This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jagon Zaliz on Fox Sports
fourteen fifteen powered by Nova Insurance Services Ensure Your most Prized Possessions, Katie z
R Two Sad and iHeart Radio Station Yet. Hey, good afternoon, everybody.
Welcome to I in the Bar here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm
Steve Rivera, He's Jaganzas got our guy Jason and today fifteen minutes on this
first segment, before we talked to our first guest, who is Judy McDermott.
Yes, have you You've talked to her on the show before? Yeah?
Yeah, and I worked with ronson stuff. Yeah. Great, Well
a great girl, great person over at First Team getting little kids to get
involved in golf. Yeah, after moving from being the Keys to Door executive
director forever forever and ever, forever and ever. We'll talk about all the
stuff that she's up to, because I know I saw some things that you
were emailed to me First Team to have a big team in July, so
I said, hey, let's get Judy on ye. So summer everyone was
golfing in this heat of course, crazy crazy people. Yeah, I mean
it, Uh, you know, now's the time to play golf. Man.
You can play cheap. You can stand the heat. You can play
cheap if you can survive. It's it's very simple. It's very simple.
Okay, load up on water before you go play. Okay, I'm running
this down load right, it's down Load up on water. Make yourself a
sandwich, okay, peanut, butter and jelly. Uh, you know,
a roast beef sandwich. Just a you know, not not some not some
massive sandwich, just a regular, regular wonder bread or something. Just a
sandwich. Take a piece of fruit, like an apple or an orange.
Stuff it in your bag. Go play. Just keep drinking water. At
the turn, eat your sandwich, all right, a player nine holes,
Eat your sandwich, eat your piece of fruit. You're rejuvenated, and you
finish the round. Then you go home. You kick all the kids out
of the house, you kick the kick the dog out of the house.
That you go, lay in your bed and go to sleep. Sounds so
simple. If it's that simple, and it's all that for a for a
very low price of about forty bucks, I would just instead of paying the
quarter bugs, stay on that couch, have the remote in your hand,
and watch you know, it gets it gets you out of chores for the
day. All right. You know, I go home and my wife doesn't
make me cut the grass or even do the dishes. She goes. I
know you're tired, Just go go rest. She's a sin. You had
a tough day. I know what I'm not doing anymore is I'm not I'm
not playing golf on the day that I also have to call the Sugar Skulls
game. So tomorrow tomorrow. Um. I did that once and I was
still sweating when I got to the arena after going home, taking a shower,
putting on a suit, and going I was still sweating from golf.
But but hey, Sugar Scoes tomorrow, man, Sugar Sculls somewhere. We
had a good interview with the coach, Yeah, with the assistant coaching David
Jackson. And wait, wait you hear this? What's that? Son of
silence? There's nothing happening on the PAC twelve deal on June thirtieth. Oh
you say that's true. What's your prediction? Well, just because you know
the State Open day, No, no, no, nothing happened because today's
yeah yeah, no, we had the deadline. Now the deadline seemingly would
be for the media day gonna happen. You know, here's what you know,
what I think is gonna happen now at this point, I don't don't.
I don't think go ahead because well no, because San Diego State doesn't
have seventeen million dollars extra double the feat. I don't think San Diego State's
coming in in twenty twenty four. I think I think San Diego State.
I think the PAC twelve will get their TV deal with contingencies for you know,
adding teams, and I don't think those teams get added until a year
from now, so twenty five, so that they'll be in the twenty five
season. Yeah yeah, well right, yeah, because it seems like twenty
four would be too soon. But what the heck, I mean, everything's
so delayed now. Yeah, I don't know, and that I think the
PAC twelve, This is my thought today. I think the PAC twelve will
play ten day ten teams this coming year, not this coming the first year
that the first year the usc U, the PAC twelve will be ten teams.
Then they add two teams the year after that. Okay, Okay,
that's that's kind of bell. Okay, that makes that's a fifty fifteen proposition.
That sounds good. Right? Are you getting this from where I'm making
it up as it go along? Okay, I'm proud of you. I'm
proud of you because typically, well this is what I've heard. No,
No, I haven't heard anything, you know. Um, I mean you've
you've you've heard a bunch of scenarios. But seventeen million dollars is a lot
for extra seventeen million dollars. San Diego State can now because they have said
today they're not leaving the now, They're not leaving now today, they're not
putting in their notice today. Um. And so you know at this point
they've got another year. Now, in the next year they can say,
okay, we're leaving after next year, you know, give the one year
notice and not pay that extra seventeen million bucks because seventy minut there's a lot
of money. This is a dumb question about asking anyway, Even ask Jason.
His thoughts are because I think kind of who to sucks. So you
have one hundred men in a room and you give him this, this and
this topic, how many actually give a crap? And how actually how many
don't? Because you know, where I stand, there's about ten to do.
