Streaming live on the iHeart Radio Whip. This is I on the Ball with
Steve Ribera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports fourteen fifth Day. Hey, welcome
that to on I'm about here on Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve, He's
Jane. Now we have Jason with breaking news. Jayden Delora has been named
to the Manning Award watch list. Crazy you know another you know another,
another player, just it's so long since Arizona's head and got one. Is
the last time Arizona had a quarterback? Maybe never on a watch list?
On a quarterback, collil Google, I'll take yeah. He was a Heisman
candidate for a little while, for a blink, for blink of an eye,
Blue Sports Illustrated cover the worst thing to happen. You know that year's
Oregon State Arizona game was on today. It was flipping channels, stopped stopped
by for you know a few minutes, and watch had just shook my head
and said, gosh, dang, and what the hell you know, you
can't have nice things in Arizona football. So anyways, it depressed me a
little bit. Arizona a woman basketball will tip off against Memphis in the Bahamas
on a Saturday, November eighteen, twelve thirty. This game is going to
be a part of the Battle for Atlantis tournament. The winner of that game
will be playing against Old miss and Howard. You know, I think I
think I saw too that that that they started in in the Caribbean, the
year they went to the right. But then I also remember that Arizona men
went oh and three in the Battle for Atlantis, and I was happy to
me in Vegas that weekend and I bet on the first game. Sure they
lost. I was just okay, they're not gonna lose again. I was
just gonna ask you if you yeah, they're not gonna lose again. I
bet on them again, and they lost that now they're really not gonna lose
again, and then they did again without question. In fact, I think
before the season started, I know Luke had said this, and I know
people were saying this, it had potentially be one of the best teams ever
ever with with the guys that we talked about, Treer and Alkins and and
and Aiden. Obviously and Ristic was on that team. And then uh,
and then you saw what you saw. It was a disaster from the start.
And I don't know if you remember this, but and it was not
consistent all year. And and I did this story because I can remember it
like history. Uh, Sean says, I'm not sure I can get through
to these guys. I can't get remember he said, And then and then
I remember writing that, and then he walked it back. But you know,
he doesn't say, he doesn't say that, he doesn't exactly. He
says he knows what he says, and he means what he says. And
he just couldn't he couldn't rally them. Yeah. No, he never did.
And I mean I guess he did. He did in the Pact tournament,
but that was that was a three day stretcher because a week later it
was unraveled for good. Yeah. Yeah. And and to me that was
the beginning of his I mean, it was all the FBI stuff, but
in terms of on the court, yeah, that's where it started to end.
Yeah. I think though that he had to do some reevaluation, especially
now when he kind of said the year off who that was kind of like,
Okay, maybe I need to change a few things. Yeah, But
yeah, I remember that we could do three days of how is this happening?
Yeah? How is this happening? It didn't happen at third time,
third time, three times, three games one after that, and again I
just thought they were two three in the country. Yeah, they can't lose
again, or they did, and well then now they really can't lose again,
and then they did. I was upset, to say the least.
I didn't throw anything, though, as I recall every biggest you might have
been arrested. I could have been. Yeah, all right. The Colts
have named first round pick Anthony Richardson. I was there starting quarterback for the
regular season. It's gonna be interesting. He hasn't played a lot of games.
Hold above first preseason game. Did you see how he was. He's
an athletic guy. Yeah, he was leads it pretty good. Yeah.
The biggest question longer, I guess, is his accuracy. Right, he
threw an interception the first kind of draw. It was really bad, bad
inception. But yeah, he ran well, he moves around the pocket well,
feel like very he's strong. But his accuracy is the biggest question mark
with them. So the guy that did pretty well was the kid from Bennett
who's Bennett? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So would
you rather have a guy like the kid Indianapolis or the dude who doesn't really
run fast or do all these things, but he's just a steady dude,
steady him. You want a consistent, steady guy, a quarterback musician,
right, ye, sure, you have to have that. You don't get
that that people, you know, you can't have bad QB and good QB.
You gotta have right pretty good QB all the time. Although that dude
Indianapolis untalented, like yeah, buddy, I mean they, you know,
develop him the right way. He could be one of the best, you
know, upcoming young he's he's got the physical tools. Yeah yeah. But
then you get Bennet, who's just the normal dude who kind of just gets
the job done, play smart, you know, doesn't do anything too out
of his you know, withs He just kind of right. So yeah,
and brysing Young has also won this job for in Carolina, so he's gonna
be the weak one started as well. He was number one pick. Yeah.
Yeah, well it's not always the case. Sometimes they yeah, sometimes
they they wait, but who did they have, who's the backup? Who's
his Carolina is a Carolina I don't remember the top of my head, but
it's not it's not minshow because he's yeah, he's he's yeah, yeah,
he's yeah. I can't remember the top of my end, but it's a
veteran guy behind him. So and then c J. Stroud also is most
likely gonna be the start as well. So it's kind of all these rookies
that are getting the start fire baby, yeah, yeah, and yeah.
