belichick's getting twenty a year, you have Craig Council getting eight.
I'm trying and pull up the tweet, but I think who else we
got? Monty Williams the highest paid who got fired and then got the highest
contract. So in the NBA, crazy stuff, and the NHL head coach
five million a year, So it's baseball is right above the which is which
is weird? And Saban's the highest NCAA guy. I want to say,
I thought it was fourteen something between there. But I mean other than Dak
Prescott and the Cowboys and being able to get over the hump Josh Dobbs c
J. Stroud, I mean, well that was crazy about Josh Bobs.
Did you see any of that? Yeah, but he didn't even know who
the guys that he was playing with didn't know the play, so they're giving
him the plays over the headset and running the place and then they win a
game. He was horrible in the first half and then he come back and
win again. Yeah, he wasn't good for the Cardinals. That doesn't make
any sense, makes no sense whatsoever. It's a curse, curse, But
we gotta we gotta hit the road, all right. We're gonna have Greg
Hanson. Uh, if you were able to pick up his column or his
his piece in the Arizondaia Star special section on the the Pac twelve preview,
some interesting historical stuff going back to nineteen seventy eight, So we'll pick his
brain on that because that's what that's what Greg knows. So uh, we'll
talk a little bit about this last season coming up in the Pack twelve.
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Solis, they have their eye on the ball on Tucson's sports stayt Fox Sports
fourteen fifty. Hey, welcome back to you. I the wall here on
Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. He's Jiginsas Now on the phone,
we have Greg Hanson from the Daily Star. How were you, Greg?
Hey, you've got your work in a double headed the night. Huh,
it's a long night. The things I don't have to work with Jay
and he doesn't have to work with Hey, Yeah, I have a better
seat. Actually I don't. Actually I really don't. No, I like,
yeah, I really I really don't. I can't you know, well,
I say, you know, you can't eat or anything down there.
They see you. So you had your piece in the in the UH the
spread in the special section on basketball preview yesterday. I just I started reading
it, got a couple of tears in my eye from the uh you know,
talking about the fact this is the last PAC twelve season. You know,
you had some history going back to seventy eight. There was the picture
of the of the court rush when they beat UCLA in seventy eight, and
I was, I'm in there somewhere, But just you know, some of
your thoughts on that whole thing. You've been a West Coast guy in terms
of basketball and stuff. Just all the stuff that's going to kind of fade
into into the into history. The one thing that really strikes me is that
UCLA and Arizona have won exactly five hundred and sixty conference games since Arizona joined
the league. That's one of the odds of that. Yeah, one are
the odds of that. Who would ever think that? Because it's u C.
L A. And you know they had been in Arizona eleven straight games
when the Loot was hired. So he started at a big deficit and cut
up pretty quickly. Yeah, and uh, you know, and I mean
I remember that, and then the irony of them winning their first packed well
packed ten championship at u c l A that you know, that doesn't get
lost either. But yeah, you know, I mean it's it's I get
it, you know, packed club football. Everybody's sad, you know U
c l a USC leaving and soff like that. But you know, with
the history that Arizona has in the pack club, it's just kind of I
don't know, oh man, just a little sad. What you know.
I was fortunate to cover Oregon State before I moved to Tucson, and Oregon
State was number one in the nation twenty six and oho and gil Callis Sam.