Ten that's probably where you are. Yeah, there's a couple. I
probably care because exactly even if you're a sports fan, yeah, okay,
you might not be a college sports fan. And if you're college sports fan,
you might not be a packed ball fan, right right, if you're
you know, you might not be. No, it maybe ten out of
a hun. It's big news. I agree with all that stuff. But
but you know, what's the impact on you? Blif right? If that?
Yeah, if that, you'll be doing the same job you've done all
your life and blah blah blah. And I know I asked Wilder that question,
and it's biggest thing he's covered. And I get that because he's trenched
in it. But but to you and me and your beer buddies that you
hang out with, Oh okay, what's next? Yeah, well they can't.
They care because they want to know what's going on. But once it's
right, it's not it's it's not right. One. It's not keeping them
up at night, great, not affecting their lives in a way that they're
going crazy. You know, who does the build bill? You know what's
gonna happen. I need to know it. Well, yeah, listener,
now he's like you, he wants to know. He wants to know.
Now, Yeah, I get it, I get it, but I don't
get it. Well, I've sort of i've sort of I've sort of loosened
up on that because it was no no sense in getting all worked up.
It's like, well, and I've said that. I've said that a few
times. That was eleven months ago, you know what I've said. But
I've said a few times it's not I don't care what happens. I just
wanted to happen right in the end, whatever wherever we wind up with the
with the conference, with how many teams are in the PAC twelve, with
what conference Arizona's in, with whatever the TV deal whatever, expand all that
stuff. In the end, my life goes on, right, and I'll,
you know, if they're in the Big twelve, okay, I'll watch
the Big twelve. If they're in the PAC twelve or Pac ten, I'll,
you know, fine, whatever happens happens. So I'm not I'm not
worked up about that anymore. Okay. When this, when this first started,
one of the things that I was really worked up about Steve was Arizona
winding up sort of as a kind of an irrelevant program. Okay, by
that, I mean, you know, the PAC twelve dies, Arizona winds
up in the Mountain West, or isn't in a good spot. You know,
I know you believe that people I thought, I know I thought early
on because you didn't. Right, if the PAC twelve crumbles, where's the
pack, where's the Arizona going to wind up? And so now you know
that. Yeah, now I believe either they're gonna stay in a PAC twelve
that's you know, continues to be part of it, be a part of
the conversation, or are they gonna be in the Big twelve. Either one
of those is fine. Right, It's not gonna fall into the Mountain West.
It's not gonna be right. It's not gonna be an independent. That's
scrapping. I don't know why, Why did you think that? I was
worried. What I was worried about is that the PAC twelve would wind up
in a place where it wouldn't you know, it wouldn't have an opportunity like
you know, big football played big time bowl games and those kinds of things.
That's the thing that worried me in nineteen seventy seven all over again.
Yeah. So now now that I feel like, if they don't wind up
in the Pac twelve, they're going to the Big twelve, I'm fine with
that. Yeah, of course I'm not worked up about that. I still
want to know what's gonna happen. It's a win win, except if the
TV deal is not a win, right, it's a cheap win. Right.
I still want to know what's gonna happen. I just I'm not work
I'm not worked up about whether it's gonna be bad for Arizona. I think
whatever happens, Arizona is gonna be just fine. Yeah, no, I
agree with Finally, eleven months later, you feel maybe maybe it's because you
know, it's because of the basketball program, Right, Arizona's got an asset
that an ASU doesn't have. Washington State doesn't have, Oregon State does not
have, uh Cal does not have. You know, they don't nobody they
don't have the basketball asset that Arizona have. It's funny you say that because
we've talked to Michelle, Michelle Gardner and some people from Phoenix, what and
this is none of our areal coverage. What does a sue have? What's
their what's their uh cache? See, if I'm a CEO, i am
worried that I'm gonna wind up in the mountain. Yeah, Okay. If
I'm Washington State, I'm worried that I'm gonna wind up in the mountain.
Oregon State today it's good in football football, but three years ago it was
not. So you know, how how how do people see Oregon State?
You know? Um where you know? Where can they wind up? Look,
Oregon and Washington are gonna be fine wherever they wind up. Right,
They're gonna say in the factball, you're gonna be in the Big Ten.
They're gonna be somewhere, right. Stanford probably will because because of its academic
somebody's gonna take them somewhere. Okay, regardless of how bad their football has
been recently and how bad their basketball has been re because Stanford is Stanford,
right, Stanfords, like Notre Dame is as it relates to that, They're
gonna wind up somewhere right then, Okay, USC and UC later gone.
So who does that leave That leaves you a su Oregon State, Washington State,
the Utah wind up somewhere too, because their football program will been good
for a long time. Academically they're good and they've got a good all around
that department. Right, So I didn't want Arizona to be as U or
Washington State or Oregon State, and I don't think they are or will be
because of the basketball asset. Yeah, so that's that's kind of so how
can I worry about that is long gone? I still want to know,
but I'm not sitting. You know, if we don't know for another year,
then freaking fine. You know, Oh you're gonna wind up. You'll
be an old man. I know you don't want steam. I'm not.