I was gonna say, how did you guys see how they also looked in
their preseason openers. It wasn't It wasn't great. I mean they both kind
of just looked. I mean we CJ. He threw a horrible pick.
Yeah, first this first past was it was a pig. I mean it's
like Steve, you could have picked up I don't know about you might have
even running for a touchdown. He walked it into. I think the biggest
concern for them isn't damns like their team, like the old line in Carolina
and with the Texans, it's not good. So even Don Bryce Ung he
looked great composed when I was watching him play, he just didn't have time
to, you know, get the ball to where he needed to get it
too. What do you make of these short quarterbacks? I think they're gonna
have a heart because like Kyler Murray, like Kyla Murray, you know,
you can run around. He's athletic, but he got he got hurt in
two seasons. So I feel like they're gonna have a tough time actually get
those guys are scary. Yeah. I wouldn't put millions into that, would
you, because it was like like Bryce, you kind of but you almost
kind of have to steve. I mean, okay, what do their fans
do if they don't draft Bryce Young or you know, you get it.
It's an investment in that. Not only do you want to win games,
but you gotta get butts in the seats. And if you don't get a
quarter if you don't have a quarterback that gets butts in the seat, then
the seats, then you know, what the hell are you doing? No?
I get it. Guess what Arizona has One or two of those guys
doors are tall. He's six he's six one maybe maybe the feet five nine.
Yeah, they say he's five. Knight cleats around town. I'm five
eight and shrinking. I used to be five nine. Okay, have you
guys seen the ESPN Top one hundred players for college college football? They released
their list today actually, and Jacob Cowen's number thirty eight on the list.
Duran Singer, he's fifty two on the list, and obviously number one is
Caleb Williams. Number two Brock Brock Bauers from I'm Georgia, he is number
two. And they have mar Marvin Harrison junior from Ohio State. He's number
three our receiver. Now, why did I think Marvin Harrison Junior had gotten
drafted. I thought he was gone. Yeah, yeah, he's gonna be
gone this year probably. Yeah. Number four was a linebacker from Elshu I'm
Harold Perkins Junior. Number five with the quarterback from North Carolina, Drake Maya
may yep. Number six was quarterback from Washington On Michael Peanut junior. Uh
seven was running back from Michigan like Korham. Eight was a Florida State quarterback
Jordan Travis, and then nine was the lineman from Florida State Jared Verse.
And ten was Michael Williams from Georgia. Guys up there. Yeah, so
that was the top ten. I don't want Georgia to win that thing against
Steve. There's already six five teams to pick from. I mean everyone says
there's gonna be better teams, but Ohio State Michigan. I feel like I'm
gonna have to root for Ohio State in Michigan, and I don't want you
gonna You're gonna cheer for hardball. I don't want to, but I don't
want Georgia to win it again. And I don't am Alabama either, and
I don't want else. So there's five those those are it's one of those
five teams? Yeah, I mean it's gonna be. That's something stupid has
to happen for to not be one of those five. That's why basketball is
fun because you don't ever know it's gonna win. Come, who would you
can? Who had you man? San Diego State? I can't if you
want me to? You do you think you h Chris Chris stops Porzingia is
confirmed he has planned parastis. Oh yeah, oh yeah. I mean he's
been dealing with like a lingering injury for a while. Now he's confirmed that's
what it is. That's a bad thing, yeah, especially for a basketball
player. Definitely is. So you know the Celtics were looking towards him.
You're going to be their next No kind of big you know, piece she
helped him get to that championship. But if he's kind of just jelled that
injury the whole season, he may not be able to be the guy that
they wanted to be. No, no, no, that's one of those
things that's just not good for Yeah, a basketball player and a half for
sure. So yeah, that was all the breaking news I have for today.