I mean, you guys have been there one hundred times. You can't
imagine that now, gill Calli Sam was the place to be. They were
unbeatable at gil Callis Sam. And then you know, fast forward a little
bit nineteen eighty nine, Luke goes to core Aleence they opened the season at
Oregon State and you know, he's number one in the league by then,
and that was the famous game that they got blown out by Gary Payton by
twenty probably the worst lossu'd ever had, and Luke tried to kick the basketball
and miss and technical and and once once you get started telling these stories,
you could go forever. Yeah, So what do you think will be missed
the most outside from the ovis the UCLAU of a series. Yeah, you
know what's going to be missed the most when when you know this thing ends
after this year. I think by by Tucson fans, Michaelee Saner fans,
especially the sense of history and all their memories every time the Ducks come to
town. They had so many good games and they'll have to start over now
with Baylor or somebody. You know. I looked this up the other day,
that you know, when Oregon came in, When Arizona came into the
league in nineteen seventy eight, they had never played Oregon never, and it
seemed like almost every game at Matt Court. We're all fortunate to have been
to Matt Court. I mean, the number one arena this league's ever had,
and those I mean, we could talk for an hour right now on
our memories at Matt Court. Oh man, I was just going to ask
you because that's my favorite place, because of anybody smoked in that building and
we were up the flames. It was fantastic. It was fantastic. Our
seats were the best. There the guys, you know, the second deck,
front row, right at mid court. You could see Lout and Ernie
Kent going john to jaw, yelling at each other. Well, you're not
even talking about the guy sitting behind us. Yeah. How about one game
during probably in the early two thousand maybe two thousand and three, Oregon was
beating Arizona the entire game. I think Arizona's ranked number one, and the
fan ride behind me was so bad I couldn't take it. Yeah, and
with like forty seconds to go, ad Jason Gardner drained a three, and
that guy goes, we're dead. You have to you have to speak like
he got where you know he was because we sat together. The dude behind
us all the man, he was a frustrating. But what a fantastic place.
I missed that place. Yeah, walking down those stairs into the Arizonal
locker room and handed that carpet must have been on forty eight years old,
a green carpet, and lude always said was filthy. Right right, let
me ask you a dumb question, because I've never asked anybody this outside of
a guy not named or named Steve Levin in your time, in your research,
who was the most, uh, who was intimidated dated by lout the
most as a U c l A coach or was there? Cope would be
the only one. That's that's why I said it was the only one close
because the guys who came later had a huge egos. Yeah, I was
thinking, yeah, I mean maybe Walt Hazard. Walt Hazard and Jane knows
all as anybody. He was mad at everybody all the time because Luke was
kicking his butt every he hated everybody. Well, I remember that story.
It's yeah, we can't tell that one not here because I get yelled at.
Yeah. But you know, but when you when you think about that,
you know, I think there's a maybe a little bit of a because
the Arizona has been so good and and you know, all the other programs
except for U c l A have kind of been seen as not as good
as Arizona's. I don't think people have an appreciation for Like you said,
the place is like going to gil Coliseum, going to Old Matt Court,
going to Stanford even even uh, you know Col's Jim before they they you
know, expanded it. You know the coziness of that. The time that
Steve the band was on the their band was on the court and Steve Kurr
is walking around in the middle of him. Just stuff like that that happened
that I don't know that. You know, people just like that sid to
Michale that come in Arizona would beat their ass and people wouldn't think about them
again. Oh, how about the game Regie Geart. Lou Campanelli was probably
the most abusive language coach ever in the league. Yeah, And it was
one of those typical games that Harmon and Jim going to the wire and Reggie
Geary made a big play and ran down the sideline right in front of Lou
Campanella and started yelling at him. When there was stuff like that all the
time, he grabbed the phone. I think he got the gun on the
phone and he was like pizza. It was fantastic. And don't forget the
Maples, the bouncing court, the bouncy court, and Tiger the tight your
shot and all that, and those games in Stamford upset number one Arizona in
both eighty eight and eighty nine at Maples and down to the wire games and
they stormed the court. I mean, you don't beat that. Maybe there
are games that match that, but those two games, and I spend more
than thirty years, I still remember those games last for him. Yeah,
well, what about the ones Arizona one, the Kalid Reeves five second drive
full court wins the game, right, the Michael Wright right basket underneath the
building shook. Yeah, that Michael Right game was as good as it gets.
He had to la up with what one second ago? Yeah, and
the basket was moving and I think Stamford was ranked number one. Yeah,
yeah, Yeah, that's why it was so crazy. That's one of those
games that they put on. Uh you know, you know, a classic.
You know that you can see it, you can see on television stuff.
But you know, the fun of it though, I think it was
just the trips were easy from the standpoint that you knew what you're doing.
