Speaker 1: This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on
Speaker 1: Fox Sports fourteen fifty powered by Nova Insurance Services Insure
Speaker 1: your most prized possessions.
Speaker 2: Good afternoon, everybody, Welcome to Iron the Ball here on
Speaker 2: Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera and with me
Speaker 2: today is Dave Silver. Eventually we'll have Kobe in with
Speaker 2: us later. But we're looking to have a pretty good
Speaker 2: show today. Interesting story or not story, interesting day, nonetheless,
Speaker 2: a lot of things going on. Big game tonight, big
Speaker 2: basketball game. I would venture to guess you are not
Speaker 2: gonna go. If I'm not gonna go, You're a smart man.
Speaker 2: But I'll be awake, I hope. Oh yeah, Well that's
Speaker 2: the hope. That's the hope of everybody in that arena.
Speaker 3: We have not had too many nine o'clock starts, so.
Speaker 2: Maybe two or three since I can remember, but I
Speaker 2: can't remember much now, but yeah, nine o'clock. It's gonna
Speaker 2: be a late start. You get out of there by
Speaker 2: midnight until thirty for me at least. Yeah, and a
Speaker 2: big game too, should be good. I mean, Baylor's coming in.
Speaker 3: They're one of the top teams in the conference and
Speaker 3: in the country as well. Ranked ahead of the U
Speaker 3: of A. You know, there's Scott Drew. They've they've had,
Speaker 3: you know, some some good history in the last decade
Speaker 3: or so.
Speaker 2: It's national championship. Yah, not too long ago. Yeah, I
Speaker 2: don't know. I don't know. We're gonna have Bryce Cherry
Speaker 2: on the show with the fourth seventeen time timeframe today
Speaker 2: and he's the sports letter of the Wake Coach Tribune,
Speaker 2: and I think he covers the team directly. I did
Speaker 2: not make the trip. You know, why would you want
Speaker 2: a nine o'clock But I'm wondering, and this may be
Speaker 2: a question for you two, that Baylor, like Arizona at times,
Speaker 2: lives office its reputation. You know, it's history. This is
Speaker 2: all Baylor. We're coming. They're good, well, not not always,
Speaker 2: you know what I'm saying. And eversone gets that too.
Speaker 2: It gets a benefit of basketball. Arizona all they're good,
Speaker 2: but not always.
Speaker 3: Yeah, pretty much though, I mean, oh yeah, yeah, right,
Speaker 3: you're right. I mean there are some teams that death
Speaker 3: we have reputations, and Baylor is going to be one
Speaker 3: of those types of teams from this conference that people
Speaker 3: are gonna think about and maybe worry about a little bit.
Speaker 3: More and maybe maybe it's not warranted this year, but
Speaker 3: they're off to a pretty good start. They've had a
Speaker 3: couple of losses to some great teams. Their record has
Speaker 3: been tough.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and they also takes took a loss, a big
Speaker 2: loss here and there, I think, a big points. But
Speaker 2: if I can remember can Zaga until Big twenty five
Speaker 2: whatever it is. Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't worry about that.
Speaker 2: Just just sit there for down by. Kobe is here.
Speaker 2: So we're good. Yeah, So we'll see what happens. They're good.
Speaker 2: And I'm not going to say the top twenty five
Speaker 2: is good because Arizona is all giddy for knocking off
Speaker 2: two top twenty five teams. Yeah, and they're all not
Speaker 2: that good. Yeah, you know, they're kind of backed in
Speaker 2: the top twenty five like Baylor.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and Arizona's kind of hoping to get in there.
Speaker 3: I think maybe I thought with those wins they'd have
Speaker 3: a chance. But you know, I think people are more
Speaker 3: concerned about where you are in March than you are right.
Speaker 2: Now, right of course, And that's the smart way to
Speaker 2: look at it, right. A lot of games left, Tommy.
Speaker 2: I had yesterday one of my guys who who I
Speaker 2: trust in and listened to sent me a text. I
Speaker 2: don't know if you did you listen to yesterday, No
Speaker 2: shame on you. But I he texted me and said
Speaker 2: that the rant by Tommy was scripted. He knew exactly
Speaker 2: what he wanted to say. He was scripted. He knew
Speaker 2: going in that this was his message, and.
Speaker 4: He was.
Speaker 2: It's kind of like this is I kind of give
Speaker 2: you grief in a good way, Dave, and I hope
Speaker 2: you take it this way. You're a good dude, right,
Speaker 2: You're just a good dude, and there's no bad thing
Speaker 2: out of that. But it's like you probably yelling at
Speaker 2: your kids and guys. You know what I'm saying, you
Speaker 2: be mean. You can't be mean. You're too good of
Speaker 2: a guy, So you know what I'm saying. That was
Speaker 2: Tommy the other night saying these guys, you know, pounding
Speaker 2: the table. Okay, but you're not really mean.
Speaker 3: Well, when I heard the comments, I don't know if
Speaker 3: I heard them actually live it read about on the
Speaker 3: next morning. My first thought again was to go back
Speaker 3: to loot and how he used to do that in
Speaker 3: the media all the time.
Speaker 2: He used the media all the time.
Speaker 3: He would go post game and he'd go postal on
Speaker 3: some of the players and you knew it was just
Speaker 3: a message he was sending. And these guys are like,
Speaker 3: you know McDonald's all Americans, are all Americans in college
Speaker 3: and they're hearing their coach.
Speaker 2: You know, rip them.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they know it's a psychological ploy. And I'm sure
Speaker 3: Tommy is you know, feel kind of the same way.
Speaker 2: Sure, Sean did that a lot. I think Sean did
Speaker 2: it more with his words and his eyes where he
Speaker 2: would send messages through us to get to his players, right,
Speaker 2: all the while saying we don't read you guys, of course, but.
Speaker 3: You know the word, Well maybe mom and dad, do
Speaker 3: you know or somebody somebody in the family does that
Speaker 3: they can relay the message. And that was to think
Speaker 3: about how looted that all the time.
Speaker 2: And that was social media. Who doesn't who doesn't happen
Speaker 2: to a bond the story?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean TV on Twitter and something's on you know,
Speaker 3: your guys websites or the newspaper website and it's there.
Speaker 2: And if you know so, they're.
Speaker 3: Not picking up the newspaper, they're just clicking.
Speaker 2: On the Sure, yeah, we don't read you, wink wink.
Speaker 2: And he kind of you could have said that that's
Speaker 2: you guys. You media guys are the ones that are
Speaker 2: talking about the blah blah blah well, which means to
Speaker 2: me that he's actually paid attention. Yeah, you know, why
Speaker 2: otherwise would he say that? But uh, interesting stuff, especially
Speaker 2: for Tommy mild manner. Tommy was not so mild matter.
Speaker 2: But but again, if you're a like you, you're a
Speaker 2: nice dude. Dave. I've never seen you mad, not that
Speaker 2: I hang around with you all the time, but I've
Speaker 2: seen and you got mad. I'm thinking, Dave, really, come on,
Speaker 2: you don't get mad? Well, I do sometimes, but you
Speaker 2: know what I'm saying. But you're right.
Speaker 3: They have a reputation for being the way they are,
Speaker 3: especially the way they are in public. And all of
Speaker 3: a sudden, you know, Tommy's you know, getting upset publicly,
Speaker 3: and you know, in front of you guys and in
Speaker 3: front of you know, players and their families and stuff
Speaker 3: like that. Who are going to read that. It's it's
Speaker 3: a little bit disconcerting a little.