I mean, well, I think it would be okay for Arizona to wind
up in the Big twelve. That's not my favor. That's not where I
want you to be. I don't want, you know, I don't want
the road trips and the and the teams they play to not be in the
neighborhood. I get it, I get it, and it doesn't affect you
that way. But you just don't want the teams to go on those room
trips. Well, I just you know, I don't want I don't want
to see Arizona having to play West Virginia every year. I mean, what
the hell, who's West Virginia? They mean nothing to me. It's a
new rud had dug and stated, maybe. No, I get it.
I get no. But at least you feel more relaxed. I'm more at
ease about and I think people that are just kind of tired of it.
We are. I know, I am, I know, I am.
I that that, And that's one thing I will say. I want this
to get done so we can move on. And they talking about somebody else
starts to beat another dead horse. Yeah, and stop talking about it.
Yeah, you know, I get it because I was listening to one of
the podcasts about July one. A lot of the realignment stuff happens. You
know that was triggered back when ye uh, Texas and Oklahoma left. Right
now, Texas Oklahoma are still in the Big twelve for another year, but
you got four new teams coming into the Big twelve this year, you know,
by U Central Florida Houston, and Central Florida Houston. There's one more
cincin now those four teams tomorrow are in the Big twelve and then Oklahoma and
Texas leave after next season. Okay, So that's already started. Jacksonville State,
Sam Houston are moving up from BCS to uh I mean FBS to f
FCS to FBS. They're and they going to Conference USA. They're playing big
boy football. Um, there's some other you know. Did you know New
Mexico State is going into conference you would say, yeah, they're gonna have
a conference. Liberty is going into that conference. Um, I think Rice
is going into in there. And there's one more. So you know,
there's a whole bunch of realignment that takes effect tomorrow and then there's gonna be
some more obviously next year when Oklahoma and Texas go to the go to the
sec USC and US ago to the Big Ten and who else knows what the
hell is going to happen between now and that. Okay, so it's timing
it will happen tonight unless there's a shocker. Yeah, yeah, Well,
the San Diego Union Tribune has come out Mark Ziegler, who we were gonna
try and get on the show, but we had uh we had uh yeah
be writer, um um um. They've reported that the Mountain West has informed
I mean that San die has informed the Mountain West that they are not leaving
the conference today and as of now remain a member of the nowhere to go
now Well now, but you know, remember the Mountain West took the position
that the letter that they said a couple of weeks ago was their notice of
leaving. So the Mountain There's been nobody. Nobody's reported what the Mountain West
is saying to what San Diego State is said. So who knows what I
mean there? There may be some fireworks there right the moment. Let's make
say, yeah, you are gone where you're out of here. We've sold
your room, we've sold your house. You're gone, forget it right,
Yeah, Okay, let's take the break now and then come back and talk
to Judy. All right, Judy, we're gonna talk on to my favorite
topics. Man, we're gonna talk to some golf, some youth golf.
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Rivera and Jacob Solvens. They have their I on the Fall on two soon
sports station, Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. Hey, welcome back to A on
the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen. Cookie, I'm Steve Rivera fi Jacobs.
Also now on the phone, we have Judie McDermott, the executive director
of First Team here in Tucson. Judy, how are you. I'm wonderful.
How's everybody there? We're doing planning one of my girls to talk about
talk two at least you are you? Are you like a crazy like Jay
here out in out in the golf course at one hundred and ten degrees.
We are in the morning and we do a little bit of afternoon stuff here.
We've been a busy summer and um, all I can say is we
were in Pinetop playing a little tournament on Monday and Tuesday of last week,
so we picked a good time to get out of town. But we're but
we're back at Tucson now. So we all, what does heaven look like?