You're good. You can go to the Bay Area, you're going to play
those two teams. You're gonna go to l A. You're gonna play those
two teams. You go to or you know, And that was and the
way I'm not sure how that's gonna work in the Big Twelve. But certainly
it had some I'm trying to think of the right word, but there was
sort of some order to right that, there was an order to have these
these these series went. Even after they added Utah and Colorado, you still
had this symmetry to to what the what the what the basketball season was like,
and that just was it was just fun. It was easy for us
to handle. You just knew Thursday and Saturday be ready for for an Aresona,
a Pac twelve game on the roads. You could drive, you could
drive, and it was always Thursday and Saturday. I looked up the Big
Twelve schedules the other day and nobody has like a back to back road games
against comfy teams where you can drive to the next game, because there's nowhere
you can drive to the next game except KANDAS and Kansas State, Right,
But uh yeah, all that stuff, the symmetry is lost and the I
mean, I mean you could see it. Comedy knew what was coming.
Now it's just going to be uh here, there and everywhere. I'm sure
you won't miss driving the pullman or you know people now driving the pullman taking
the wrong turn and going into Idaho and there's snow driven you know, snow
driven roads. Remember those days, those midnight drives back to Spokane in the
fog. I think every single reporter that I remember from like the mid eighties
to five years ago got a speeding every single one. Right now. I
didn't cause that. One of the times that I drove, I didn't go
over fifteen miles an hour snow because the roads were comfortable. I told you,
I called my wife at like three in the morning, my wife at
the time. If I don't make it home, it's because I'm stuck in
a ditch. The time that I drove, I every time I saw a
light that was a house on the Saturday, I marked the on the on
the odometer where that was, so that I knew how far back I had
to watch if I went off the run. I guarantee you didn't have a
cell phone back then. No, no phone, no good. Yeah.
That was the nineteen eighty eight season. And my favorite Washing Estate story was
John Wilner was the center of it Arizona one one, fourteen eleven in double
overtimes. Yeah, yeah, And it was midnight and the deadline of the
Star was like eleven and they were like out of the movies. They were
holding the presses for our stories, and John Wilner was our beat writer,
just a terrific beat writer. And the only place you could send your stories
there was in that tiny little room where the cheerleaders got dressed and prepared for
the game. So Willer and I sprint up the tunnel, go to that
little room. There's only one phone in there and some guys in there talking
to his girlfriend on it, and Wiler like went one, two, three,
get off that, keep them phone, and the guy just dropped the
phone ran out of the Yeah, nineteen ninety five. I remember that there
was something that was helped by something happened in the crowd. I think they
threw a penny or two or whatever on the court. They got a technical
and Arizona was able to win that game. That's right, it almost had
it, almost, said Bobby Olten. No, no, no, that
was that was the That was the Salt Shaker game. That was a different
game. And then what I think it was Kaldil who put off the reward
for to get the guy and they finally got the guy. Aside from Walt
Hazzard, who was your favorite coach in the PAC twelve or Pac ten during
during all this time, because I know what was your favorite. I love
Jim Harritt because I got to know him at Utah State and he would always
you know, I could go in their locker room and he would tell me
stuff by myself, and he was like one of the nicest, most professional
guys ever. And I hated to see him get fired. He was the
year after won the national title. Yeah, receipts, I mean receipts,
Yeah, they were. I mean they had players when he was there.
Right, he's a good old boy too. And then there was Mike Montgomery.
Right, he was everybody everybody's favorite, right. Montgomery called you by
your first name. He knew you. He appreciated the coverage because the Bear
didn't cover Stanford, because they covered the forty nine ers and the Warriors and
everything. And I mean he loved the Tucson guys. He there was no
better one two combination with him and Luton. Those games were, Those games
were fantastic. He was. He didn't get the national credit he deserved through
all those years because because fifteen years from about ninety eighty eight to two thousand
and three, Stanford was as good as any program, right, and they
got to the finals in ninety eight when Arizona should have been in the final.
Yeah, okay, the biggest character, and by that I mean just
kind of a whack job that but in a good way, you know,
not somebody you know. Again, we're going to refer back to Walt Hazard,
who was just like there you go. Yeah, Steve and I were
sent his off. He took us out to launch. Yeah, he was
fantastic. Can you imagine trying it now to go to the basketball office as
a packed twelve coach. Someone would tasi you, yeah, you need you.