All right, Uh, story in the Arizona Republic, Razy Central by
Michelle Gardner. She did an interview with Brett your Mark, the commissioner of
the Big Twelve, and he said they are done sixteen teams. That's it,
so stop talking about uh, you know, Cal and Stanford stopped talking
about Oregon State in Washington State where at twelve he said they weren't sure if
they were gonna go to They're just gonna stick at fourteen or sixteen. He
also did say that the four corner schools individually, He talked to them individually,
so each one of them was sort of a separate discussion before all four
of them, you know, decided to decided to go. But uh,
and all which all happened after Washington and Oregon went in. But you know,
reading some of this stuff like again to that comment that I made at
the end of the last segment that I do feel much better about the leadership
of the conference in the Big twelve and your Mark's aggressiveness. You know,
he's not afraid of anybody, so that you know when this next realignment comes
up, that you know, the Big twelve, it's not going to be
the best sc yor the Big ten, but it's going to be in a
better position than the a SEC and the and the PAC twelve is just going
to be gone. So I feel that the Arizona is in as good a
spot as it could be in. Yeah, that's some of the conversations well,
of course of grad Alice in a few minutes. Yeah, do you
know what the anniversary is today? And you'll never guess this and that's anniversary
or something. Yeah, twenty three years anniversary. I'm trying to do the
math. You'll never never hear two thousand, two thousand, I don't know
the day that Sean Elliott had it could transplant from his brother. Yeah,
kenra Drikus, who I know, you know, the former two son citizen
guy, the guy I who left and I replaced him way back in the
day. I did a story on it, and today it's the twenty three,
twenty thirty year anniversary. I remember that time. I was sitting in
my house, uh young married at the time, and the Dawn hal Field
in them said you're gonna get on a plane and you're gonna go to San
Antonio and spend time in San Antonio. I said, Okay, what's going
on? What what? So I took all my bags and went. I
jumped on a plane and just like the next that night or the next day,
and spent a week in San Antonio. And it was it was bizarre,
bizarre how because one I didn't expect to be there, and then you're
waiting for news about Sean that this is all surprised. You know here he
was gonna get it when it happened, with it from his brother Noel.
Yeah, and so they celebrate this day apparently every year since. Man,
that thing has got to keep working. Yeah. Yeah, and he played
and he played after that, Yeah, which was amazing. That was a
hero of that. I don't think I would have got out of bed the
rest of my life. Yeah. So you know, obviously a fantastic story.
So no, congrats to them. Oh you'll like this College Basketball Report
just posted something. It's got uh sixteen schools on it asking are they a
college basketball blue blood? Wait? Wait, what's the what's the question?
Are they a college basketball blue bloob? Who's the sixteen teams? College basketball?
Okay? North Carolina? Okay, who's the who's the source? College
basketball Report? Okay, so there's sort of a big game boomer. Yeah,
College basketball Report, yes, real quick, North Carolina yes, Connecticut
no, yes, Michigan State they say, yes, okay, Michigan State
no no no, Indiana yes yes, Georgetown no no, correct, Villanova
yes, blue blood Probably not no because they're more recent. Kentucky yes ye,
Syracuse no, no, dude, yes, Kansas yes, Louisville no
no, yes, Cincinnati no, North Carolina State no, Ucla yes,
Michigan no. They might say yes, but no no, Arizona no,
no, no. They have one, two, three, but six,
four, five, six, seven eight, blue bloo. That's a that's
a stretch. Who they say Louisville. They said Louisville. I don't think
that's that's a that's a different one. I don't think Louisville one. I
guess you got to say Yukon they've got five championship, right, But that's
that's that's a recent that's in a recent time because see, to me,
blue Blood has gone, Yeah, you've been good for so fifty years,
it might any more any more evidence. No, just leave this is a
big fight we have. Just leave me alone. Leave me the hell alone.
I don't want to talk about this anymore. I'm hosting the show by
myself the rest of the day. All right, brad Allis coming up.
We're gonna do We're gonna do the last eulogy on the PAC twelve with the
Brad Allis from Wildcat Sports Report, and then we'll kick this to the curb
and move on. So stick around for Brad Ellis. For more than twenty
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is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports fourteen
fifty. Subscribe now to the podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Surgery on the
Ball. Hey, welcome back to I on the Ball, you know,
Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Robert, He's Jacobs Austin. Now on
the phone, we have Brad Alice from the Wildcats Sports Report. Brad,
how are you then? Before before you answered that, I thought, when
I was listening to your podcast, I had Abraham Lincoln, uh, listening
to the Gettysburg address. Holy Mullier. It's amazing. Now with the AI
can do I literally just plug that in whether it's AI program and it wrote
that itself, so probably played your eyes several you know, beat writers.
That's where we're at with technology. I would have no idea what the hell
I was doing there. I'm afraid that what it would say in my you
know, in my voice. So hey, So you know you called it
a eulogy to the PAC twelve. First of all, we all, I
mean certainly agree that that's where it's headed. But you know kind of your
thoughts on putting that together and and why you called it a eulogy and what
you were trying to get a us Well, you know, when when I
think about you know, there's a lot of people who's to blame, whether
it was Larry Scott, whether it was Lavia Koff, whether it was usc
UCLA, whether it was Frankly Robbins in Arizona. To me, even if
the Pact twelve survives, once you got rid of some of the big players,
the conferences, we know it is over. You know, best case
scenario is you add those Mountain West teams drading SMU, and maybe a few
of them come back to their former glory. Maybe UNLV, you know,
is two thirds of what they were under Tark. Maybe SMU is two thirds
of what they were under the Pony Express and it's it's a good league again,
but more than likely it's going to be, you know, if it
survives the Mountain West Part two. So I thought it was fitting to kind
of say goodbye well at the same time kind of pointing some fingers and explain
exactly why, you know, the league disintegrated, you know to two years
ago it was a strong league and we're heading into a football season that should
be you know, the crowning achievements said it's going to be the Swan song.