Speaker 2: But as uh as I was he was, I was
Speaker 2: in the front row I usually typically am, and he's
Speaker 2: right there and he was doing this, and I'm thinking
Speaker 2: in my head, interesting that I'm nodding, and I'm nodding
Speaker 2: just kind of he's responsible and I'm writing. And then
Speaker 2: he's anymore and kind of fingering the table, look like
Speaker 2: puting the table, and I'm kind of that I'm laughing inside,
Speaker 2: but kind of laughing outside too, like you know, like
Speaker 2: this is interesting and this is kind of funny. Yeah,
Speaker 2: And then I asked him. He says, you haven't done
Speaker 2: this very often? Can you count the times? And he
Speaker 2: says that doesn't matter. You know, that doesn't matter because
Speaker 2: you know I'm telling you now, you know this is
Speaker 2: about our season. Yeah, yeah, which should makes it even
Speaker 2: for better stuff. Yeah, you know, because he's ranting with
Speaker 2: great quotes.
Speaker 3: Well, as I was watching it at home too and
Speaker 3: watching that lead disappear again, I'm thinking, oh, here comes
Speaker 3: the the November Wildcats again, not the January Wildcats. The
Speaker 3: way they were giving up those leads, and I could
Speaker 3: you could tell the frustration he took kle about you know,
Speaker 3: maybe I don't know, eight or nine minutes left and
Speaker 3: again when the when when you see I started pressing, Yeah,
Speaker 3: things kind of started to unravel a little bit.
Speaker 2: Well, he was lolly Kegan again he fell back and
Speaker 2: threw a ball away and then fell back in a
Speaker 2: ball or whatever. Yeah, and yeah, he just can't. And
Speaker 2: and directly I would assume that he was talking to him, Yeah,
Speaker 2: you know, I can't have you. I don't care who
Speaker 2: who you are, what you think you are. You can't
Speaker 2: do that. I just can't. Yeah. And the two sons
Speaker 2: who will follow the Cats say that every day at
Speaker 2: the TV. Right, what do you do it?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 3: I mean he had you know, he did have a
Speaker 3: pretty good stretcher in the last month or so, I
Speaker 3: guess maybe the last couple of weeks. But you're right,
Speaker 3: there was that there was a moment on that in
Speaker 3: that game when they basically gave up the lead again. Yeah,
Speaker 3: and your thought is like, what, you know, how are
Speaker 3: we gonna how are they going to stop this?
Speaker 2: Here's here's the problem I have, Dave. If you show
Speaker 2: these tendencies now and you have been in the recent past,
Speaker 2: you know, the last six weeks, whatever, what's the thing
Speaker 2: that at some point in March that ugly head won't
Speaker 2: show right? Well, that's that's that's the way that every
Speaker 2: season is going exactly exactly.
Speaker 3: I mean, you go, let's see Bala's missing free throws
Speaker 3: again last year. Well, that's going to come back to
Speaker 3: haunt and in March.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I remember, you remember Cali party back in two
Speaker 2: thousand and nine, I think was when he took his
Speaker 2: team to the finals and the biggest question for Memphis
Speaker 2: was can you hit free throws? Oh, it's not going
Speaker 2: to be an issu you We're gonna be fine. Can
Speaker 2: you hit the issues? As you went through the tournament,
Speaker 2: white run to the tournament, got to the finals, tight, Kansas,
Speaker 2: I think it was and it's not gonna be a problem.
Speaker 2: Guess what happened. Yep, it was a problem. It continued.
Speaker 2: It didn't just stop. Calendars push it away. You can't
Speaker 2: wish it away. Yeah. So so here they are. So
Speaker 2: we'll see if Arizona can just hold court home home games,
Speaker 2: win some home games in the in the Big twelve,
Speaker 2: they'll be okay. What okay means I don't know, but
Speaker 2: you can't lose him home the Big twelve.
Speaker 3: Well, they're gonna definitely have some confidence going into tonight.
Speaker 3: I would assume, knowing that they played well, they're gonna
Speaker 3: have you know, they'll have the home crowd. Are the
Speaker 3: students back out of the students back in school. Yeah,
Speaker 3: so the students should be you know, returning. There's a
Speaker 3: little more enthusiasm and michale from before, even if it's
Speaker 3: a late night start.
Speaker 2: Yeah, because tomorrow's your first day, right, Yeah, class to
Speaker 2: start tomorrow. They'll be there. They're not going. They're gonna steep,
Speaker 2: get some resk, go to class tomorrow.
Speaker 3: Right, right, because they've been waiting for this game. This
Speaker 3: is one of the marquee games on the schedule for sure, right.
Speaker 2: Uh, Kobe looks at me like, shut up, old guy,
Speaker 2: I'm going you go to the game. I'm so Yeah.
Speaker 2: It's the late game two yeah, nine pm. Well, you
Speaker 2: guys would be a Bob Dobbs anyway. Are you twenty one?
Speaker 2: I'm twenty Oh yeah you're not a Yeah, you're we
Speaker 2: go to Bob Dobbs after the game. Yeah. Yeah. That's
Speaker 2: the old group, guys. That's your dirt bags, their dirt bags,
Speaker 2: the young. So we'll see what happens again today. We're
Speaker 2: gonna have a little fun show in the first hour.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: Bert Williams mean you know of him from you know,
Speaker 2: being a businessman, local businessman, a big Arizona basketball fan,
Speaker 2: I'm sure you're in University of Arizona athletic fan. Uh.
Speaker 2: He's a as you described him, and you knew a
Speaker 2: dave who he is. He's one of the three blind
Speaker 2: mice that occasionally show up at McHale. I think it's
Speaker 2: been a while since they've been on the court.
Speaker 3: He posted something I want to say on Facebook or
Speaker 3: someplace recently, thinking hey, they may be returning tonight. So
Speaker 3: I I forgot. Oh yeah, that was Bert Williams. So
Speaker 3: there's three guys that have done that for a long time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, one of them has a cane, right.
Speaker 2: I think now they probably actually used knes since that old.
Speaker 3: His routine has become real.
Speaker 2: That's right, that's right. You're blind. Actually I am your
Speaker 2: usual kne Actually I do, because they've been around. He
Speaker 2: sent me some photos up today for today's post. Where
Speaker 2: from two thousand and six, two thousand and seven, so
Speaker 2: that's twenty years ago, and they were kind of already old.
Speaker 2: It's like it's like a corky God bless my friend.
Speaker 2: He looked eighty when he was sixty, you know, and
Speaker 2: Lou had his gray hair too. You think God looked great. Well,
Speaker 2: he's only fifty five. You know what I'm saying, he's
Speaker 2: only but he's like my age.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Mike co anchor go guy. Actually yeah, yeah, he
Speaker 3: looked like you know, he had that gray hair when
Speaker 3: he was in his forties.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you look to say you have been changed,
Speaker 2: Well I have, but you just don't know. Yeah. Yeah,
Speaker 2: So he's gonna be on We're going to talk about
Speaker 2: tonight game. How that whole thing started, why it started.
Speaker 2: We all know why it started, but uh, you know,
Speaker 2: just the's fun they have with it, and just his
Speaker 2: thoughts on the team he was. He's become close with
Speaker 2: a lot of the ex guys. Let's see how he
Speaker 2: thinks about Yeah, you know yeah.
Speaker 3: I mean, you know, he was kind of in the
Speaker 3: he was later than the uha man, but you know
Speaker 3: he's kind of the same, same ilk same. You know,
Speaker 3: they would both perform right at some point in some
Speaker 3: of the games when what we're going, well.
Speaker 2: What did it take you for you to do something
Speaker 2: like that?
Speaker 4: Man?
Speaker 2: No, just to do something like that's not you. That
Speaker 2: is not mean, that's that's not You're not being mean
Speaker 2: and you're not doing that. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah in front of fourteen thousand people, know, you knew
Speaker 3: you would do it at home.