You had like the in your thumb when the sun princess get to the
door, get to the door, the face resignation recognition from whatever that den
were to get through the other door. Raveling had copies of the Daily Star
and Citizen in his office all the time. Yeah. He said it was
the best covered team in the country because we had everything covered. Yeah.
Yeah, when he came to down to do TV stuff, Yeah, that
was that's another one. Don Monson, I mean, I don't know why
his name came up to me, just you know, at or again and
just again, just a guy who didn't look like a basketball coach, right,
and he thought he was going to be the you get the job the
Lootcott remember that. Yeah, he had coached Idaho to a record season and
and he he himself put his name out there and certaintilated and everybody thought Monton
would be arizonas coach. As it turns out, Cedric Denson didn't even interview
him. But he was a character. He wasn't the duck. Weren't good
at all when he was there, but he was a nice guy. You
could talk to him at any time. Yeah, what, let me give
you this last question to us for me issue issue What it was the biggest
hold hold back for them not being halfway credible and basketball because when they fired
Ned Wolke, they hired Bob wine Hour from ten who never really messed there
and quit and got fired after like three years. And then instead of going
on getting someone to match Loot, they promoted Steve Patterson his assistant remember that.
Yeah, just another guy and they had like five dreadful seasons under Steve
Patterson before they hired Frieder Frieder Oh, and talk about the all time character
in the league. He just couldn't get over the hump he got coldest,
he just couldn't do it, and as you kind of flatlined ever since.
Okay, okay, we're not even talking about football yet exactly. Let me
give you. I'll give you one, Jay Ja. I don't know what
he's doing today, but I don't know what he's thinking today. I will
leave it at that. I'm calling ten wins, Greg, ten wins.
Bears on it when and thank you, thank you for biking my point.
Right, they win there, they win for they win their last four games.
Oh can you imagine how difficult the Utah game is going to be here?
Of course it is. I think Arizona can win it. Well,
I'm impressed. I'm as impressed as anybody with with their growth and their just
sounds unbelievable that just they're polished almost, I mean their sound. They're good
in every department. Jet fish out smart, how smart at Chip Keel all
day? Yeah, as he did with the Oregon State. I mean,
he learned so much under all those NFL coaches and the top coaches he played
for. He might he just absorbed that stuff and now it's working here.
Yeah yeah, who thought? Who would have thought it? But here we
are? Here, we are Jay saying ten games. Thanks to win ten
games, they're still not going to get to the Rose Bowl. Man,
Really, you had to throw that out there. With that, we'll say
goodbye. Yeah. Thanks, I'm gonna kick you in the shin next time
I see it because you can't raise his foot. Thanks, Greg, appreciate
it. Thanks, see you guys, Thank you recognition. I can finally
say face. Yes, Okay, let's go. We have a little time,
maybe get some calls. Yep, the good show today. Yeah,
five, two, zero, four, one, six, seventy four,
forty. We've got a few more jet fish clips that we can play for
you for his press conference today. So come on, come on back for
both, going to build the world away for a minute, pretend not don't
live in sunshine, going and watch my blues away. If you're an Arizona
men's basketball fan, you'd know it's been successful for nearly forty years. Now.
Take a look back at the Ludolsen era in my new book, Lessons
from Lout. It was a labor of love through the eyes of twenty five
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Steve Rivera and jaygn Salez they have their eye on the ball on Tucson
Sports Chef Fox Sports fourteen fifty streaming live. I mean I heard radio while
Hey, welcome back to Why in the Ball Hero, Fox Sports fourteen fifty
on Steve, He's Jay got Sammy, We got ten minutes. If you
guys want to call, please do. It's been a lot of fun,
good show today. Surprisingly, what's that wee week? Does that mean?
You know? We we you know we can do this. We can do
it sometimes, you know, say this one. This is a good one.
You know we had Greg Hanson going down memory lane with some Pac twelve
basketball history. So hey, we've got a caller. Let's take this.
Hi are on the air and I on the ball. Don't screw up the
show, Nico. But what do you go? Hey? Man, I
learned a lot about you, Steve Good Good? What did you learn when?
Aymen? I understand why it's so grumpy now man Jay gave me the
ask him who went We'll talk in another time. We'll talk. Go ahead.