Because that had to be had had to be heaven. Yeah, I
have to I have to admit it was tough to come back to Tucson when
we experienced eighty degree weather when it was like one hundred and ten year So
how does that happen? You take a bunch of kids up there and they
play well. First t Tucson, Um, I think we're going on six
years. We took over the Ricky Rereck Junior Golf program. And the Ricky
Rereck Junior Golf program is summer tournament golf that's been around for over sixty five
years. Ye. So so rick Rereck who really started the Tucson Open here
um and and ran it before the kinkistadors took over. Um, he he
was all he was mister Junior Golf. And so tournaments are Mondays and Tuesdays
in the summer for all kids to play. It's developmental. So we have
kids that are tournament players, then we have kids that are really you know,
just learning tournament golf and it's just all about developing relationships out there on
the golf course for two days Monday and Tuesday. So so in June and
July we on Mondays and Tuesdays host Ricky Rrett Junior Golf tournaments. And so
we decided to take our show on the road and we were lucky enough to
have Dennis Palmer let us play up at Pinetop Lakes, which is a great
executive course in Pinetop. How cool is this for the kids who probably don't
get many opportunities like this, or do they? It was amazing, It
was, It was amazing. And obviously you know transportation and you know guardians
or parents getting off work to take the kids up there. But we had
some nice Pinky store members that loaned their cabins out and things and put some
kids up so they didn't have have to, you know, pay a lot
of money to get up there. And so it was it's a little road
trip is always nice. And some members there at Pinetop Lakes just to this
man, I remember Queens. I don't remember Ricky Rare Golf doing that when
I was a little kid, because I'm sure I would remember that because you
know, it was like, okay, we're gonna play a rio, We're
gonna play Randolph's what was called Randolph's South back in the day, as opposed
to tell you huh, you know, right, yeah, that kind of
stuff. But that's very cool to be able to get get the kids up.
Yeah, and then in the summer. Ricky Reck was really designed too
to try to play the country clubs because you can't really play them in in
the golf seasons and try to play in the summer. But you know this
summer, both Oro Valley and Tusun Country Club are closed, so we haven't
been able to play there since they're doing major renovations. Yeah, so how
does this happen? Do you need moneys coming in or is this through dues
or how does this work? Oh, it's all about money. You know,
we can't we can't do what we could do without grants and individual donors.
Um, it's a you know, we're we're a five to one C
three nonprofit, just like any other use development organization in town. Um.
But we just have a lot of moving parts from our first team programming to
our competitive tournament golf that we run, to PGA Junior League to something called
ping Interclub. We really are kind of the one stop shop for junior golf
and Tucson. And it's as you said, your sponsors and whatnot, it's
got I mean, it's got to take a lot of manages. How many
kids you know, are you how many kids touch first tea? Right by
that I mean they might just come out and hit some balls once in a
while, or they might actually play in the tournaments na get some lessons.
How many kids are involved? So we have over two hundred kids that play
our tournaments, and then we have over nine hundred kids that are part of
our First Tea programming. We'rerid about ten locations now is green Grass locations with
First Tea Programming. So in the calendar year, you know, January one
to December thirty first, you know, our numbers are close to a thousand
kids that go through our programs. Is that you know, is the number
increasing? Because we've all heard you know how you know, you know,
the golf was losing kids, you know who were playing, you know,
in other sports as well. But what's how the number has been? Are
we getting kids back to playing golf? Oh, we definitely are. And
the nice thing about First Tea Programming is you still can be a part of
other sports and be a part of First Tea. You know, your only
commitment you have to make to our programs is coming once a week for a
class. It's an hour and a half to two hours, and then you're
a member and you're part of our programs and so so we encourage all of
our kids to play other sports. You know, we really want well rounded
individuals and you know, work character education as much as we are golf.
Did COVID help because it was an outdoor sport and maybe the kids needed to
get out. COVID helped the whole golf industry in a way. It almost
hurt us because it's harder for us to get golf tea times and on the
golf course because still so many people are playing golf. Yeah, so it's
it's it's a it's a positive thing. But the nice thing is we we
only shut our doors for maybe three weeks during COVID and we really have been
open and all through the pandemic. And so that's what was really nice is
we did increase our membership then because we were kind of the only game in
town. So give us a rundown for instance of a typical week, you
know at the first team. You know you've got tournaments, you said on
Monday and Tuesday. Part of the kinds of things and kids do where can
they do it? You know, how do you how do you engage and
you know, if you're a kid that wants to learn the game and just
become a part of this right our new curriculum, which is all you know,
we're a chapter of the First Team National. So the First Team National
is in Florida where PGA Tour headquarters is located. And everything is age based.
So we start with our five to six year olds, which is called
Target those programs we only have Target classes at our El Real location. But
then we go ages seven to nine for classes Ages ten to eleven, Ages
twelve to thirteen, and ages fourteen and up, and so through the week.