Speaker 2: Oh, you can do it and no one would know
Speaker 2: who you are, like like the wildcat, you know, should
Speaker 2: be like anonymous anonymous.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So we'll see what happens with that tonight. So
Speaker 2: that should be fun. And again I'm going to talk
Speaker 2: about the the game more in the second hour with
Speaker 2: Bryce Cherry from the way Go Paper out there last
Speaker 2: that same Did you like it? I did? J J
Speaker 2: had the Minnesota sounds good. I don't know.
Speaker 3: I mean, I've never been a big Rams fan, not
Speaker 3: that it matters if you're a fan of but you know,
Speaker 3: I basically turned that thing off when it was about
Speaker 3: twenty four to three. I mean, they're not coming back.
Speaker 3: The fans were pro Vikings. It was it was it
Speaker 3: was pro Vikings. I thought it was pro LA. No,
Speaker 3: I think it was the other way.
Speaker 2: Oh, Chris said it was more LA than you said.
Speaker 2: It was a home game for.
Speaker 3: LA, but it was a it was a home game,
Speaker 3: and they set it up as a home game. They had,
Speaker 3: you know, their logos and their color.
Speaker 2: So there's more you're saying, there's more Minnesota?
Speaker 4: Did They said it was fifty one percent more vik Vikings.
Speaker 2: Oh so it was, you're surprised, and people thought it
Speaker 2: would be more LA like much.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: No, there's a lot of people from that area of
Speaker 2: the country than La here, although the fires will probably
Speaker 2: bring a ton of people from yeah, from there to
Speaker 2: come here and get some houses. Yeah yeah, yeah, So
Speaker 2: what I mean did it feel it was like fifty
Speaker 2: five thousand? How many people were in that building? I
Speaker 2: think it was something like that. They solder like real quick.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, you had to sell that thing in
Speaker 3: what three days basically? And people I saw that the
Speaker 3: rams bust over, like thirty buses of season ticket holders.
Speaker 3: Oh you know, they loaded them up that you know,
Speaker 3: yesterday morning, and I hope they didn't have to go
Speaker 3: home right after.
Speaker 2: The Yeah no, but that's a good bus ride going
Speaker 2: and coming and going back is gonna be fun?
Speaker 4: Or was?
Speaker 2: You know?
Speaker 3: And they all they flew Then the Cardinals sent out
Speaker 3: a plane I think to get a lot of the
Speaker 3: employees and team and everything.
Speaker 2: So yeah, it was a good gesture by the by
Speaker 2: the Bidwells. Yeah, so we'll see they needed some good pub. Yeah.
Speaker 3: See what happens next year when everyone says, well, you know,
Speaker 3: when the Cardinals come to La you know we should
Speaker 3: honor them somehow, so they they'll probably do.
Speaker 2: Something to thank them. Yeah, right, right, Hey, let's take
Speaker 2: a break down and come back on the other side.
Speaker 2: We're gonna get ahold of Bert Williams and talk about
Speaker 2: the three Blind Mice. M Thanks.
Speaker 1: Your chance to win one thousand dollars just after this
Speaker 1: nationwide key on our website. Cash that's cash enter in
Speaker 1: right now, Fox Sports fourteen fifty dot com.
Speaker 5: Are you ready ready to discover your soul, your wildside,
Speaker 5: your passion, your joy and excitement. From the latest slots
Speaker 5: and table games, to award winning dining, to world class
Speaker 5: entertainment to a luxurious resort.
Speaker 2: Discover all this and more.
Speaker 5: Discover with Soul Casino Dell Soul, the Soul of Tucson.
Speaker 2: Are you ready enterprise so Fasca Yucky Tribe.
Speaker 6: The Window Depot has everything you need to create the
Speaker 6: kitchen or bathroom of your dreams. Frowsyisles of instock cabinets
Speaker 6: available in a variety of sizes and configurations, and instantly
Speaker 6: elevate your space. Today, visit a showroom and let our
Speaker 6: experts guide you whether you're choosing for ready to go
Speaker 6: designs or creating a custom masterpiece.
Speaker 3: We can help you select the perfect.
Speaker 6: Wood, type, color and style and top it off with
Speaker 6: unique hardware to complete your look. Find a location near
Speaker 6: you at the window deepot dot com. The window Depot
Speaker 6: more than a windows store.
Speaker 2: Steve Rivera here to talk about Doratle Rock and Materials.
Speaker 2: I needed a lot of gravel for my driveway, so
Speaker 2: I called Eric at Dorato Rock. He found out the
Speaker 2: amount and color I needed and boom, it was taken
Speaker 2: care of and at a great price. How do I
Speaker 2: know radio commercials work. I heard one of his on
Speaker 2: the radio. Dorato Rock and Materials provides a wide range
Speaker 2: of landscaping materials, including decorative rock, boulders, gravel, soil, and
Speaker 2: sand for residential and commercial use in the Tucson area.
Speaker 2: They are locally owned and have been around for more
Speaker 2: than fifteen years. Give them a call at five two
Speaker 2: zero four zero zero for two three three. Where do
Speaker 2: you buy exercise equipment?
Speaker 7: Arizona Health Arizona Health Arizona Health.
Speaker 3: Of course, to.
Speaker 8: Feel better and look better, it makes sense to buy
Speaker 8: your fitness equipment from the people who know it.
Speaker 3: Better than anyone else.
Speaker 8: At Arizona Health, our goal is to help you choose
Speaker 8: the equipment you need to reach your goals, your health
Speaker 8: and fitness to serve the best you deserve. Arizona Health the.
Speaker 9: Leading edge and exercise equipment on twenty second just west
Speaker 9: of will Not Let's start twenty twenty five off with
Speaker 9: a bang by honoring those who did a bang up
Speaker 9: job for you in twenty twenty four.
Speaker 10: Recognize your employees, salespeople, managers and agents with the Creative
Speaker 10: Award from Creative Awards. It's time to restock your promotional
Speaker 10: products and convention giveaway items, and Creative Awards has over
Speaker 10: five hundred thousand products to choose from.
Speaker 2: Don't forget your corporate.
Speaker 10: Apparel for a great sharp look in twenty twenty five,
Speaker 10: visit the Creative Awards Idea Center at two twenty eight
Speaker 10: West Drackman. Visit them online at Creative Awards az dot com.
Speaker 11: At Nova home Loans, we believe everyone deserves the opportunity
Speaker 11: to enjoy the independence that comes with home ownership. Paul
Speaker 11: Volpe is ready to help you find an option that
Speaker 11: best fits your needs. Whether you're a first time or
Speaker 11: veteran home buyer, or want to get cash out with
Speaker 11: the refinance. Nova has a variety of home loan programs
Speaker 11: to meet your unique situation. Visit Volpe team dot com.
Speaker 11: That's Volpe team dot com or call five to two
Speaker 11: oh six eight five six two six Today n MLS
Speaker 11: three oh eight seven, arizon A b K nine two
Speaker 11: nine four two equal Housing opportunity to commitment to Ndrickson credit,
Speaker 11: great and avaiable loan programs of such to change the
Speaker 11: un notice?
Speaker 2: Did you know?
Speaker 12: Collecting sports cards is one of the fastest growing hobbies around.
Speaker 12: Whether you're looking at chart or expand your collection, Showtime
Speaker 12: Cards is your ultimate destination. As one of the leading
Speaker 12: card shops in the country, we've been serving our community
Speaker 12: for over twenty five years with the best.
Speaker 2: In sports cards and trading card games. From rare fines
Speaker 2: to the latest releases, Showtime Cards has it all.
Speaker 12: Check them out at Showtimecards dot Com or visit them
Speaker 12: on East Speedway and discover why collectors everywhere trust Showtime
Speaker 12: Cards for their passion.