I missed you because I went to his his thing just for le Co.
It's like two minutes. I met him in the stadium. Yeah.
So I faced up Nico and told him that I told you and your dad
that Arizona was not going to win Saturday night. Hey, I'm glad you
were wrong when it's been right. Hey, he has his moments, slight
squirrel. Hey though about the game? All right, girl, I know
Gabriel was happy about the crowd, but I was disappointed me too. I
was to me too. There was not fifty thousand. No, it was
under forty five. Yeah right if that Now. They did stick around,
which was cool. I tweeted that, but you know, but yeah,
I'm like, I'm I'm highly disappointed, but not surprised about the crowds because
this is Arizona. Yeah, it was home day. Even I stick around
to the end of the game. Yeah, No, it was good.
I thought it was impressive. I tweeted about it because the students were there
all gay yea, they wanted to rush the field, That's what they wanted.
The course they do. But no, I agree with you, Nico.
They got to get over that. Eventually agreed to do that last week.
They will you know, I think if you beat you, Todd,
they won't rush the field. I don't know they will. Yeah, they
probably will for sure. I was hoping they weren't going to on Saturday,
but then I thought, you know what Bowl clinching you know whin Yeah,
they're gonna They're gonna come and they all right, and I'll leave you guys
on this man, Steve the Cards are going to win this weekend, so
they play who the Falcons at home? Kyler? Okay, if they win,
I'll buy you lunch. Well, I want to go to Hooters.
That's fine. I haven't been there since I was your age. Shock not
shocked. Shocked not shocked. No, that's the deal. Deal. If
they win articularly well Cam coming to though, that's right, whatever, But
we might have to go to Tens though. They got a nice lunch we
Tooters, Ok, all right, I like you come out even know what
you know? I run into those guys. They must come from the other
direction because we cross paths. Oh yeah, you know, they go sit
on the we sit on opposite sides of the stadium. We always running into
them at the same place, the snack bar right there in the north west
corner. So anyway, but I did. I did tell me who Arizona
was not. I didn't know. I was grumpy. You are, No,
I'm realistic. You guys are just like crumpy. The world is so
happy. That's not all happy. That's grumpy. All right. I want
to ask you. Go ahead, good, you know what are you gonna
say? No, I have to ask. I have to figure oh oh,
oh, okay, the play Colorado, right right? The darling or
the football season for the first month maybe right, yeah, not anymore,
not anymore. But do you know who's a better story? You know,
Arizona, and it's been a better story, but no one pays attention.
And that was sort of written in the in one of the one of the
capsules I saw in Arizona in the being in the top twenty five, just
saying that, you know, while everybody's been talking about, you know,
Colorado in the in the Pac twelve, Arizona has built this, has done
this stuff. And then yes, you know, out of nowhere, Yes,
let's take this call. Hi are on the air and eye on the
ball. Hey, James, Steve, this is this is Mobo Phil,
Hey Lobo, what's up? You guys? Do it good? They're horrible,
But go ahead to stop and Steve is he's grumpy? Right, isn't
he grumpy? He's grumpy? Hey, I have a question for you guys.
Sure, okay, So, first of all, I want to say
I was skeptical at the beginning with just Fish. I didn't really steep that
he's gonna turn around the Wildcats. But he's done an amazing job. I
just he's done. I mean a remarkable job of what he was given into
where they are now. I mean, just amazing job. Wouldn't you say,
without question, without question? I think you hear that from everybody.
Yeah, you know, people, I think. So the question I have
for you guys, what's going to become a Jetfish? Is he gonna end
up being a lifer like Lute Olson in State or is he gonna go off
to another program give more money, a bigger program than you vedas. That's
a rhetorical question, right. You already know the answer to that. Yeah,
he's gonna leave, right, It's just a matter of when. Yeah,
you know, I think ultimately he will. And people, you know,
there's people saying, oh, you know, we gotta do what we
can and keep him. Look, Arizona's not the place. Lute Olson was
the exception, right, Arizona and pretending with Arizona football, it's not the
place where people come and become lifers. We and we as Arizona fans,
have to accept that. Yeah, yeah, I agree. I just I
wish you would stay because I think that's that's such a great story of what
happened with Arizona football with Jets. But it's just it's it's wishing for something
that I probably occur. So philm On, mister lobil film. I told
this to uh to uh Gabe, enjoy the moment, maybe because they may
not come along. And by the way, do you remember you see that
Gary Coulson passed away last week? Yes? They did. Yeah, yeah,
he did great things smith the Lobos. He got him out of the
cellar and the the hell that it was and he brought him back to live
so and then and then got fired. Okay they get fire. Yeah,
Hey, just real quick, you guys gotta gotta pay this to Lobo basketball.