But later on they she'll will ask you your best moments in it.
But I don't know if you're an agreement with me. The best situation as
hope for happened, right, They're going to a pretty good conference and should
be very competitive in that conference. Or the strong commissioner, Yeah, yeah,
you know it's a conference other than the Big two. I guess it's
it's got the most forward thinking commissioner. He was putting a lot of his
eggs in the college basketball basket. I think he was looking at streaming as
the future, but not the immediate future like the PAC twelve was, and
you know one in many ways, Arizona because of that basketball tradition about because
of U you know, softball and baseball, and because Arizona fans of loyal
and they do stream games. I mean, you saw Twitter yesterday when Arizona
was playing a glorified rec league team from from Israel that you know, people
were clamoring to find that stream. So Arizona fans of loyal you know,
from a football standpoint, I actually think it's a slightly better move than the
Pac twelve. While is certainly it's a deeper league than the Pac twelve is
there's no USC, There's there's really not even a Washington. You know,
teeth us very good now, but will they be for going on. You
know, Baylor has been good in recent memory, but we don't know there's
there isn't an Oklahoma or a Texas or Ohio state. So that bodes well
maybe for Arizona winning the league. Ground Now that being said, when you're
you know, eleventh best program is Arizona or Colorado, that's still a really
strong league. Basketball. Arizona is going to be just fine. They might
have a few more losses here and there, but they're actually probably be a
better team come come March. So yeah, that's kind of the way I
look at the future of Arizona in the Big twelve. You know, you
spend a good amount of time talking about how you know, I think it's
sort of an overlooked thing that you know, the Pac twelve cities we're all
major cities, you know LA, you know, San Francisco or the Bay
Area, you know, Seattle, of you know, Phoenix, that in
that you know, what people think about think about those UH cities as big
TV markets from a finn interest standpoint, it's not even what it is.
And say, ok, you know in Stillwater or Lubbock, I mean they're
they're you know, there's probably more attention paid to you know, to those
college teams in those cities then in you know, in LA and San Francisco
and stuff like that. And I thought that that was a really good point.
Well, you know, if you look at it, you know,
USC football does very well in LA, but USC basketball doesn't play in La.
Ucla basketball. But Steve, you've been to Polly. How many times
have you ever been to Polly when it was sold out? Uh? Now
do that same thing at fog Allen. You know, a SU used to
be a bigger deal, but now it's third, fourth behind you know,
all these tro teams. So you know calum Stanford are are fans to their
alumni and their neighbors and and that's about it. They don't play it in
the Bay Area. Conversely, you know, these are the draws in town.
Even in Kansas basketball, even though they're forty five minutes from Kansas City.
I could tell you with tons of family in Kansas City. They're number
two behind the Chiefs in Kansas City and they're number one in Laure's. Yeah,
so it's yeah, it's a dedicated, loyal fan base. And I
get it. Yeah, if ninety percent of Stillwater, Oklahoma is watching a
football game, that's still not as good as fifteen percent of at Los Angeles.
But it's a very you know, very loyal fan base that's going to
pay attention to these games. Yeah, and I'm sure the TVs and everybody
behind that know what they're getting into, right, because they get that fan
base, they get that loyalty. And my guest, and I haven't seen
these numbers, but my guess is, if again I'm gonna you still out
to Oklahoma, I'm guessing if TCU is playing Texas Tech, you're going to
get a pretty big share of stillwater maybe keeping an eye on those games compared
to I'm guessing the average fan in LA is not watching Oregon Utah. So
again, are you only need a fraction of that lay audience. But if
you're talking about people who stream and people who are going to be dedicated,
and people who are gonna watch multiple games on the Saturday, you want a
college town, you don't want to protest? Yeah? No, I mean
how many people east of the Rockies watched you know, Colorado Arizona? Right?
I mean unless you unless you've got some juice on that game, which
is probably quite a bit. No, not a whole lot. Yeah,
exactly. So you you went around and you know there's plenty of blame to
go around, and then in the end you kind of penned on USC and
UCLA leaving that maybe none of this happens if they don't leave. But then
again, you know what did how did George Lavkov not know that? You
know, what did Larry Scott do to kind of make them think about that?
I mean, in the end, you know, where do you think
this thing lands or does it? Do we care if it lands on somebody?
No? I would say this. I think the day the Pac twelve
died was the day USC UCLA. Now they were leaving, but Larry Scott's
the one who gave him the disease, if you will. As much as
we love Arizona basketball and we love Oregon football or Washington football, this league
was built around USC football UCLA basketball in Los Angeles, and you just can't
have I don't think a viable top tier PAC twelve without LA. And when
those teams left, and again, Arizona basketball's great, Stanford basketball has been
great, it's not UCLA basketball. You know, Washington has a national championship,
Oregon has played for national championship. They're not USC with all those Heisman's,
right, So once those teams left, the writing was on the wall.