Every every month, our schedule is a little different and that's all on
our website at tuson dot org. But like this week in the summer,
to give you an example of what summer looks like. On Mondays and Tuesdays
we have the Ricky Rick Junior Golf so we don't have any First Team programming
on those days because we're hosting the tournament. Then Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
we have camp. So we might have a three hour camp in the morning
from eight to eleven as an example here at O Rio, and then we
do some things called course play where you go out on the golf course and
actually learn how to get around the actual golf course and that's a two hour
class, and then we do lessons with a pro where we have lessons on
the range and going down on the golf course, and then we have a
girl power class. Uh, we kind of run it all and then every
week is a little bit different because we try to kind of mix it up
a little bit, especially in the summer. And it isn't it more also
than not just golf, where it's more about being kinder people. I think
I remember know what I'm saying, he's learning waiting. The part of the
curriculum when we teach a class is we are seamlessly integrating life skills in with
the golf skills. Can I join that we're teaching kids to resolve conflicts,
We're teaching kids to plan for the future. We talk a lot about diversity
now and all along that. We're teaching kids to manage emotions. You know,
we talked to them about, hey, when you're out on the golf
course, you might hit it in the rough, but you can get it
back in the fairway. And we relate all those things to life because we
all know that we make mistakes in our life, but we can get back
on track. So you might be in the roof for a minute, but
you can get back in the fairway. I'm saying I needed that, but
I think Janey's more I do. I could, I could. I could
come over and show them some great club throwing techniques. It would be this
is what we don't welcome that here. This is what we don't. Don't
do this, don't do this. But if you do, don't throw it
in the lake. You'll go get throw. But the nice thing about what
we do here, everything is in groups. The kids get to make friends
and they have fun with their peers, you know, all along, and
we don't we don't judge. And that's the nice thing about golf being an
individual sport. You're not you're not waiting in line to be picked on a
team and you might be the last to be picked. You know, when
you were in the school, you know you'd be raising your hand to be
picked for a team and you might be the last to be picked. That's
no fun. Yeah, that doesn't happen here. Yeah, very cool.
So with with the popularity of the of the women's game, how you know
how many girls are coming out and becoming a part of so I know,
I've got a niece who went through the program and she's got you know,
she's golfing at Sunnyside Um and so and so is there a lot of Are
you getting a good number of girls coming out playing too? We have a
fair amount, but obviously we have a lot more boys than we have girls.
But that's why we host these girl Power classes and we really try to
do a lot of outreach and bringing more kids, you know, to the
program. We've been up we've been working with Kidko this summer with the Neighborhood
Center here, the Orio Neighborhood Center, and so we've had about sixty kid
kids coming twice a week to our camps. And there's a lot of girls
in those programs, and so it's really nice to be able to introduce them
to the game because otherwise, you know, they would never even have the
opportunity to know, be able to put their hands on a golf club.
And you know, and what's nice about what we do is we provide everything.
You don't have to have any golf clubs to come be a part of
our program. You must be in heaven. I guess whatever word you want
to use. Given that now you can deal with the little kids in the
I was just going to ask that, and the business guys will helped with
you guys rewarding. I mean, just today, I'll give you an example
today at lunch, two of our kids. We just had three kids that
went to an academy, a leadership academy through the PGA to a superstore.
They went to Atlanta and they were with forty eight other kids from other chapters
across the nation. And so they met all these other kids that went to
a leadership academy through the PGA to a superstore, and they qualified to go
to this national academy and they got to visit the Arthur Blank Foundation. Arthur
Blank is that owner of the Atlanta Falcons that he owned the PGA Tour superstore.
He was the home depot guy. These kids got to meet the head
muckety MUCKs with Mercedes Benz Stadium. They went to a soccer game at Atlanta.
They learned they've met leadership with the Atlanta Falcons football team. They did
all these team building um programs and they basically spent a week in Atlanta learning
about leadership and learning from the communications people with the Atlanta Falcons they got to
meet the mascot without the uniform on the Atlanta falcons about mascot And so,
you know, what fun for us to sit around a table today and talk
to these two kids that just got back from Atlanta and hear about their experience
exactly. And then after all those years of working with the grumpy grown ups,
you know, to be able to do this, that's just got to
be a lot of fun, right, That's why I went with, Yeah,
Well it's it's it's so much fun to see these kids grow and and
that's what's just so great about first he is there's all these national opportunities for
these kids to become a part of. But our our newest thing that I
have to brag about is we had some wonderful members that at the Gallery Golf
Club. They're great donors to us, and with their help, we've now
created a new college scholarship program. Wow, okay, so we will We
will soon be naming a couple of kids that'll be getting a new college scholarship
through his first T two soon to help kids go to college. And and
we're going to really use that to try to make sure we keep kids in
our program, you know, through high school, you know, right before
they go to college. Do you have any sense of how many of these
kids have no golfers in their lives? You know, a dad, you
know that that that they're just because they're there, not because my dad made
me come, or my mom made me come, or my dad's a golfer,
my mom's a golfer. Are any of these kids coming here just because
they think they might like the sport? Yeah? A large I'll be honest,
a large percentage. We we kind of have everybody, but a large
percentage of our kids, their parents or grandparents don't even play golf. And
sometimes they find us because we're so affordable. And then you know, others
come because they really have an interest, right, but because we are so
affordable and cheaper than most other sports. You know, we are something as
youth development that a lot of people turn to, and we do a lot
of outreach with other youth development organizations in town, you know, to help
them out, Like we're going to have a meeting next week with team of
partnership to talk about getting them involved. Right. Um, Well, let
me ask you because because this is how I said, let's talk to Judy.
