Breaking down all the UXes and ohs. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Hey, welcome back to tying the ball here a Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera, you're jagins Alas. Now we have Henry with breaking news.
This is I on the Ball, breaking news on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Spurs head coach Greg Popovich is now home and well after being taken to a hospital after a medical incident Tuesday night.
How old is he, like, like one hundred and five, mid seventies.
Yes, Smith's seventies.
I mean he's This year has been very difficult, right, He's just at some point you got to say, Okay, you know.
They say what the medical incident was, No, the heart attack.
They said, well, you had a stroke broke in here. That's why you kind of coach. So they're saying it was most likely a result of that.
Yeah.
You know, he's one of those guys too that he's been around forever, but you never thought of.
Him as really old, right right right? Right?
Ye?
Like Jerry West. I mean Jerry West was older than dirt, but he never looked old. Yeah.
The NBA playing tournament tonight, the Heat at the Hawks and the Mavericks at the Grizzlies, and the playoffs will officially start tomorrow tomorrow.
Who's so? Who's so?
Who are the Golden State? Who's playing Whome? They gotta wait for these two.
Golden State plays the Rockets Winter. Yeah, the one in the east is the Calves, one in the west is the thunder so Winter.
Those will play those, We'll play the two winners from tonight. Okay.
The Arizona Spring Showcase is tomorrow at six pm.
It's a it's a party. Yeah, it's a party. It's a fan it's a fan event. I just you know, my son's a big part of all of what they've put together for this. They're gonna show a kids movie on on the on the big screen after it's all over, so kids can stay and hang out on the field and watch a movie. Which I'm guessing we're going to be there because my grandson will be there and so you know, we'll go on.
I'm feeling have fun.
Yeah, so I'm sure that it went well. I'll guess we'll hear from Justin. Do you remember to meet the team? Thing that they used to do, you know.
I but before they signed up, I've been advocating for stuff like that, to do that again, and I know they pretty much stopped doing it in the stoops years. They did a few times and then it kind of it kind of waned, and I'm like, again, guys, you got to have a connection to your fans, like no connection to the community.
Yeah, and my I don't want to pat him on.
I know there were a lot of people had something to do with doing this event, but you know, my son had a lot to do with this because he was There's a great picture we have of him and I'm sure I put on Facebook.
You know, he's like he would have been.
Two years old, two years and changed, Adam two years old and change walking on the field and meet the team. And we tied a balloon to his to his outfits so we would know where if he got away from us, and there's a great picture of man. Now that he's been a big part of the putting this event together, it's just kind of worms heart a little bit that you know, somebody's out there listening that fans need to have stuff like this. If they don't know your players
don't give a crap about your players. It's hard to sell them tickets, sorry to sell give them an il right, I mean exactly. By the way, can I get into your breaking news real quick?
Yeah?
This just in Jay has a heart breaking news and it's not all black, and it's warm.
It's warm.
Don't enjoy too far, too far.
But I think it's very cool. You go out there and have fun.
Well to the points of the nil. How are you gonna give how are you gonna give money to people.
You don't know?
You don't know, you don't know, especially like in the media, we don't And I've been atlickball, I haven't been there, and we try to get players on t on TV here or whatever. We used to tell their stories. No kind of nobody really tells their stories.
And especially in football because you know, mostly you see those guys that've got their helmets on, you don't really sometimes you don't even what they look like. I mean, how many people would know no fafied if you walked it knocked on their door, right, just because you don't. You don't see these guys all the time, like you see basketball players. You see them up close, you're in the arena. You know what they look like you see them on TV. You see their faces. Football players not
so much. And it's so important to have that connection or you are going to have trouble getting money for these guys.
What you're gonna need.
Yeah, Arizona women's tennis lost to number four Baylor in the Big Twelfth Tournament earlier today and will now wait to see if they qualify for the NCAA tournament.
They're pretty good. They're ranked.
Yeah, do they have a record.
I think they're nineteen to ten.
Oh yeah, so yeah, and they're ranked they're a top twenty five teams, so I would imagine they get in.
Just guys see where.
Lakers have signed general manager Rob Polinka to a contract extension.
Okay for the stealing of Luca.