It just meant what did that writing say, and whether it's spelled the
imminent demise or the slow death, and it was the imminent demise of the
Pact twelve. Clearly the league was not a sexiest right. You just you're
not going to LA. You're not going to see the two big boys anymore.
You don't know how good you are. But I agree, and then
even like you say, they make it make it up with some other two.
It's still not the same, right, it wasn't gonna be the same.
Yeah, I mean San Diego State's nice. It's a nice edition.
You know, it's a good rivalry for Arizona fans. It's not usc football,
it's not UCLA basketball. You know, SMU. Maybe they capture the
hearts of Dallas, but they're they're the sixth, sixth team in Dallas,
if that you know. I mean, TCU is bigger. The long worms
are bigger there. We all know that. So yeah, it was going
to be very hard to find a replacement unless you had rated the Big twelve,
which they probably should have done a few years ago and didn't. So
once you again, once you lost those LA schools, you could have been
viable with Arizona and ASU in the Northwest schools, but it was never going
to be the same, all right. So on the on the podcast,
you gave up your age. You said you're fifty years old, So that
means you were like five years old when when the when the Arizona and Sue
went into the went into the pack dencil. Basically you grew up on the
pack. I don't know if you remember anything from before that, but it's
good. I don't know it. It's my heart a little bit to see
this happen. I mean, what about you, No, I mean it
was, it wasn't. It's been a great league. And whether that's you
know, I mentioned the football success of the early nineties, whether it's or
I still hey, I remember reading I don't know which paper it was,
but I remember reading one of the papers and learning in the newspaper that Arizona
won their share of the I think they had to beat Washington though, to
win a share of the Pac twelve and basketball, and I remember getting excited
and knowing that, Okay, I'm gonna have to go watch, you know,
a game on Channel eleven. I think it was all my Rabbit years,
and then see them win it out right in the next over the weekend,
or maybe it was that Raycom game, you know. I remember watching,
you know, getting up and geaking up for the Roles Bowl, wondering
why Tom Hanson wasn't going to let the h Holiday Bowl become a New Year's
Day Bowl and then get there. You know, it's not a better chance
of New Year's Day, you know, remembering some of those years where you
know, Montgomery's UCLA teams, and then Lavin's or Stanford teams, and Lavin's
UCLA teams. Arizona, I've got three or four teams in the top seven.
And let's not even forget baseball and softball and women's sports, and uh
yeah, the Pac twelve was and is a great league. And unfortunately again
and some of those non revenue might be the biggest loss to everything. You
know, what what that softball league was, I mean, it revolutionized women's
softball and what it's been not necessary for Arizona, but for soccer and all
these things. And you know, now we're going to get to see USC
in the Rolls Wall, but they're gonna be representing the Rock Conference. You
know, we're gonna see Arizona in Kansas every year, which is really cool.
But it was also cool, and you know that was for the trip
to the Final four a few times. So then then it's gonna be crazy,
it's gonna be different, it will be fun. You know. I
don't know, I'm not necessarily going to miss those Thursday night basketball games in
Corvallis with seventy four people in the stands. But in a few years we
may be saying on man, they're going They're going to Hilton Coliseum again Riowa
State, So who knows, but it'll be fun and different though. So
the biggest news on this last thirteen minutes is that you're fifty. I didn't
realize that. I fill off my chair. That fill off the chair.
So give me your two or three top moments in the PAC twelve as you
covered them, not as growing up for covering them, you know, certainly
I think one of the games, and a lot of them are negative,
actually, you know, but Arizona beating as you to go to when their
share of the PAC twelve south and and get to play Oregon. I think
obviously the National champions ninety seven of that wasn't a PAC twelve game. I
mean, you know, ho wass in banner for the PAC twelve after several
down years, you know, Arizona winning multiple national championships in baseball were great
moments. If you're talking great PAC twelve games, how about that Asu the
tongue candidate game against ANSU what was that thing? Or even that double ended
badly, but the double overtime, you know game against Oregon where all the
kids were on the field and I was trying to protect my laptop while trying
to cover the game. Yeah, those are all ones that really stand out.
Yeah, a lot of those. You had to bring up the loss,
but okay, no, but you're have been negative too. Yeah,
well that's again because you're in Arizona. Yeah, I mean it's Arizona.
We're conditioned for the negative condition. Well, we've had so many of the
bad ones, right, Hey, boys were going on a trip, Sure
to bring your band dates. Although I will say one of my favorites was
because you know, Arizona so many times on the road, you know,
got the got the court rushed against them. None of the time that the
Arizona fans did it. With Stanford here and I'm sitting at the at the
scores table and guys are jumping people jumping onto the court, you know,
stepping on the table on our table to get up on the court. And
that was in the end, that was a really cool thing. Although I
thought I wasn't get my head kicked or something. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I think that was right before I started covering, but I was,
I was probably I had really good seats for that game, and a friend
of my then girlfriend now white received So yeah, that was a good moment.