You have something going on in July, right, the whole month or
something of registrations and whatever. Oh yeah, well we've we we're constantly having
registrations. But yeah, so so our July registration just opened up. So
we're taking all of our sign ups for July, you know as we speak.
Okay, so just another month of a new new things to do.
Yeah. Every month we're basically making a new schedule and send it out and
our class is still up. That's the only thing I mean. And that's
the thing. If anybody listening has any interest in trying to help kids,
that you do not need to be a great golfer. We do. We
need more volunteer coaches because it's all about the mentorship that these kids have with
their coaches, and the relationship that they develop with these coaches is just as
valuable as the golf skills. So, Jay, you have a chance to
say, do not do this. Yeah, you know, I do this.
I thought for a second, I thought, oh that would be something
something I thought. But I'm still learning how to play golf, and then
I've been doing it for fifty years. Well, let me let me ask
you, as he says this, because you know, I'm a horrible to
golfer Jay is better than horrible. But I am so wouldn't you wouldn't it
be cool if you had guys like us or me with classes to teach us
how to play, just like a group of stupids like us like me.
I'm not here, we have time. I thought that would big questions,
man, And so then I was like, I just gotta go to an
individual to do it. Okay, all right, dude, So again the
one honestly, but like with what we do, I mean, I'd love
to have the two you come and just talk about your radio show and tell
the kids about what you do. And man, okay, let us know,
well, we'll come over. We'll tag team and you know, we'll
try not to get into a fist fight right in front of the kids,
and we see what we can do. It'll be funny, He'll be mean,
So we do here. Okay, that sounds good. It sounds like
fun dude, it's and it's great. That's a great thing. Again,
you know somebody who grew up here. You know, I knew Ricky,
you know Ricky. Eric was like, as you said, they've been around
sixty seven years. I was, you know, I was twelve years old,
and I might have played in one or two tournaments, but I was
just busy, you know, taking the eight bus downtown to Randolph and playing.
But um, you know, but you know, I love the game,
and my son plays, and I've got a grandson and we can't you
know, he's six months old. So we're gonna try and get him on
the golf course in the next three or four months and we'll be ready to
go. Thank you, Judy, Thank you, gunch Jude. You appreciate
it. He will keep up work on that. That's very cool. Thank
you. Thank you. Always fun with Judy talking to Judy. Yeah,
you know what, I'm just gonna say this, and it you know,
it comes from you know, from where I where I am. You know,
my son and I go golfing, and we talked about all the time,
you know, through the summer. We'll go golfing pretty much every weekend.
And it's a time that I get with him that I don't get any
other time. And I know that there there are dads who don't get that
right very much. And it's very cool. And now that now that he's
got a kid, we literally are were like, okay, you know,
how old does he have to be before we put a golf club in his
hand? You know, two years old, three years old? When can
we get him on the golf course. I think my son had him played
his first round to golf when he was four or five, you know,
took him out and he just just hit the ball, and it's it's just
something that we're going to treasure and that uh, you know, as a
as a family, we love doing so it's very cool. And if you
if you're if you're, if you're a golfer, encourage your kids to golf,
does you speak, I'm getting that. I'm leaning clean. Put my
tears from that story. All right, man, we gotta come we gotta
come back and talk about all these ESPN layoffs. The names are still coming
in right right, just yeah, let's do it right, Okay, we'll
be back. If you're an Arizona Man's basketball fan, you know it's been
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Gonzalez they have their eye on the ball on two sons Sports Stage chef Fox
Sports fourteen fifty streaming live. I mean I heard radio arm Hey, welcome
back to O the ball here a Fox Sports fourteen fifty on Steve, He's
ja. We have about twelve minutes left to Jakes would get the call if
he give us a call. Love things going on in the media business.
There's a massacre at ESPN to day. Not that it was a surprise,
because they said it was coming. We just didn't know the names that were
coming game that the names that are that are that are out of there.
The latest one that just came across was the David Pollock, who one of
the Game Day guys out of here, a guy that I wasn't particularly fond
of anyways. He's those guys who cold how did the SEC because that's where
he played. He could never I didn't feel like he could ever get past
his he's biased towards the SEC. But he was pretty good nonetheless. Um,
but he's gone. Susie Culver, who's been with him for like twenty
seven years, is gone. They let a bunch of other people go putting
the local at Ashley Brewer, who had gone from Ka Gun over there.
She's only been with him a few years, right, just maybe two.
And the funny thing, not the funny thing, but the ironic thing is
she's getting married next week. You know she's married, right, No,
Frank Kaminski, Well then forget it, man. Yeah, she's Mary.