Speaker 10: Richard Bacall Law Office, defending Arizonas for over thirty years
Speaker 10: and a Wildcat fan for over sixty. If you need
Speaker 10: an experienced criminal defense attorney, call Richard Ricall five to
Speaker 10: two oh seven to four to Roh twelve thirteen, broad
Speaker 10: sponsor of Eye on the Ball.
Speaker 7: Go cats, got bugs, termiteespees, or rodents, Arizona Pest Control
Speaker 7: will hunt them down. Arizona Pest Control is your complete
Speaker 7: desert pest management specialists. That's can't run or hide from
Speaker 7: Arizona Pest Control. They use only the latest and most
Speaker 7: technologically advanced method. This is a pest elimination available which
Speaker 7: minimizes the effects on the environment. Let Arizona Pest Control
Speaker 7: get rid of your bad bugs, termitespeeds, or rodents. Serving
Speaker 7: Tucson and Southern Arizona since nineteen forty seven. Go to
Speaker 7: azpest dot com to schedule your free evaluation. Today, baseball fans,
Speaker 7: it's time to experience the thrill of the game like
Speaker 7: never before. The World Baseball Classic Qualifiers coming to Tucson, Arizona,
Speaker 7: and you don't want to miss this incredible event. For
Speaker 7: four Action Pack days, the world's best teams will compete
Speaker 7: for their spot in the Global Championship. The games are
Speaker 7: set for March second, third, fourth, and sixth. Each day
Speaker 7: features two games at eleven am and six pm, with
Speaker 7: the finale on March sixth at six pm. Join us
Speaker 7: at Keno Veterans Memorial Baseball Stadium, located at the Kenosports
Speaker 7: Complex in Tucson. It's the perfect venue to watch a
Speaker 7: league baseball talent from around the globe feel the excitement
Speaker 7: is powerhouse team from Germany, Brazil, China and Columbia take
Speaker 7: the field. Whether you're a lifelong fan or just looking
Speaker 7: for an unforgetable day out, the World Baseball Classic Qualifier
Speaker 7: is an event for everyone in Southern Arizona, for your friends,
Speaker 7: your family, and your love for the game to Tucson
Speaker 7: this March.
Speaker 2: Tickets are selling, so don't wait.
Speaker 7: Visit World Baseball Classic dot com or SASTFA dot com.
Speaker 7: That's SASFA dot com to secure your seats today. This
Speaker 7: message is brought to you by the Southern Arizona Sports
Speaker 7: Tourism and Film Authority breaking.
Speaker 2: Down all the x is at OHS.
Speaker 1: This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on
Speaker 1: Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Speaker 2: Hey, welcome back to I on the Ball here on
Speaker 2: Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. In with me
Speaker 2: today is Dave Silver and now we have a long
Speaker 2: time you a basketball fan and a sports fan, Bert Williams,
Speaker 2: Burt how are you.
Speaker 4: Excellent? How are you guys?
Speaker 2: We're doing well? Are you did you get take a nap?
Speaker 2: Are you ready for tonight?
Speaker 4: Absolutely? I'm ready for tonight. I can't wait. Well, I
Speaker 4: can't wait, but I'll probably go to sleep because it
Speaker 4: starts at nine o'clock.
Speaker 2: That's why I say, you know, I had to take
Speaker 2: a nap just to get ready. We're gonna probably get
Speaker 2: out of here about eleven and eleven thirty. But you,
Speaker 2: you and your your buddies have something planned.
Speaker 4: Well, we really do. And we have a we have
Speaker 4: a demand that's come up rather uniquely, and it goes
Speaker 4: back a number of you. It goes back twenty five years.
Speaker 4: Twenty five years ago we had a situation that that
Speaker 4: was happening in the Pac twelve pack ten actually, and
Speaker 4: we responded, and now we can't seem to get out
Speaker 4: of it.
Speaker 2: Did you well, go ahead and explain what it is
Speaker 2: and then I'll ask him questions.
Speaker 4: Yeah, okay. Well, I've had season tickets at basketball and
Speaker 4: football for fifty two years, and so it's been very
Speaker 4: evident that the University of Arizona Michale crowd and basketball
Speaker 4: fans are very knowledgeable in basketball and the referees got
Speaker 4: really bad in the nineties, in the early nineties, and
Speaker 4: that was Booker. Turner was one of the headrest and
Speaker 4: he was great, but then they promoted him to be
Speaker 4: in charge of of the referees. And it's a case
Speaker 4: of the you can reach your point of diminishing returns
Speaker 4: and you were really great as a referee, but not
Speaker 4: so good as a supervisor of referees. And the referees
Speaker 4: went down badly, and all of the fans that mikhale
Speaker 4: knew it. And there happened to be one game I
Speaker 4: don't remember which one it was, but it was in
Speaker 4: nineteen ninety nine that the fans. All three of the
Speaker 4: refs were really, really bad, and the fans were on them.
Speaker 4: They were standing up almost the whole game, yelling at them,
Speaker 4: and it was so such a crazy situation. They were
Speaker 4: shouting ugly words at them and everything. And I just
Speaker 4: sat there in my chair and I looked up and
Speaker 4: there were people standing all around me like trees. I
Speaker 4: couldn't see anything except as the ceiling above me. And
Speaker 4: I looked up at the ceiling and I said, oh
Speaker 4: my gosh, those guys looked just like three blind mice
Speaker 4: and then the vision that I got was of three
Speaker 4: guys dressed like referees with Rachel's sunglasses, walking hand on
Speaker 4: shoulder down on the floor, with the lead guy using
Speaker 4: a kne It leaped into my mind. But it was
Speaker 4: the last game of the season, and I thought about
Speaker 4: it over the summer, and I went out and bought
Speaker 4: the equipment and when the game when the season started
Speaker 4: the following year, the year two thousand, I said to
Speaker 4: Floyd Settlemeyer and Bud and Oreo. There are two guys
Speaker 4: that sat next to us. We're on the fourth row,
Speaker 4: right across from the Wildcat bench. And I said, I
Speaker 4: told the guys what I wanted to do. And I said,
Speaker 4: if you guys don't want to do it, I'll find
Speaker 4: somebody that will. And I said, wait, wait, wait, we
Speaker 4: want to do it. We want to do it. And
Speaker 4: so we waded through the preseason and we waited for
Speaker 4: a big game and lo and behold, it happened. It
Speaker 4: was either UCLA or Stanford, and we did it. And
Speaker 4: we were just totally blown away. It was so much
Speaker 4: noise from the fans and they were taking pictures, they
Speaker 4: were shouting, clapping, patting us on the back and it
Speaker 4: was fun, and then we realized that we had kind
Speaker 4: of struck a chord with all the fans and everything.
Speaker 4: And you know, the interesting thing was that we noticed
Speaker 4: that the fans immediately stopped yelling questionable things at the refs,
Speaker 4: including all manner of crude things and four letter words,
Speaker 4: and they started laughing and they were actually laughing and
Speaker 4: having fun, and the blind refs were getting the point
Speaker 4: across better than all the screaming and yelling. And so
Speaker 4: that's kind of where we sit today, and we have
Speaker 4: sat for twenty five years.
Speaker 3: So Bert, when you go to the game, are you
Speaker 3: in uniform or do you change you know inside McHale somewhere?
Speaker 2: How does it your day?
Speaker 4: Well, I'll put on the striped shirt and then I'll
Speaker 4: wear a jacket over the top to tonight's wear Red Night.
Speaker 4: So I'll wear my red jacket with my striped rough
Speaker 4: shirt on underneath, and I'll carry a clear translucent bag
Speaker 4: that would have my my Mickey Mouse ears and my
Speaker 4: cane and my Rachearl sunglasses in it. And I never
Speaker 4: have any problems getting that stuff in. So fortunately, I guess.