I remember that game. Yeah, it's one of the only times that's
happened. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no question, and it shouldn't happen
at Arizona often. No, no, no anything else. Well, Brad,
So, Okay, last year in the Pac twelve, Arizona's you know,
in football's you know, on the move. But how far on the
move are they going to get before they slip over to the Big twelve?
You know? Unfortunately they'll never get to say they won that league and should
have been in a roll ball. But you know, again, I think
they're gonna have a winning record. I think they're gonna find themselves in a
bowl game, and I think they are going to enter the Big twelve.
At the momentum there, I think the one that I'm really looking forward to
it just basketball. I think they have a very realistic chance of being the
final Pack twelve champions, at least the final pack legitimate Pac twelve champion.
I think that's a very good basketball team. And you know, I think
there's some other good basketball teams, but they got a legit chance to win
that title. Okay, real quick, we do have a minute left.
You saw Arizona against how you describe the Israeli team. What were your thought?
You know, I'm a little more impressed now that I saw that Kansas
seat and had trouble putting basically that same team away today. I think Arizona
is what we thought they were. They're very tall, they're very long,
they're very deep. You know, they do not have that pure six seven
Sean Elliott wing kite, but I don't know if they have everything. It's
a little more impressed worth mauricikis than I thought i'd be. He's maybe a
little ahead of where I thought I was. I'm a little disappointed in the
shape Ballow was in. Here's this guy who's a fifth, sixth year guy
who shouldn't be ten pounds overweight entering the season. But overall considering, I
don't even think they played a great game. And to win by fifty over
a team that gave an Elite eight team and I know that Kans seat,
it's not the same game, but they gave that team all they could handle
today. Yeah, I agree. I agree with you the same thing with
Balow. I totally was surprised about that, but he has time. Here's
time, and I do like this team a lot. Okay, Hey,
thanks Brad. As always, do we lose them, we lose is there,
Brad? I mean okay, yeah, thanks, thanks for joining us.
And I appreciate you know, was the last minute, but I always
appreciate you getting on the show with us. I would lost some fir a
second. Yeah, me too, don't I agree with most of us stuff,
if not all of it? Yeah? All right, man, Well
there it is. Let's kill it pact. Paul's done. Wow, we
got to go through the season. But yeah, I'm through talking about him.
Okay, we record our lives, all right, Well the til tomorrow.
Yeah, okay, we'll be back. We'll close it out. Give
us a call. Five to zero, four one, six, seventy four,
forty. If you're an Arizona men's basketball fan, you know it's been
successful for nearly forty years. Now. Take a look back at the lud
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together we'll ride towards a future of no more victims. That's m add dot
org, slash Az, Steve and Jaden Solids they have their eye on the
ball. On Tucson sports station Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. Hey, welcome back
to Ryan the Bargar on Fox Sports fourteen Cookie here in the final fourteen minutes.
I'm Steve, He's Ja Jayson with us today. If you'd like to
call us five two zero four one six seventy four forty we'd like to hear
from you. But whatever, yep, anything. Yeah, you know,
I'm glad we're done talking about it. But man, it's just I just
can't believe we're here with the pact well just dead the way it is.
It's just it's still See I'm still stunned by it that after all this time,
that it's it's not just not a good conference. They killed it.
The conference is dead, especially in their history and in the in the lower
and all that I know we had on who do we have on from the
Seattle we had but Withers and he's written some more columns about the demise,
and all these guys who have been at most of most of my time here
and way before me, the Gregs and and those guys. It's just sad
because there are so many great memories. You know, Yeah, back in
the day, you were part of it. I mean it was Scott,
Look, it was and it was a lot of fun. I mean the
PAC twelve PAC ten PAC twelve was a lot of fun, you know.
I mean you're going back to the you know, the first year in the
league, it was Larry Smith's first year in nineteen eighty. Arizona was still
wearing the U. Not they've been in for to you, but Larry Smith's
first years to me, the first time you felt like Arizona kind of belonged
in the Pac twelve. They beat you number two UCLA that year before that,
you know, I mean I remember, you know, we we went
on road trips to UCLA and to USC and they just got their asses.
Kid. You thought, we're not in this league yet. But in nineteen
eighty when Larry got here, Larry Smith got here and they beat UCLA and
you thought, wait a minute, you know, we we can. And
then the next year they beat number one USC, and then the next year
they beat they went up and beat you know, beat Notre Dame, and
then they beat u US. You know, a su had gotten really good
and they beat the hell out of them, and you just kind of felt
like, Okay, we do belong here. And that was a cool feeling.