And that's that's next week. So yeah, and then um, uh Todd
McShay, Todd mcshelly right, which when you think about that, Okay,
he and he and uh the other guy, uh the hair guy, Yeah,
the hair guy. You know they were the same guy, right,
Why on that one? I'm like, why you figure they flip the guy
because the guy's ready to go already he's been there forever mcshay's and you were
a guy, younger guy, probably cheaper guy. Jay Jalen rose that we
had heard that his show got canceled. Now he's gone. Um, Alfonso
ellis I very popular NBA guy, Jeff Van Gundy, who's been a you
know, does a basketball broadcast, he's gone. I mean, the list
is crazy. It goes to show, It goes to show. But we've
been in this business long enough to know. And I tell this to Jason
and now and again. Um, it's a tough business, right, It's
a tough business. It was a tough business we were coming up because it
was always kind of laoffs trickling here and there. But if you get paid
a lot of money, you're in danger of a lot of things. Well
yeah, well see, and yeah, you made a good point in the
end. Why did they make so much money? Right? I see it?
I mean, how do you how do you keep and so if you
let David Pollit go, somebody else gonna pay him what you're paying him.
Here, here's the thing, Stephen A. Smith makes a bunch of five
million a year. They and then then the guy who's coming in now with
the podcast. Now he was uh oh that guy? Yeah, I know
you're thinking of the wrestling guy. No, no, no, he's a
former punter. Yeah, you know, but he's been big with with w
w E and all that stuff. Okay, I know you're talking. You
don't I'm talking about, don't you. I know, I don't know.
Someone's gonna text me and I just had the name. But he's the one
that I was getting. He signed a huge He's the one that with Rogers.
You know, he's does the Rogers interviews making a ton of money.
Yeah, So how do you how do you justify giving a boatload of money
to the one guy and then a lot of people people doesn't make any sense
to me. But again, to me in this business haven't been in a
long time anybody making more than a million dollars is why, why would anybody
pay you that you're not saving anybody's live really, honestly, are you What
are you doing? You're telling people the store. That's how the market developed,
though, and that's what it's crushing. It happened, and that's right,
and now it's crushing there. They're almost you feel there almost has to
be a reset, right, I think I think that's exactly where they're going.
Jack at least, Okay, you're gonna be You're gonna have a job
on ESPN, But you know what, you're gonna make three hundred thousand dollars.
You're not gonna make a million dollars anymore. Well, your wife and
and myself suffered this thirteen years ago. We're working at the Citizens. They
came in and told I wasn't in there. I was in La with the
team. They came in and told us, well, we're gonna have a
job for like six months and then we're gonna shut shut it down. And
I guess the guy who came in some ganette big wig was able to afford
a yacht the next year. You know, they saved money here but then
buy stuff over here. It doesn't make any sense to me. It just
doesn't maybe I'm just not a good guy with that, but you're you're under
you and you do want it, and that's what people want to They go,
what the hell you had the money right? The money's there, it's
just where are you putting it right? And now look at the Star?
Look at the Star now, yeah, everybody. People we know, people
we used to be colleagues with at the Citizen, now at the Star and
they're gens jobs. Yeah, no, I I yeah, no, I
hear it. It's just yea you you you wonder who's you know, who's
making the decisions, making the decision right, what's what kind of what are
the criteria? And and and the ones who suffer if that's the right word,
suffers not the right word. Are the readers or the people who are
getting the news? Well, well, and that's there's that's what a whole
bunch of the reaction has been your guys. Well, David Polson, I'm
never watching Game Day again. Well I know you will, but you know
you're gonna say that now. Other I just see when somebody's saying you got
rid of the wrong guy and get rid of Desmond Howard. You know,
No, there's been a lot of that. Right, It's like the NBA,
and I like Malika and a lot of people. You gotta you gotta
keep these guys, but you keep Perkins, you know, right, Andrew
Perkins? What the hell is that? Yeah? Right, I don't know
how it's happening. Yeah, I mean, I'm I'm my Collifiden with his
job. You know, some of these names that are being like go.
I think there are other people. I think, look at you right right
right, and maybe they're on the block too. Bence Carter today on the
NBA today, and he was there, but he's rumored to be gone.
Contract won't get renewed or something. So yeah, hey give me the minimum
wage baby, seven hundred and fifty thousand, and I'm gonna do so.
You know again, I mean, what what is it? What is the
guy like Scott van Pelt me and he's he's one of the guys hop guys.
What's he making? Should he be making what he's making? Probably not,
but he's gonna keep. He's gonna gonna say no. Let me put
this way. I am not a fan of stephen A. I am not.
I just I just go when I'm trying to serving and his show is
on I go right past it anymore than the same as h as the dude
that's making what ten million bucks a year on on Fox um rope, No,
no, no, it's not uh no, um the loser he's skip
billions, Yeah, skip Bayles. I hate that guy, you know.
I mean, I don't watch Fox. It's pro sports programming at all until
unless there's a game off. Until football, I'll watch a game, right,
Do not watch any of their talk shows? Yeah? Yeah? And
then look at the NFL. They got Gigman and the bucket who's the part
for tons of money? So there's money. They're just rearranging the bricks truck.