Definitely helps to the theft of Luca. That's fair, you know. I just keep seeing stuff about if you're a man Ricks fan, just how do you feel about all of that? And it's not good over there? No, not good.
Ole Miss quarterback Jackson dart Would announced he will not be attending the NFL Draft in Green Bay next week. He is the sixteenth ranked player on Mel Kuiper's Big Board.
Sixteenth interesting, hmmm, you know.
I I just remember that year that Aaron Rodgers is sad and sad and sad and said.
There were a couple of others. Why do you think he did that? What do you think?
Just no one knowing what you know?
Why Jackson Dart No, no, no, no, why Rogers sat and sat and sat Maybe feel that he was a turn that's given the facts now what we know now. Yeah, he said why would you want to deal with that?
Yeah?
And then he had to sit it right for a number of years before before Barbara. Yeah, and he probably was. He's just annoying. I saw him yesterday on the show with the with the McAfee and it was.
Like, God, why were you watching at McAfee? Oh?
Because I don't mind watching it. I don't mind watching it, and I don't couldn't tell you why I want to listen to that. I don't watch it all the time because I just don't.
I just don't.
I feel like I feel like if my TV comes on and it was on ESPN and he's on, I feel like I lose brain cells in the three seconds before I tan to, Well.
What I do listen to?
I said?
I kind of wish we could use those words that they use on their show. Eventually, all that's going to come to promotion. I think we'll be able to cuss. We had one yesterday.
Yeah, what was it you? No? No, no, it is one of our guests.
Six Arizona teams are ranked this week, Men's tennis at number eleven, softball at number thirteen, women's golf at number nineteen, men's golf at number twenty, men's track and field number twenty one, and the baseball team at number twenty two.
Goes back to go ahead, how about softball beating the million dollars?
Oh?
Yeah, yes, are you're going to have that? Were you going to have that?
Yeah?
I mean you could talk about it. Yeah, Well go ahead and describe it more. Just there was going to beat Texas two to one, and the million dollar baby pitched.
Yeah, and Arizona handle.
Her Devon and Arizona's picture not only you know, Devin Nets pitches five innings, Chelsea hits the two run homer that wins the game, and it was really right, first first inning, right.
And it was a bomb. Yeah.
Well that's if you are you covering someball. No, there's your lead, baby, there's your lead to do a story over her.
It was a bomb too.
So yeah, yeah, the million dollar, the million dollar, She's like, I saw the records. She's seventeen, she's seventeen and four. And the million dollar, Uh pictures seventeen and five.
That's what's that's what. Yeah, that's all I got. Okay?
Uh?
Was I I had one?
Oh?
Do you see the Lee Corso They've announced he's he's going to do the the first game day of the season next year and then call it a day.
Uh you j I forget your name already.
Jay.
If you get to the point where you don't make any sense, which is coming close.
I don't know.
I don't make any sense sometimes and I'm right here, please say goodbye, you know.
Good for him though, and I'll tell you what I like. Pat forty, you know, was a gift of our shows. Did a great piece both about him and Dick vital and how, in spite of how ESPN has handled talent over the years, you know, just getting rid of people, you know, good people and people that are beloved and whatnot. That he really applauded them for not doing that to either Lee Corso or Dick Vitale, and a lot of us wouldn't have minded if they.
Just you know, he's did into the sunset.
But that they let them he's into the sunset on their terms. Well if I tell is still around. But the Lee corso, you know, they didn't just one day send out a news release that he won't be on game day anymore. They're gonna let him, you know, his have his thing and he'll be on the show and on the first game day of next season.
Yeah, okay, there's a couple more stuff real quick, No, I agree with you. Yesterday was talking about the end game. He was eighty nine. He'll be ninety by the time that show at some point.
Yeah, having had a stroke that he seriously affected it.
Well, does the end game come?
It comes now?
And yeah, but good for him, you know, good that he'll be able to go out, you know, in a good way.
Just to add a couple more things of Burke, of course, the coach. Burke has got a new couple of new players coming in today. I think they just got a cue, a couple of more transfers. And then they hired and assistant another assistant, James Ewing, coming coming from Buffalo.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know she's put put in a staff together, she's got players.