Speaker 2: Do you did you when you first did this, or
Speaker 2: even now, did you have to ask for permission, Like
Speaker 2: you know, we talked about the man is the man,
Speaker 2: God rest his soul, and now you guys who kind
Speaker 2: of do this?
Speaker 4: No, we we just did it, and all of the
Speaker 4: athletic directors and all of the staff have loved it
Speaker 4: ever since because it's it's fun, you know. And the
Speaker 4: interesting thing is that there have been We've had about
Speaker 4: a dozen true referees that I've talked to, and they
Speaker 4: remark that they really like the gig. They laugh about it.
Speaker 4: I've only had one of the referees say anything negative,
Speaker 4: and he was one of the worst of all the referees.
Speaker 4: So I guess the truth can hurt, you know. So
Speaker 4: we just sort of do it, and we're very cautious
Speaker 4: to make sure that we follow the rules. Speaking of
Speaker 4: the rules, we can only go at a four minute
Speaker 4: time out sixteen minutes twelve eight four in each half,
Speaker 4: and we can only go if the refs are bad.
Speaker 4: We're not going to go out and try to be cute.
Speaker 4: We only go if the rest are bad. We only go.
Speaker 2: If the game is close.
Speaker 4: And it's going to blow out, even if the refs
Speaker 4: are bad. We don't go if we're way way ahead,
Speaker 4: and it's not a closed skiing. We're not going to
Speaker 4: be bad sports and we only go if a bad
Speaker 4: call is made against the cats at a four minute
Speaker 4: time out and the fans are enraged. And so it's
Speaker 4: it's a little complicated and we try to watch what
Speaker 4: we do and follow the rules.
Speaker 3: Have you have you mentored any of the next generation
Speaker 3: to take over when the mice when the mice have
Speaker 3: decided to.
Speaker 4: Anyone else going to pick up? Yeah, well we're we're
Speaker 4: charging a three thousand dollars initiation fee. No, I'm just
Speaker 4: using no Budden Oreo and Floyd Settlemeyer bless his heart,
Speaker 4: as he was the chairman of the board for PEMA
Speaker 4: Savings and he passed away, and we replaced bud Or.
Speaker 4: We replaced Floyd with with Floyd's grandson, Jordan Emerson. He's
Speaker 4: with the Attorney General's Office. Budd and Oreo had to
Speaker 4: retire because of having some issues with walking, and that's
Speaker 4: what's coming up with me and UH and so we've
Speaker 4: we've got some changes going on in that regard. Mike
Speaker 4: Reiner replaced Richard Berger when Richard passed away, and Mike
Speaker 4: Reiner is a retired fire captain of the Tucson Fire Department.
Speaker 4: So and just recently we we brought on Jeff Hamstra.
Speaker 4: He's the president of Hamster Heating and Cooling, and he's
Speaker 4: going to replace me as I retire after twenty five
Speaker 4: years on this running this puppy.
Speaker 3: You're a marketing guy. Have you done this or what?
Speaker 2: I have not know? Have you?
Speaker 4: Yeah? We did actually, and I made about one hundred
Speaker 4: T shirts and and we we tossed them out to
Speaker 4: people just for free. And I'll bring you I'll bring
Speaker 4: you some T shirts.
Speaker 2: Brother, Yeah, that's fine. We can get to Dave and
Speaker 2: I David, I'm an extra large just so you know,
Speaker 2: I can't fit at any small same thing. So let
Speaker 2: me ask you. You're I don't want to. You can
Speaker 2: divuld your age if you want, but you're talking about
Speaker 2: all these ages here. You said twenty five years ago.
Speaker 2: So you were a young man when you decided to
Speaker 2: do this, and now you're well whatever you are.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'll be eighty in a month. I mean sorry,
Speaker 4: eighty one in a month. I'm eighty now and I've
Speaker 4: had some problems walking with hip replacement surgery and things
Speaker 4: like that. So I've just decided that it's time to
Speaker 4: bring on more things and more guys. And Jeff Hampshire
Speaker 4: is a terrific guy, and he's anchored. He has a
Speaker 4: family business here in town, heating and cooling, and he's
Speaker 4: just a solid guy. He supports the Wildcats. He is
Speaker 4: a very strong member of the community, does a lot
Speaker 4: of charitable work. And so all of us are here
Speaker 4: to have good times, support the cats, stand and stand
Speaker 4: up for them, and do whatever we can to make
Speaker 4: things work. Support uh, support Tommy, support all the everybody
Speaker 4: up and down the line.
Speaker 2: You've become very popular with a lot of the guys
Speaker 2: because yeah, you're close to him. I know Miles. Matt
Speaker 2: Othick just posted something on my Facebook page when I
Speaker 2: announced that you were coming. So how did that relations
Speaker 2: should start with most of them?
Speaker 4: Well, I'm not sure which which individual are you talking.
Speaker 2: About, Miles, Miles Simon, you know, Aja, Matt Athic, those guys.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, well, oh my gosh. We we used to
Speaker 4: we used to have the Miles and his buddies and
Speaker 4: their girlfriends. They used to come out to our house
Speaker 4: and they play a little golf and have some fun.
Speaker 4: And uh, I just dearly loved Miles and I was
Speaker 4: his Kevin Flanagan was was mom and dad were friends
Speaker 4: of hours back in the nineties, and and then mister
Speaker 4: Flanagan said to me one time, he says, we need
Speaker 4: to bring somebody else to hang out with us. And
Speaker 4: I said, well, who's that and he said, well, it's
Speaker 4: Miles Simon's dad. So we got the older Simon to
Speaker 4: start hanging out with us. And I'll never forget one
Speaker 4: time I got a call from Walt Simon and I
Speaker 4: was having a bad week. It was really tough. You know,
Speaker 4: you're in business for yourself and you have good days
Speaker 4: bad days, and it was a really bad, really bad
Speaker 4: month actually, and he said, well, I want you to
Speaker 4: stop what you're doing right now, get in your car
Speaker 4: and drive over here. And he says, I got a
Speaker 4: sofa and I want you to spend a couple of
Speaker 4: days with me. I'll take you around and babysit you
Speaker 4: for a while. So I slept on wal Simon's sofa
Speaker 4: and we became very very close friends. And when Miles's
Speaker 4: nana passed away, they asked me to be one of
Speaker 4: the speakers at the funeral, and it was the greatest
Speaker 4: honor that I had had at that point in time
Speaker 4: in my life. And I do dearly love Miles and
Speaker 4: his family and and everybody, and so you know, there's
Speaker 4: a lot of history that I'm aware of that is
Speaker 4: under the table that maybe I'll write a book someday.
Speaker 4: You can help me.
Speaker 3: Okay, I'll definitely do that. Definitely going to do a
Speaker 3: quick one last question. Do you have an NIL deal
Speaker 3: yet put together with?
Speaker 4: Well, if we could do some figure out some ways
Speaker 4: that we could pay for it and T shirts, I
Speaker 4: think that'd be pretty fun.
Speaker 2: Well, hey, we can come up with an idea like that, sure,
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm serious about that too. We'll talk, we'll talk.
Speaker 2: What you what do you think about the NIL situation?
Speaker 4: I think it sucks. I think it's us. It's going
Speaker 4: to ruin a lot of things, and it's going to
Speaker 4: sneak up on us and we're gonna wake up someday
Speaker 4: and we're gonna say, how in the world do we
Speaker 4: do that? Why did we do that?
Speaker 2: Yeah? No question. And you being a local guy with
Speaker 2: the business, you know, popular business and known business, I'm
Speaker 2: sure you've gotten a call or two or two or
Speaker 2: two hundred. Hey can you help us?
Speaker 4: Bert?
Speaker 2: Can you help us?