Yeah. And here's another one somebody about Dave David ESPN. College football
just got better. Yeah, you can't please everybody. That's part of the
business. Some people like you, some people though it is, but no,
it's not a good day to day. And this is the third round
of them doing this. And again, you know, we don't know these
people. We don't wish anything bad on them. I mean there's some guys
that you know, I don't I don't particularly like, but you know,
you won't laid off. I've been laid off. It doesn't feel good.
No, No, The thing is you're wondering, Okay, now what's my
next move? But I think I've told you this, Jason a number of
times, and I've said this on the show with the interns. If you're
not calling your own shot, you're depending on somebody else to call it for
you. Man, that's a scary ass thing. Yeah, it's a scary
ass thing. And that's not just here, that's everywhere. You're working at
home depot and this they're not selling up widgets. Well, sorry, Jason,
you gotta let you go because no one's budding widgets. Yeah, yeah,
no, you know, I mean I was in exactly that, right.
I was a company that was trying to develop a solar right and right.
I went over there thinking they're just about there, and you know,
I'm gonna be a big part of it, and who everybody needs sold right,
and the science never made it right and I got laid off. Yeah
yeah, And then you're excited, you're giddy and boom yeah boom. It's
like Ashley. I mean, she's just got there. She's very good,
she's very good. Stunned, right, I just got here. But also,
Jay, you made a lot of money. It's hard to feel sorry
because they made a lot of money. And these people will some of them
will find find their way, find fall on their feet. Someone will come,
yeah, getting them get They're good. Yeah, a lot of them,
in my opinion, are very good at what they do. Is they
what are their jobs? Though? No, that's the whole thing. That's
like the liberty of the world. They have to kind of create their own
idea, like like here in Tucson, as as as newspaper people were getting
laid off, there were no other jobs, and newspaper jobs too. This
is a bad market. Yeah, that's say people went off to do various
things, you know, went off to work at you know, doing You
know, my my wife got lucky. She got a great job doing doing
pr she you know, she said, working for a great company. But
I know a lot of a lot of people. Although I will say Rick
Whiteley, our friends who got laid off at the Star recently, I just
say he got hired at at the UVA Journals in department at a professor of
practice. Nice so that, you know, but not everybody lands like that,
right, I know, we you and I both know a bunch of
people are still struggling to find a job. Sure that pays them a livable
way. Know what it happened in seventy A couple of times, me too,
a couple of times. Um, you just kind of have to be
prepared to pivot, man, to reinvent yourself a time or two. Because
because I'm getting to the you're near the end of the road. What the
hell does that mean? Let me finish my statement here. Let me finish
my statement here. You're closer to the end of the road than I am.
But we're closer. We're closer to the end of the road than in
the beginning of the road. Right, Oh yeah, let me finished.
Please, But you are near the road because you don't come on, you're
sixty gonna be sixty four. You I want to do this until I die.
I mean, if I lose this time on Tuesday, I think I'm
gonna pass away on Thursday. Just because you know, whatever I'm telling my
wife he said I'm near the end of the road. He's gonna be very
upset with you. She'll say, really, she's gonna be very like this,
very very upset with you. When itould be really mad at you.
You said I'm near the end of the road. You're gonna say, what
do you know that I don't. Yeah, I see him bring food into
the studio. No, you can't tell her that. See I win this
argument. What happens in the station stays at the station too late. Now
you're gonna wrap me out. I'm gonna wrap you up. You should see
what he brings into the studio. What I bring, like a salad and
a nice tea. Have you ever seen to bring us salad? Chicken breasts?
Chicken breasts? Maybe you know? Maybe? Yeah? Yeah, I
win another one, oh guy. Yeah. So it's a tough business.
People don't want to hear. But we're making we're making fun, but it's
serious. And these people again some I'm a fan of some of these.
I'm not a fan of others. But well, look at the NBA study.
But I do feel bad and and some of these clever guys that are
are fun and listen fun to watch them that are gone. So um,
you know they'll find a lot of them, will find them, will but
you know you figured, but for a bunch of them, this was as
good as it's gonna get. You know, you know, you look at
Susie Culver, she's got some years left, but she can also retire.
Yeah. Well she well, she's made a ton of money. They make
a ton of money over years and years she said. I think she was,
you know, start helping people or make in her life. We're helping
people because I think she said forty years of the business, twenty seven at
at ESPN. She's fine. Oh and by the way, Gabby, he
thinks she's cute, so you know that's another I will say that publically.
Susie Culver is one of my favorites. You know, so he's not worried
about bringing in non salads, but you're talking about what we're being cute.
I'll get it. All right, let's take our break. We're gonna come
back breaking News with Jason, and then Jake Fisher will join us for his
usual Friday commentary. We'll be right back