It's going to be interesting, you know.
And look, a big piece of how of how all this coming out is how they play it. And Arizona's playing it really well.
Uh.
From a marketing standpoint, you know, getting you know a lot of information out there, letting people know, getting trying to get people excited for this because you know what they're really up again in terms of are they gonna be able to sell his many tickets next year?
I think that last year, what's this honeymoon? Or they hate honeymoon? Where's off? People will be excited again. Yeah, they're gonna see the new coach. And they might struggle early, but this fan base showed that it loves winners, and and they'll probably here's what they find, and here's what they want. Here's what they want.
I think they want to know that they've got a team where the girls like each other, want to play for each other, okay, don't hate each other, and and and look like they're together out on the court, which you can argue has been missing three years.
You gave me four things, and any of them legit for the last few years. Yeah, yeah, all four they were not legit in since there was a problem.
Those those were probably all four years last maybe like like the last three years.
We just felt like there was nothing going on out there. Here's the here's this thing.
Because you've been in the business, do you think eventually the story will come out? And I don't know what the story is, but but we kind of know. You just mentioned things that have been said, right. Well, it's just it was a feeling. I mean, it was a feeling that you got from from all of this.
When you talk players leaving, you know, things like that last press conference where ICE's base said, well I'm not going to miss everybody.
I'm going to miss a few people or not everybody.
You know, Ada said the things that she's you know that she said and kind of left in a bad way after really having an opportunity to have a you know, a Larry Smith Dick told me kind of legacy here or and or Mike Candre or you know whatever. So I think that what what happens is that, you know, the next one that comes along, maybe they're not up against it like they might have been had Ada continued on and then sure somebody had.
You don't want to follow that person. Now, you don't follow a person.
I think I think, I think the new coach has an opportunity to set her own.
Mood.
Culture, yeah, culture, mood, whatever you want to call it, for the program and let fans get Look, what Adia did was great, seven thousand fans at these games often, Yeah, you know when leading, leading.
Attendance and all that kind of stuff in the league.
All great stuff, but it was it was fizzling, and sure, you know, but that foundation is still there. You'd like to think that this new coach can come in and hold it together.
And if she wins some games.
Early or at least, people people want to feel that they want to look good, right, You wanted to look like they're all they're all on the same page.
And if it does, I think they'll stay. The fans will stay.
Well part of the whole thing. And you talked to here what you were on last two weeks ago she was the coach. You were pretty candidate in what you were feeling and her not feeling appreciated, Yeah, not feeling not not that she wasn't feeling wanted, but appreciated. Money money situation. Probably have to take a pay cut, but not doing well. The last few years, not living up to the million two that she was getting paid, so
many different things. Now this is a fresh start. And we've said this before, you, me and a number of other people out there. It had to happen, and it's the marriage is over and things like that have an ending.
They do, they do, and it's just you just don't feel like it should have though.
You know, you were kind of hoping that idea would be that person that lived on forever on here. And I think I'm not gonna say she's gonna be forgotten because she did some great things, but it's not going to be like a.
Good well, I'll give you this. So what's her legacy?
I don't know yet.
Really she's gone.
I know you what are you waiting for?
Waiting to see if, as you say, stuff comes out?
Oh okay, you want the more complete story.
Right, We don't. I don't think we know the whole story.
I know, there's no question.
We don't know why it went from here coming out of that National championship game to where it finished. For you had a coach and a player saying we didn't give a crap about that last game.
How did you get from there to there whether we need.
To know that, right, people want to know that so they can make up their mind about what does the Dia Barnes mean to us in ten years?
Yeah?
Right, and and right rightfully showed that she had her supporters who we support, I think the world of her. Uh at the then now, h there's the butt though.
There's the butt, right, a big butt.
Yeah, and that's where we go with the right.
The fourth thing is especially what I'm saying, we don't you know, where the legacy is not set. You know, if it comes back that she really was and I'm saying we know anything about this, but let's say it comes back that she really was an abusive coach, right, then that changes things. Or it may be she wasn't abusive, but she gets she recruited all these players who were just Prima Donna's and just didn't want to play.
Right, right, Eventually, let's go, we got to go. We can get a hold of Justin Spears and talk about football.