So so let me ask you up outside of a guy named Frank Kush
outside, because that's when they were really good, right, what happened because
they're not that team anymore, they're not that program anymore. The Arizona Cardinals
happened to them, you know, And that was what nineteen doet players.
It might have ampathy, but not players. But but but it does affect,
if it does affect players. Up from the standpoint that you know,
if you're if you're being recruited by ASU, you want to go somewhere where
people are gonna come. And see, they stopped having seventy thousand people at
their games when the Cardinals got there. I mean that place was now And
let's not forget eight nineteen eighty two, that game should have gone to the
Rose Bowl. Nineteen eighty five, that teams should have gone to Rosebown.
Nineteen eighty six, that team did go to the Rose Bowl, and then
they went again in ninety six. But you know, the Cardinals showed up
and went eighty eight eighty eight. You know, that's where that's where it
went south on them, and they weren't very good. They were good a
couple of times after that. And so that's what what I think happened.
I think Frank Cush leaving the way he left he got five also had something
to do with that. And but he was a heck of a good coach.
He was. He was a great coach. But he was a great
coach in the whack. Would he have been a great coach in the pack
hen, I don't know. I don't know, because no way of knowing
that that football program was pretty darned good. It was really good. It's
just the fall. Because the fall. Look at where they're at now,
yeah, I mean Arizona has never had that that big of a high,
yeah, right, arguably or truthfully now here they are trying to rebuild,
but the shoe was here now here. They and they they, you know,
I remember back in the day, they they they used to say,
they said USC was a bigger football rival to them than Arizona because they're beating
the hell out of Arizona every year. And all of a sudden, they
weren't beating the hell out of Arizona anymore. And they was kind of like,
oh crap. So that had something to do with that. Right Now,
all of a sudden, Arizona's getting players the USC that a SC used
to get because Arizona started, you know, got ahead in the rivalry,
right and including beating two of their every best teams, all three of the
three best teams they had in the nineteen eighties all lost Arizona, you know,
eight eighty two, eighty five, and eighty six, you know,
and so I you know, but to me that for a s U,
it's always been because of all the other pro sports that came into town.
Then you had you had the Diamondbacks in ninety eight, ninety seven or ninety
eight. And that was one more thing that people, and I mean Steve,
before you came to Arizona, you couldn't get a seated in a SU
game. And they they're stadium seated seventy thousand people. You couldn't get a
ticket to get and and like you're you're saying, in the nineties that became
a true major league town. Yeah, they just wasn't. It wasn't just
the Suns anymore. I mean we were in the nineteen eighty sixth season,
a bunch of us, a bunch of the guys that I hang with,
we went to an ANSU football game to see to see him playing SMU because
that's when sm was, you know, the little other stuff. And we
we went up to that game just because you wanted to see a really good
college football game with two of the top teams in the country. Yeah,
let me ask you something, just to change subject, but not really.
Uh, there was a thing I don't know if Javier asked this question on
the internet on Twitter, what would happen if Tucson could host a or play
host to a w NBA team as a as an owner. You know they
played here. Would it survive a w NBA team? Ooh, I have
my answer, but I want to hear your I don't think so. I
don't think so either. We're exactly, that's what No, exactly. And
we've seen what idea has done here, unbelievable stuff. It's not the same
thing. Yeah, it doesn't translate. Look, there was a reason why.
And then my little gig at the Sugar Skulls that the year that got
canceled, we were going to start that year with the red out because I
it was my idea that we should go go after the arab go after the
Arizona because those are the sports fans in town. The sports fans in town
are Arizona fans, and if you can get them into your arena, you
might be able. You know, you might be just that and win,
right and then win, but but you know, you you have to have
some sort of a connection to that, you know, and I think that
in w Now, if a w NBA team came in here and started getting
all Arizona players and stuff like that, which I don't know how viable that
makes you In the league, right, maybe, but we're in Arizona town.
We really are. I truly believe that. And I don't think that
if you try to do a D League team it wouldn't work either, no
matter who's playing here. I agree, Yeah, this is a different town.
There's there's a certain emotional attachment that that that this town has to the
Arizona teams. Whatever team. It could be swimming, it could be tennis,
it could be golf, whatever, if you're if they're attached to Arizona,
there's an emotional attachment because there's such an emotional attachment to the school as
a whole in this town. So I don't know the pro sports, you
know, like that would have a would have a future here. I think
the Sugar Skulls are doing okay because they're football at a time there is no
football, and there's and and the road Winners are doing Roadrunners do okay.
You know there's still some fans that love those sports. But you know,
would a w NBA team go here? I look, I've said for years,
you know, we're not a basketball town. We're an Arizona basketball town
and the program program. But this town is an Arizona basketball time it's not
a college basketball town, you know. I don't, And I remember that.