Speaker 4: Burn. Well, yeah, and I don't see any way that
Speaker 4: we can justify spending money to in that arena. There
Speaker 4: are many many more ways that that money can be
Speaker 4: spent in marketing, Yeah, a much more practically. There are
Speaker 4: two advertising mediums. There's a shotgun medium and there's a
Speaker 4: rifle medium. The shotgun medium is where you put somebody's
Speaker 4: face on a picture, run it on the television screen,
Speaker 4: or you have an ad in the radio, or you
Speaker 4: have a billboard. Now you're not going to be able
Speaker 4: to determine and control who's going to be seeing that.
Speaker 4: It's like a shotgun that goes out there and blasts everywhere.
Speaker 4: But there are direct mail and promotional products. Advertising are
Speaker 4: like a rifle where you can really key in and
Speaker 4: nail what it is that is in your target audience
Speaker 4: and your and that's what we're trying to do. But
Speaker 4: I'm just happy to help you guys. I'm happy to
Speaker 4: help the university. My high school sweetheart, Ann and I
Speaker 4: we've been married for sixty one years. We grew up
Speaker 4: in Phoenix Kulleac High School. We came down to the
Speaker 4: university for our freshman year. We got married after our
Speaker 4: freshman year and she was a cafeteria girl in the
Speaker 4: student union, and I worked as a priy cook in
Speaker 4: Louis's lower levels. Used to cook three thousand hamburgers a day.
Speaker 4: And you know, I was offered as a scholarship. Actually
Speaker 4: this is a true story. I was offered a scholarship
Speaker 4: to be a wrestler in the one hundred and sixty
Speaker 4: five pound rate. And I said, well, great, how much
Speaker 4: does that get? Well, we get you books and I said, well,
Speaker 4: I've got to work. Oh no, you have to quit
Speaker 4: work and you have to start working out. And I
Speaker 4: said I can't do that. If I don't work, I
Speaker 4: don't go to school. So that was when it was
Speaker 4: just a club sport back then.
Speaker 2: And let me ask myself so every question, as I
Speaker 2: always like to do, you got a few books? Did
Speaker 2: you eventually read my book? I know you got some
Speaker 2: books from some of the guys.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, no, And thank you very much, thank you
Speaker 4: very much for for signing it. I appreciate it very
Speaker 4: very much. And I passed the books on. I gave
Speaker 4: sent one to Miles, and I can't remember Dylan maybe,
Speaker 4: and Kevin Planning, and I can't remember all the guys.
Speaker 4: But anyway, it's really a lot of fun. It's a
Speaker 4: blessing to be living here in Tucson. We are we
Speaker 4: are just an amazing community. And thank you for everything
Speaker 4: that you guys do. Yeah, well, thank you, Bert. We'll
Speaker 4: see you at the game tonight. Have fun, be safe,
Speaker 4: don't don't get hurt, all right, all right, then and
Speaker 4: after it's all over with, I'm gonna go rob a circle.
Speaker 4: K you want to go with me?
Speaker 2: No, no, there's three mice here, but no, I don't
Speaker 2: want to know. Thanks, Bert, appreciate all right, guys later,
Speaker 2: all right, Hey, that's good. That's good.
Speaker 4: That's why.
Speaker 2: Just take a break here, Dave and Kobe and come
Speaker 2: back on the other side. If you're an Arizona men's
Speaker 2: basketball fan, you know it's been successful for newly forty years.
Speaker 4: Now.
Speaker 2: Take a look back at the Ludelson era in my
Speaker 2: new book, Lessons from Loot. It was a labor of
Speaker 2: love through the eyes of twenty five former players, coaches,
Speaker 2: and friends to give insight to the coach and the
Speaker 2: man who led them, competed against them, and inspired them.
Speaker 2: Twenty five chapters for his twenty five years as Arizona's
Speaker 2: loved coach, Lessons from Newton is an insight to how
Speaker 2: he built the program into a national powerhouse. What one
Speaker 2: email me at Steve dot RIVERA ninety five at gmail
Speaker 2: dot com.
Speaker 13: Hi, this is formal while get Leman huntly with Arizona Health,
Speaker 13: imagine how home GM can change.
Speaker 2: Your health, your comfort, and your time.
Speaker 13: Arizona Health is everything you need to transform your personal.
Speaker 2: Space in your life.
Speaker 13: We off a complete line of caudio machines, multi gyms
Speaker 13: and freeway equipment. I'll certify fitness experts and technicians will
Speaker 13: set you out with the right equipment and training to
Speaker 13: get you started to keep you going. Visit our share
Speaker 13: room today at twenty second in Wilmot.
Speaker 11: Arizona Health the lead to edge and exercise equipment.
Speaker 10: What's your goal a new career or career advancement? How
Speaker 10: about transferring to a four year college. PEMA Community College
Speaker 10: can help you make Someday today and reach your goals
Speaker 10: affordably on your schedule. With over one hundred programs to
Speaker 10: choose from in financial dad available, it's time to earn
Speaker 10: the degree certificate you need to prepare for the career
Speaker 10: you want. PIMA offers free career exploration classes so you
Speaker 10: can choose the field that's right for you. Learn how
Speaker 10: at Pima dot edu slash someday.
Speaker 2: Hey two sons, Steve rivera heir, and I've got a
Speaker 2: tip for you. Want to be in good hands while
Speaker 2: cruising the desert or kicking back at home, then you
Speaker 2: need to call my friends at the Edmond Marcus All
Speaker 2: State Agency. These guys are the MVPs of home and
Speaker 2: auto coverage. Whether it's a fender bender or a leaky roof,
Speaker 2: They've got you covered. Don't fumble your chance to say
Speaker 2: call them today and score big on your insurance. With
Speaker 2: the Edmund Marcus All State Agency. You're always in good hands.
Speaker 2: Visit them at twenty seven nineteen North Caampbell or call
Speaker 2: them at five two zero three two three nine three
Speaker 2: three three. Selling your home want to get more money
Speaker 2: for it? Well, Danny Roth can help you. He told
Speaker 2: me about as you Flip the Home You Own program.
Speaker 2: The program allows for a homeowner to fix up their
Speaker 2: home to sell without using any of their own money.
Speaker 2: They will be able to sell the home for a
Speaker 2: much higher price. Danny Roth with Armny Holmes International is
Speaker 2: the real estate consultant in Tucson that offers this program.
Speaker 2: He has consistently been the top agent in two u
Speaker 2: Son for the last thirty years and has sold over
Speaker 2: ten thousand, five hundred homes. For more information on this
Speaker 2: program or just buying our selling a home of Daniel
Speaker 2: Roth at five two zero four nine zero four thousand, Tucson.
Speaker 10: It's time for the Colo Guard Classic by Exact Sciences
Speaker 10: March seventh through the ninth at La Poloma Country Club
Speaker 10: and the Western La Poloma Resort and Spa. Come see
Speaker 10: some of golf's greatest players competing for the coveted Tucson
Speaker 10: Conquisador's helmet. It's PGA Tour Championship golf at its finest.
Speaker 10: Don't forget to join us Friday and Saturday Night under
Speaker 10: the Stars to watch Vanilla Ice and coet So live
Speaker 10: in concert at Riedo Park. The Coliguard Classic by Exact
Speaker 10: Sciences benefiting Colo Rectal Cancer awareness in Tucson Youth Sports.
Speaker 10: Get your tickets and more at Colo Guard Classic dot com.
Speaker 2: This that is brought to you.
Speaker 10: By fallbaumb Crowley Investment Group at RBC Wealth Management.
Speaker 1: This is I on the Ball with Steve Ravera on
Speaker 1: Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Subscribe now to the podcast on
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app just search I on the Ball.