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This is I on the Ball with Steve Ramera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Subscribe now to the podcast on the iHeartRadio just search I on the Ball.
Hey, welcome back to Why on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera and today is jagon Zaus. Now on the phone, we have Justin Spears from the Arizona Daily Star and the radio show in the mornings.
How are you doing, Justin Man?
Just like old time, we got Jay back at studio. I'm talking to you guys about football.
Feels good. The band is back together.
Man, oh bye, yeah baby cool by. Yeah you been busy?
Have you been busy just a little bit?
You know, it's that time of year where you know, even though it doesn't really you know, it's not football season, there's still lots going on with this u A football program. Right. We got the Red Blue Spring Showcase to which is free for fans, and we can get into, you know, kind of why it's modified the way it is. But yeah,
you got spring football coming to a close. The transfer portal just opened up a couple of days ago, and then you got the NFL drafts coming up here, and you know, a few airs on a wldcats are expected to hear their names called. So, yes, it is April, but still a very busy time for you at football.
So so, what has has spring practice looked different the same?
Can you tell anything?
Are you gleaning anything from from what it looks like in terms of, you know, comparing it to last year when you think of, okay, this is what it was last year and this was the outcome.
What have we seen this year now? How are things different? How are they the same.
Well, I think, you know, last year, we really couldn't you know, take too much away from the offense. But you know, after seeing the offense last year during the season under Dino Babers and Matt Atkins and the previous you know play calling, you know, and looking at the offense this year in the spring, it looks like the offense is just playing with more intent. There's more speed, it's no huddle, it's it's up tempo. And you know, if you if you're gonna play in this Arizona offense,
you're gonna have to be in really good shape. Now, they did go through some growing pains, right like it's it's not expected to be perfect because you have a whole new scheme. I mean, I'm telling you, I think this Arizona offense is pretty much ripped down to the studs and they started from scratch. But this new offensive coordator is Seth Dagi, and he's a guy that just recently plays college football, like a little over a decade ago, so he's not, you know, too far removed from the game.
And he played quarterback under Mike Leach at Texas Tech and is an air raid disciple, so he's kind of like a second quarterback out there when you factor in the fact that they got the the coach, the player communication. So Seth Dagi is like an additional quarterback with no Flafida in the ball just seems to get out of his hands in a quick manner. You know, last year there were just so many long developing plays and the route concepts just seemed so difficult, and these guys struggled
to get open. And when your struggle to get open, no Fafida is running around to your life and he's either gonna, you know, make a bad throw or or he's gonna throw it out of bounce. You know, no Fafita led college football and throwaway last year. So the offense just did not work. And I think with this new guy in Seth Dagi, uh, he's pretty much designing the offense around Noah Fafida. You're you know, we got
no Fafida now rolling out more. You know, when he was rolling out last year, it was because a play broke, trying to c something out of nothing. This time, he's they have designed rollouts for him and just I think the tempo to speed, it's perfect for Noah. And yes, losing a generational talent like Tedtoroa McMillan. It hurts, but I think collectively Arizona's receivers are much better than last year. And I think, you know, you're gonna see a handful
of guys really contribute. I love what I see out of the transfers. I think Javon Wattley get to know the name now because he is uber fast and just really quick and really take the top off the defense. You know, you know Dalton Johnson, he is arguably Arizona's best defender maybe outside of Genesis Smith and Dalton Johnson, you know, really struggled to guard Javon Wattley in one on one drills. So this this guy is really fast,
really twitchy. Luke wisong to transfer from New Mexico. He's a really tough wide receiver who's also really fast and a guy that's going to contribute at this special teams guy. I love Chris Hudson to transfer from Washington State. I think he's going to be a great receiver. And then you know Chris Hunter. You know he's going to be your your leading returner and going to be the leader
in that group. But you know, a lot of people are wondering, you know, how, how is Arizona going to replace t Max?
And they have two guys that I think.