I say that from having worked first and second round NC DOUBAA tournaments,
that Arizona wasn't here and how easy tickets were to come by people. You
know, the local fans did not go see those schools. Those schools brought
their fans and that's how those games don't those things sold out. You didn't
see Arizona fans going to going to Chale to see Bobby Night and to see
uh you know, you know LSU came to town, and Wake Forrest came
to town with with Tim who, the San Antonio guy, Tim Duncan.
He played his last college game here for those don't you know those teams were
coming here? You know Arizona fans weren't going to watch. Disagree with you,
I don't, you know, which is not a surprise. I don't
disagree you because I've seen it. Thank you, Yeah, I seen like
you. And it's what what are we have a million and a half maybe
in this area kind of overall World War a well over a million. Yeah,
and many of us aren't from here. No, aren't from here.
We don't have an attachment outside of Arizona, the University of Arizona. I
don't disagree, and I'm you would know this better than me. To give
me the list of all the ProTeams that have come here and didn't last,
right, right, the basketball teams, I mean the Tucson Gunners, right,
they were, you know, a kind of a minor league basketball team
many years ago, many years ago, and we're like back in the seventies.
But you know, there were there were some you know, there was
there was a professional volleyball here which he did very well for quite a while,
which the Tucson Sky which was all which is very fun. But I
don't know how many hockey teams going to the average Uh no past pitch softball,
Yeah no, no, no, But you know you had you had
hockey and a bunch of hockey teams. You had minor league baseball, which
we lost, right, and attendance for that was it slipped down. People
didn't like it over you know, over on the south side. They wanted
it back in High Corbett because it was easy to get downtown. Yeah.
I know there's been a bunch of pro teams that baseball lasted the longest.
I mean, Triple A Baseball got here in sixty nine and left her what
ten years ago, years ago, something like that. So you know that
that one left, but other you know, a whole bunch of other pro
sports. I mean, the Sugar Skills have you know, they've they've been
here four years and they thought they had a strong year. We've had and
the road Runners continue to be strong. We've got to get back on the
show. We had him a while back twice now, Edgar Soto, who's
who's kind of bread the way to get some more fans, some more pro
sports out here up on the northwest side, to see what the prod with
the progress we are on that. Yeah, because he's had some ideas and
they've had some ideas. Yeah, well no, but I agree, it's
a it's a funny town, fickle in a way many ways because it's Arizona.
I agree. Well, again gets back to the point I think.
I think fans here, because Arizona has had such a long history here,
fans want to be emotionally attached to their team, and if they're not,
Yeah, what's the purpose the point even for entertainment purpose, you know,
and and you know NFL teams you know they do get emotionally attack. Well,
I think Mike, Mike Creator who you had on not long ago,
and we have the clime next week, but he does the Mexican Baseball FA
I don't think you can have that here long term. Right. It's a
big party for a weekend, right, and you and that it's a great
what it is. Yeah, it's a lot of fun. You bring out
the food trucks and the and the music and the bands and the music and
the party. Yeah, and you can do that for a weekend here.
But you know, trying to bring us baseball pre permanently, maybe somebody can
do some numbers and say yeah it can work, you know, but uh,
you got to be a hardcore baseball fan who want to go see that.
Yeah, you know, two sounds different. I think we're kind of
I think it's safety. Say we're a college sports town. Yeah, And
I agree with you. I mean, you're right. And I'm sure people
are saying Jay doesn't know what he's talking about. That's most of the time.
But for the for the college, for the college basketball town, totally
agree. It's an Arizona basketball protest, right, And I and and and
I think in terms of a football town. I continue to believe we are
a football town. But again, when football's good, we're not when it's
not right, like anything else. But I think you know, Arizona will
get fifty to fifty five thousand people in their stadium when they're good, which
is big for a town the size of Yea. And how many times has
that happened? Well, it's been a while. You know, it all
very consistent. I mean the last time, you know, you know,
No. Twenty fourteen. There are a lot, a lot of really great
crowds that year. I mean that a SU game at the end was just
I mean that was just bananas. And then those those games when Khalil Taint
was doing what he was doing. But then that faded away and it's been
craps and then, you know, it's been a hard it's been a hard
sell since then. Okay, wisdom from Jay, Yeah, make sure you
save this, save this podcast. He's rolling his eyes, he's rolling his
eyes. Yeah, yeah, so I did. I was right. So
Victor says, Tucson had the Tucson Heat Pro fast pitch. That's what I
was taking the I think they're the man, right, the man. Yeah,
I can right, that's what I knew, didn't rock the rose the
roses he was. I think that good. The break, I think so,
I think it way back in the day. Well that tells you what
I know, because I don't even remember that. Well, that tells you
that the interest, I mean, you just wasn't wasn't there? All right?
Hey, thanks guys, got to hit the road. So we'll be
back tomorrow. Apostle College Channel four. I'm going sports director will be joining
us, so you sure to be here tomorrow