This year. I think they might be pretty good. Yeah, there
was. That's why I saw the only be Highlands by ten. But that's
why I saw somebody somebody had new Mexico in the final four. Who's I
don't remember who it was. I saw it. That's the one that when
we said crazy in Mexico, I saw create. But I saw New Mexico
in the final court. A projection that is so that that's crazy. But
I think they will go to this double A tournament this year. Okay,
down, write that down? Associated how guph he is? Phil? I
bet you, Steve. I'll bet you're fifty bucks. Oh no, no,
that's an easy fifty bunch for you. But I bet you they won't
get to the second round. I just say that I did. I did.
Hey, hey, real quick, I gotta go, Steve. Great
great book. I enjoyed your book. Thank you, thank you very much.
Fun read, thank you very much. Appreciate it, all right,
thanks, Phil, appreciate it. Uh yeah. Jamal Baker's playing there.
Yeah yeah, okay, that's a good question though with the whole jed thing.
Yeah, it's it's inevitable, right right, you know. And the
thing is though that I think I think he goes straight to the NFL from
here because he's got the he's got to connect, because he's right and he's
and he's running his program like an NFL program. He's running an NFL offense,
probably an NFL defense. Good point. I think, unlike some other
coaches who have made the jump and not done very well, Jed knows the
NFL. Yeah. I think ultimately we will see him in the NF.
I think he I think he enjoys the college scenes much because I feel like
if he went to uh not to say these jobs are open or anything,
but like a Florida or Tennessee or a high level like Texas Oklahoma, he
would love that. Yeah, that's what he tries to replicate here with going
into try and get. He makes no bones about that. Again, Arizona
is just part of his plan. It's not deep playing. We're gonna know
the call. God, go to the call a minute real quick. Hi,
you're on the ar and I on the ball. Hey Jay, this
is done. How are you doing? Hey? Don We only got about
a minute. Okay, okay, Arizona can can by all means win ten
games this year. How much is the reason for that, Sagan? How
much did he pay you to call? No, he didn't pay me to
call because I was thinking I've been thinking the same thing since the USC game.
I said, there is no game there. There will be no game
that the team will be out of the rest of the season. And and
and the thing is now three games after that Arizona plays, So what football,
They don't care what you do. We're gonna do what we do.
I like that. I like it. And the and the big thing is
is they had this stout defense. And it was a third and six in
the middle, late third quarter, third and six, What are you going
to do? They run Jonah Coleman for eight or nine yards in a first
down. Good yeah, that that that took. That was taking their heart
from him and showing it to them. So look, this is what we're
going to do the rest of the night. Try and stop us. Yea.
And Arizona has not upset a single one of these teams, not a
one of them. Wasn't upset. All right, Don all right, don
completely agree with you, Thanks for being on my side. And doell grumpy
Steve, what's what hey? Except for the cheating thing in Michigan. Yeah,
stop busta things. All right, we gotta hit the road. Hey,
we've got a basketball game. Eight thirty two points? Would you take
them to? Yeah? Give me the Cats seriously, thirty two is a
lot. I got a bunch of you guys that are going to score another
season. They are gonna win. Okay, all right, we'll see you
at the at the arena tonight and we'll be back tomorrow to uh talk about
it. Yeah, we do have a short week, that's right. We're
off on Friday. So for everybody else, see make your plans to do
something constructive on Friday afternoon. All right, we'll be back tomorrow. Yeah,
I've been working all week and I'm tying to know on the sleeping I
want to have ONNS time for a good time, digging the ground, beer
on ice. Just let go Hank and tell us about saying along we see
the songs Friday friends, all that long.