Can carry the load at that position this upcoming season. Tray Spivey, who was the son of former Arizona diamondback and Tucson sidewinder junior. You know, yeah, Spivey man, Trey Spivey is a big body and he's probably going to
be your starting X receiver. But there's another guy that's really ascending this spring and his name is Bredon Phelps and he was a redshirt freshman last year, had a career at American Leadership Academy up in Phoenix, actually ended his high school career as the state record holder for career receiving yards, career receptions, and career touchdown. Like he is, like quietly has probably the best resume out of a
high school receiver in Arizona high school football history. But he read shirted last year, and you know, I was wondering, you know how he would eventually fit into Arizona's offense. And man, he's been an absolute playman too this year or this spring. So, like I said, you know, losing Tmac hurts, but I think the wide receivers overall are going to be much better for the Wildcats. But the
key is can you protect no Fafida? Can you keep him up right in the pocket so he can make those throws and make those right and make those decisions. Because when he's got the protection and everything's working, No Fafita is a great quarterback. But you know, if you're not protecting him, then it things can go south very quick.
But I think Seth Dag's mindset of getting the ball out quick, I think can somewhat combat before protection if there is If that is the case, so I think that's probably the biggest difference, just the up tempo and the pace of the offense for Arizona.
I don't think anybody spends more time with Brent Brennan than you do. I could be wrong, but I'll say that. And Brent doesn't come off as a guy who worries much or doesn't look by appearance. Do you think he's under pressure to make this work?
Oh totally.
And you know he had pressure last year going into his first season because usually first year head coaches they have a lot of room to grow because they still got to recruit, they got to get their guys in and usually you know guys that are coming in, you know they're taking over a program that is rebuilding. And what Brent Brennan endured last year was, Okay, I got to keep the band together all this momentum that they generated under Jetfish. I got to figure out a way
to just kind of keep everything here. And I really think that this staff last year really struggled to really coach up the guys and really show them exactly who they were as coaches, because they were kind of afraid
to maybe lose a player like Takaria Davis. Like Takario Davis was one foot in once without last year, he was in the portal during the spring, and so you know, how can you coach up a guy and really, I guess kind of get into him during the spring when you know, if you piss him off or you say one bad thing and going to the portal immediately after that. So that's a really tough dance that you have to do.
And so I think now that Brent Brennan has been here for a year, the players who are here from last year's team, they know how the program has ran, they know the culture. Are here because they want to be here and they like the coaches, and then the newcomers that they've got here, they were recruited by this staff. So I really feel like, you know, other than Brent Brennan just kind of carrying the torch from Jetfish, I
really feel like this is truly his team. And you know, Brent Brennan also understands the amount of pressure that he's got on his shoulders right now because this fan base they want wins and they want to see Arizona get to a bowl game. And when you look at Arizona schedule, the first half five of those games are at home, so the schedule is set up for Arizona to at
least get to that sixth and sixth March. And I just think that there's a lot of pressure on Brent Brennan, and I think he understands that, and you can kind of see it in the way he's recruiting guys out of the portal. Like if you look at a majority of these players that they're getting, they're not guys that got three years of eligibility. These are guys that are all going into their last season, guys that are seniors, so they're going all out. They understand the importance of
this upcoming season. And you know, Brent Brennan will be the first one to tell you nothing I say will get Arizona. You know, get those disgruggled fans to be on my side. They're going to go ahead and wait for the results. But when you look at the off season for Arizona, with the impressive additions that they made in the transfer portal and then the additions on the coaching staff, like Seth Dagi at offensive coordinator, getting big Joe Salavea back, I mean, we've talked about him possibly
being a defensive coordinator for Arizona. To get him as a defensive line coach, I thought it was probably one of the biggest wins of the offseason. So I like the direction of this team. I think the players that they have here they can keep this together. I think that this could be definitely a six and six ball club at.
Least when when you see the coaching staff, and you know, we all know the presence said a guy like Dwayn mckena had in all the years that he was at Arizona, and that that's gone. But what does the coaching staff look like in terms of their communication how they're working with each other, how they are with the players on the field. How different does that right now? Does it look? Does that look a lot different? Does it look better? I guess yeah.