Speaker 2: Hey, welcome back to in the Ball here on pox
Speaker 2: Sports Fortune fifteen. I'm Steve Rivera, you're Dave Silver and
Speaker 2: you're Kobe what. Hey. That was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2: That's good. That's good. We'll see how you know. The
Speaker 2: funny thing about it, he's talking about all this right,
Speaker 2: it may not happen because he has all these conditions, right,
Speaker 2: a four minute every media timeout. It has to be
Speaker 2: a bad call. Circumciances have to be right. Does he
Speaker 2: have to clear it? I mean, does he have to
Speaker 2: clear it?
Speaker 7: Though?
Speaker 3: Like you know, some of those timeouts are kind of
Speaker 3: orchestrated with the cheerleaders coming out.
Speaker 2: And band playing. Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 3: It always seemed like it was kind of right right
Speaker 3: as the as the buzzer went off to kind of
Speaker 3: get everybody off the court to get ready to come
Speaker 3: back on the court.
Speaker 2: Like it's do you remember I can't.
Speaker 3: I wondered him walking right by us and we used
Speaker 3: to be situated, we used to be situated on the floor,
Speaker 3: on the floor, and.
Speaker 2: He would walk right behind us.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he'd be coming down from like three or four
Speaker 3: rows behind us, Right, I do remember that, like turning
Speaker 3: back behind me, like what.
Speaker 2: You're talking twenty years ago? Yeah, that's what we're all
Speaker 2: on the floor.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I haven't been on the four in sixteen years, probably,
Speaker 2: but yeah, that and uh, do you remember I can't
Speaker 2: remember the last time they did this. I can't remember.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but they usually would show it, you know, they
Speaker 3: wouldn't show it live necessarily, but they would show it
Speaker 3: when they come back from a break in some broadcasts.
Speaker 2: Right, but let's see what happens tonight. It's funny because
Speaker 2: I don't know he named off like six people. I mean,
Speaker 2: it's it's already like a second generation or whatever. However
Speaker 2: you say that, Yeah, because he's eighty one. He's eighty
Speaker 2: one one, he's already passed and they've been doing it.
Speaker 3: He said, what twenty five years Yeah, so yeah, so
Speaker 3: he was a young you.
Speaker 2: Were just my history now day with you. It's forty
Speaker 2: one years. You've been in town forty ishty one years.
Speaker 2: I've been here at thirty seven, almost thirty eight. God,
Speaker 2: I'm not sure if time flying, times flying.
Speaker 3: I know, but it's great how we can remember some
Speaker 3: of those things.
Speaker 2: I can remember.
Speaker 3: I remember the eighty three eighty four season. But I
Speaker 3: couldn't tell you, like though, that's you know what happened
Speaker 3: like last week.
Speaker 2: No, no, we Jay and I were notorious for that.
Speaker 2: We just didn't know what the hell would that guy?
Speaker 2: You know that guy? You know that guy? But we remember,
Speaker 2: you know, did Bud just from sixty two exactly? This dude?
Speaker 3: Yeah, well they had such a big impact as we're
Speaker 3: kind of growing up and learning on our jobs that
Speaker 3: I just remember them being just kind of, you know,
Speaker 3: important to us.
Speaker 2: Then who's the who's the day or the or just situations. Yeah, yeah, moments,
Speaker 2: I mean.
Speaker 3: You know, like the other day, I don't know why,
Speaker 3: I guess when we played Cincinnat whenever I played Cincinnati
Speaker 3: and they were replaying the shot and then the miles
Speaker 3: in Phoenix, I mean, you know you you were there,
Speaker 3: I was there. You know, those are like moments you
Speaker 3: just don't forget.
Speaker 2: It's funny because when they showed that and I was
Speaker 2: a part of it doing the stories. Obviously, uh my
Speaker 2: story was after the fact because Luke you know, doesn't
Speaker 2: really celebrate on the court. He does kind of give
Speaker 2: us a shrug or whatever. And then remember Huggins just
Speaker 2: destroying the locker room. He was, you know, really pissed
Speaker 2: and destroying the locker room. And I think it was
Speaker 2: his five hundredth victories for Boot. And they partied on
Speaker 2: thee on the on the trip back, and that's when
Speaker 2: you know, when people don't see the stuff. He was
Speaker 2: having a good time on the way back.
Speaker 3: I think they had a cake in the locker room
Speaker 3: because I that's kind of the end of the story
Speaker 3: for me.
Speaker 2: Sure it's the last time we saw No, you're accurate
Speaker 2: that one day.
Speaker 3: It was funny because our photographer was right underneath the
Speaker 3: basket and got a great shot of I mean three
Speaker 3: quarter court because I was sitting, uh, equal to the
Speaker 3: free throw line at that end, so I'm watching it
Speaker 3: coming our way and I'm just remember my first thought was,
Speaker 3: that's got a chance.
Speaker 2: That's got chat.
Speaker 3: I don't know if it's straight, but it certainly was
Speaker 3: the right short distance it was. Our photog was Joe Pirates,
Speaker 3: was right underneath the basket and got a great shot
Speaker 3: of it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the late great Pirates, right, good photog. Yeah, it
Speaker 2: was uh, some great times and that's a great moment
Speaker 2: to five hundred victory for Loot and No one thought
Speaker 2: they were gonna win. They were underdog in that game.
Speaker 2: And we said this yesterday and you know this just
Speaker 2: as well as I do. Arizona when they were an
Speaker 2: underdog are very They're very good. It's very good. Ye
Speaker 2: when they're a favorite, you know, they kind of LOLLI
Speaker 2: gag or whatever and they kind of let people in. So,
Speaker 2: you know, for whatever reason, it's just been that case forever.
Speaker 3: Sometimes you would, you know, they would get caught in
Speaker 3: the Pac twelve, you know, with that Oregon State game
Speaker 3: or Washington State when you go come on, you know
Speaker 3: where you know Arizona is better, and then something would
Speaker 3: just not you know there was some reason. Oh yeah,
Speaker 3: it was too cold, there was nobody in the crowd,
Speaker 3: there was no life in the arena, and then they
Speaker 3: just kind of let down. But you're right, when they're
Speaker 3: when they're favored, they had to be careful.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, no question, especially on the road. I've
Speaker 2: saw that too many times. When the Thursday Saturday blah
Speaker 2: blah blah, they played Oregon State. Like you said, there's
Speaker 2: three people in the gym, they didn't show up. Because
Speaker 2: there's three people in the gym, there's no really nothing
Speaker 2: to play for these show up and they get beat
Speaker 2: and then they play out of their mind against you know,
Speaker 2: with Kent or any kids Oregon team and they kill them or whatever.
Speaker 2: And then the same thing in Washington, Washington State. Like
Speaker 2: you said, Stafford, cal there was always one or the other. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and it was always the bad game that gave them trouble.
Speaker 2: And winning road games is special. I mean you can
Speaker 2: tell even from our media standpoint, when they would win
Speaker 2: a road game in a place like that, like at
Speaker 2: a Stanford when Stanford was good or Oregon where they
Speaker 2: were good, and those were big moments of pride, I
Speaker 2: think for the team and for the program and for
Speaker 2: confidence and things like that.
Speaker 3: So it was never easy, but it was always a big.
Speaker 2: Moment, yeah, the road games. And like you said, Tucson,
Speaker 2: and you've been here a long time, but it was
Speaker 2: probably this was very big before we even got here.
Speaker 2: You know, life didn't just show up in the mid eighties.
Speaker 2: How Tucson has embraced the Cats and have always done that.
Speaker 2: It is what it is. That's their only game in town,
Speaker 2: right and now that they've gotten really good or had
Speaker 2: gotten really good since then, just love them. Yeah, I
Speaker 2: mean it's part of the culture. It definitely is.
Speaker 3: I mean, why when people think about Tucson and when
Speaker 3: you see like marketing things like maybe even when Bert
Speaker 3: was talking about when they see things about Tucson, there's
Speaker 3: usually a picture of U of a basketball moment in
Speaker 3: some of that. Besides, it's just Mexican restaurants and right,
Speaker 3: you know Mount Lemon.
Speaker 2: Well, that's that's what Lu did. He I mean, he well,
Speaker 2: you know, we had Bob Elliott yesterday and I'm gonna
Speaker 2: ask you this because you were not here, but you
Speaker 2: knew of it. Yeah, that I don't think that Bob
Speaker 2: Elliott's time the early seventies with Snowden and that when
Speaker 2: they went and they played Vegas in the tournament, lost
Speaker 2: to UCLA and in the seventy six to seventy five
Speaker 2: time of the tournament to get to the final four.
Speaker 2: I think it was the du that that era doesn't get.
Speaker 3: Enough credit, right what I think a lot of it
Speaker 3: just has to do with exposure and not Things are
Speaker 3: much different now. Every game is on TV. My friends
Speaker 3: who even as the UF was getting pretty good, you know,
Speaker 3: in the eighties and nineties, a lot of my friends
Speaker 3: we'd never even heard of Arizona growing up. Oh really,
Speaker 3: And now all of a sudden they're on national TV.
Speaker 3: They're getting publicity, and that just didn't happen in the seventies.
Speaker 3: Yet it wasn't USA today. There wasn't these national publications,
Speaker 3: you know, CNN or ESPN doing stories on oh, this
Speaker 3: sleepy town in the Southwest, they got a pretty good
Speaker 3: basketball team.
Speaker 2: Well that just didn't Well It's funny because yesterday I
Speaker 2: saw Channel four did the story or a little feature
Speaker 2: on Saliba, right, and they followed around and they, you know, says,
Speaker 2: well he and he benched on the podium there. Arizona
Speaker 2: was the sleeping giant. And I think I haven't heard
Speaker 2: that in forever, if at all, because guess what, tempe
Speaker 2: Asu was the sleepy guy. And they even hate saying
Speaker 2: that because it's never gonna awake or awaken. But this,
Speaker 2: this town is like a this town is like a
Speaker 2: forgotten child, I mean, and they proves itself.
Speaker 3: Every week or every year. Yeah, definitely with basketball. I mean,
Speaker 3: you know, I think you can't say that anymore about
Speaker 3: basketball sleeping giant. But I like my school San Diego State.
Speaker 3: I always have wondered, why is this place not you know,
Speaker 3: blown up now especially they've got you know, a good arena,
Speaker 3: brand new football stadium, good baseball stadium, but they just
Speaker 3: have never they never could kind of get out of
Speaker 3: that whole whack Mountain West feeling, you know where they
Speaker 3: couldn't you know, emerge and get some national coverage.
Speaker 2: Yeah. So when you we've gone through your history since
Speaker 2: you've been here. You got here in eighty three ish
Speaker 2: eighty three. When you got the job, you were like
Speaker 2: pop screams or somewhere I think San Luis Obispo. Uh,
Speaker 2: when you got here, what were you thinking? What were
Speaker 2: you thinking that, Oh, I'll sider a couple of years
Speaker 2: and get the hell out or what.
Speaker 4: Well.
Speaker 2: No, it's funny because.
Speaker 3: Longtime UFA fans might remember this, but in eighty three
Speaker 3: they started off, I want to say third in the country.
Speaker 2: I mean they were good.
Speaker 3: It was Ricky Hunley's senior year and they started off.
Speaker 3: And as we were moving physically coming to Arizona, they
Speaker 3: had a weekend game at Cal and they lost or
Speaker 3: they tied, and that was like, oh my, you know,
Speaker 3: it was kind of like our welcome. Then we get
Speaker 3: to Tucson and it's also the weekend of the big
Speaker 3: monsoon of October of eighty three. Yes, I remember, So
Speaker 3: we couldn't even get to Tucson to go back to
Speaker 3: Phoenix and drive out someplace. I think maybe Apache Junction
Speaker 3: comes to mind.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so we got in.
Speaker 3: You know, we were supposed to get to Tucson at
Speaker 3: you know, five in the afternoon, and we got in
Speaker 3: at midnight. But anyway, that should have been a sign.
Speaker 3: But I don't know. I don't know really what to expect.
Speaker 3: I knew they had a pretty good football team. I
Speaker 3: knew Lout had just been hired, so that was kind
Speaker 3: of something that was kind of the news. But we
Speaker 3: didn't know what to expect. I heard they had good baseball.
Speaker 2: Well you you, but you knew what you were getting
Speaker 2: into well as a professional. How old were you? I
Speaker 2: was twenty five, twenty five, so you're you had your
Speaker 2: family already kind of maybe no, no, you were coming.
Speaker 2: One was coming, okay, So okay, so you were coming,
Speaker 2: and you think, okay, University of Arizona and which you
Speaker 2: didn't know much about, right, but it's it's in the
Speaker 2: packed packed ten ten pack ten, and you think, okay,
Speaker 2: here's a step up for you professionally, for sure, and
Speaker 2: here's a chance to you know, kind of make your
Speaker 2: name exactly.
Speaker 3: I mean, and you know, I've told the story to
Speaker 3: all my friends. Basically, I got super lucky with Lute.
Speaker 3: I mean, I walked in his first year. I started
Speaker 3: in October. They played their first game in November. I guess,
Speaker 3: you know. I was here the entire time, and part
Speaker 3: of why we decided to stay was just yeah, you
Speaker 3: know a lot of people around the country wondering if
Speaker 3: I was gonna make a move or do something, But yeah,
Speaker 3: it was pretty good, pretty good college town.
Speaker 2: In that in that time, in that in your business,
Speaker 2: that's what it is. They always hope that the guy
Speaker 2: leaves so someone can replace and move on. That's how
Speaker 2: you guys do it. Yeah, yeah, I know. It's the
Speaker 2: reason why I didn't leave them. Why would I leave
Speaker 2: a good program.
Speaker 3: Making you and Bruce, I mean, and Greg and stuff
Speaker 3: like that have been Yeah, Greg got here I think
Speaker 3: the same year I did three You're right, So it
Speaker 3: was one of those It was one of those thoughts that, like,
Speaker 3: you know, where am I going to go? It's gonna
Speaker 3: be better? Do I have to want to do? I
Speaker 3: want to restart completely? I didn't want to really fall
Speaker 3: into that type of a career.
Speaker 2: Right, No, no, and and the rest is history. Right.
Speaker 2: I got them on the map and you I want
Speaker 2: to ask you to we got about the three seconds,
Speaker 2: I hope. Uh, because you did some tape programs, you
Speaker 2: did some interviews. Didn't you do the pregame show with
Speaker 2: some of that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you were on a couple of no, no, no. But
Speaker 3: in the eighties, Oh, I did the Larry Smiths show.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So so those were taped.
Speaker 3: Those were taped and taped on Monday morning and then
Speaker 3: you would have them.
Speaker 2: It would air.
Speaker 3: I think it aired after Monday Night Football or maybe
Speaker 3: before Monday, because those are the years k Gun had
Speaker 3: those games. Yeah, when the time switched, you know, during
Speaker 3: the middle of the season, so we would either show
Speaker 3: them before the game or after the game.
Speaker 2: Yeah. All times have changed, right yeah. Yeah, Because I
Speaker 2: remember talking to Uncy Scott. I think he did some
Speaker 2: stuff early on too, and in those and stuff before
Speaker 2: those video things, he said, ohyeah, we didn't fly him
Speaker 2: back on the on the flight plane. Yeah blah blah blah.
Speaker 2: I'm thinking, wow, Yeah, how long ago was that? We
Speaker 2: gotta go, we gotta go and come back we'll have
Speaker 2: Kobe with some breaking news, and then we'll get ahold
Speaker 2: of mister Bryce Cherry from Baylor