I wouldn't say it looks better just because Duayna Quina is the defensive back's godfather and losing a guru like that is definitely gonna be a hit to your staff. But you know, over the last few years, Dwayna Kina has mentored Brett Arci, the current safeties coach, who was coaching Nickels backs last year, and so I think RCI, I mean, he's already got experience. I mean, he coached at Dori Jackson and a couple others while he was at USC, But he's still a young, up and coming
coach and the players respect him a lot. So I think, you know, learning from Duayna Quina over the last couple of years has definitely helped him, and I think RCI is ready for that next step, I guess, to really take on a chunk of the defensive secondary. And then I like Chip Binney a lot at cornerbacks as their quarterbacks coach. Just a young guy who can relate to the players, but man, he's mature beyond his ears.
Man.
He is.
You know, if you talk to him, you wouldn't even think that you were talking to a young person. You would think you were talking to a guy that's been the coaching session for forty years. So yeah, I like the way that these these coaches kind of work together. And Danny Gonzalez, the new defensive coordinator, who was a linebackers coach last year. I like the defense that he's implementing. It's going to be a lot of linebacker blitzes, is going to be aggressive, a lot of disguise blitzes too.
You know, you're going to see defensive backs coming into the backfield and linebackers, you know, trying to get back there as well. And you know, he brought in a linebacker's coach by the name of Josh Bringale who played for him at San Diego State. So this guy who is coaching the core of Arizona's defense, that linebacker played under Danny Gonzales and is now coaching for him. So he understands exactly what Danny wants and the message is
definitely getting sent across the defense. But if I were to have a scoreboard for the spring, I would honestly say the defense is a little bit ahead of the offense, which isn't really a total surprise because, like I said, the offense is completely starting from scratch. But the defense, man, I think, if they can stay healthy and again big war here, if they can stay healthy, because you know, last year they dealt with all sorts of injuries and
things got south or things turn south. So I think if they can stay healthy, this can be a unit that can really really turn some heads this year. Because I love the additions. I think that the defensive secondary that they have right now with Genesis Smith on the back end, is nice. But if you look at the defensive line, Tia savea at your defensive tackle spot, a lot of people are really going to know who Deshaun
mc knight is, the transfer from UT Martin. I mean, he's been probably one of Arizona's best defensive players this spring. So they made some nice additions. They have some solid players coming back. And going back to your point about just kind of how the staff is working together, I think the defensive staff, you know, they have a nice camaraderie, and then the offensive staff there's just a great level
of respect all across the board. Seth Dage respects Bobby Wade as a wide receivers coach and as a matter of fact, Bobby Wade with a big reason why, said Davey came to the u of A and said day being a quarterbacks guy. He has learned so much from Brent Brennan from Bobby Wade in the wide receivers front. So it's definitely been a good camaraderie the spring for Arizona.
So I'm seeing something just pumped into my email. I'm assuming this is you to avoid injuries and puaching the players Arizona modified spring football game.
Was that you?
And can you talk about what's going on for tomorrow's stories?
Yeah?
So, I mean when people go out to the spring showcase tomorrow night, they're going to notice it's going to be a very interactive event. Seventy five yards out of the field will be used for the spring game or spring practice part of it. There will also be an Easter Day hunt proceeding the spring game here, and there's
going to be a beer garden on the field. There's going to be live music set up, and the reason why they're kind of going away from the trad spring game where they split the teams up and then just have a normal scrimmage is because one, they want to
make sure that the players are healthy. With revenue sharing the NL, I mean, the players are essentially employees of the school of the football program, and so they want to make sure that these players that they are paying to be on their team, they want them to be available for the fall. You know, while it would be nice to see Arizona football go live and have this intense football game in April, they want to make sure that these guys are available in September, October, and November
when it really matters. And then the second part of it, which is a huge reason why so many teams are either canceling their spring games altogether or not televising their spring games, is they don't want to share the goods. They don't want to share the product the great players
that they have on their team. Because there are agents, there are nil collectives that are constantly monitoring games all across the country, and then they go into these players' DMS or they figure out a way to contact them backdoor kills. They say, hey, I'm actually getting at Arizona because you know, we can give you more money at this school and maybe even more playing time. And so these kids they get so I guess enamored with financial opportunities.
Then I also I understand where they're coming from. You know, if someone had told me, hey, Justin, this job is paying you an additional two hundred thousand dollars to play it here, there's a good chance, then I'm gonna go and lead for that place.
Right.
So what schools are doing all across the country is that they're making sure that they are not displaying their best talent because they don't want anybody coming in and poaching players. So it's a problem all across college.
Oh, I think we lost Thank you. We were about to rana. He did that to us one another time.
Yeah, okay, Justin, thanks a bunch for taking your time with us. We got to take a break. Thanks a bunch, because now at least we're updated on what's going on, right, So we'll take a break. He's still there. Yeah, right, we're good. We're good.
We got to go.
Thank you, Justin. I appreciate it. Appreciate it, munch, see you tomorrow.
Thank you, guys, Yeah, thank you.
I'll read Justin tomorrow on the daily Star and now obviously afterward until six o'clock start tomorrow, and it's free, so that's important. Let's take the break and come back. I have a question for you, Jay So, a man's basketball fan. You know it's been successful for nearly forty years.
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Breaking down all the xys and ohs. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Box Sports fourteen fifty.
Hey, welcome back to I in the Ball here on Fox Sports futeen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. You're ja goozalzep gnnery in the controls taking your calls five two zero four one six seventy four forty. We take the calls to the end of the week. So Jay Jay, one of the things that we know from history.
But let me say this, with the nil happening, the kids making a lot of money, a lot of money beyond what we ever thought was possible, right, do you think the money's making them soft? And I'm if you start waiting for yours. And let me say this too, because now they're not even hitting each other very much.
Yeah, yeah, I think for a lot of reasons, Steve.
Because of that one, the coaches are being more careful with them, right right, which you kind of already were.
So so it's been a while since spring games were the spring games that we remember.
Sure, so let's remember also back in ninety eight, you would know this part of me, Dick didn't want to go to Penn State beating up, right, so he didn't hit, they didn't hit, right.
And what the hell happened? Well, Steve.
And it's but really, the game itself, whether in the NFL or at the college level, is softer.
It's not the it's not football like we grew up watching football. You know.
You see these clips, you know, on social media that say when football was football, and they show these incredible hits and these people just out there killing each other and that's not the game anymore.
And so it is softer. But I don't think it's entirely because of nil.
But certainly the money that these that the that the college athletes are getting is really yeah, you, I mean, you just don't see the incredible hits that you used to see well back in the day.
Just from listening to Justin.
They're paying these kids a lot of money and they don't want to see them get hurt, right right there, that's how it translates to me, right.
Yeah, yeah, no, that that's that's how fully the truth. But the question is is the game softer?
I don't know.
We got a call although you're on the air andine on the ball.
Who's this.
This?
Brian?
How you do it?
Brian?
What's going on?
Jay?
What's up? Man? I'm here.
I know, I'm shocked. But you get a day off, another vacation day.
He's like the postals, you know, don't be like that.
No, no, we never got that many days off as Jay got.
Hey, you know what, you know what you were a mail carrier. You got all kinds of time off. You get every freaking holiday known demand.
The holidays.
We had to.
We had to work for a living, figure out what you you know, like you wind up working for a week, took some time off on the new job, and go, man, this guy's got the best job in the world. Is that what you called? I'm just calling out the softness thing. I think also to maybe the game is a little softer because the way players are treated now. But I don't think the players are mentally.
Tough as they used to be.
I agree with that.
I agree with that, and I think that makes a huge difference in how the game is played. You know, it's like the players are always trying to not all players, but a lot of players are trying to find an out of doing anything. Okay, I don't like it here, it's too tough for me. I'll go somewhere else.
I can make some more money, and I know i'll get it.
Off easier because they're paying me more money to be here and they're not going to push me around.
So, Brian, before you go there.
And I don't know your family history or whatever, whether you have kids or not, but wouldn't you say this, And I'm gonna get off, Get off my long guy. Uh, that's the generation that we have going on.
Oh you bet. I mean I see it. My son coaches in high school baseball, and I see it differently from the time when even in the time thirteen fourteen years ago, when Jay and I coached the kids, the kids there were much mentally tougher than the kids are today. Yeah, it just yeah, it just seems, you know, we just made it too sop, too easy for the kids. There is no I you know, I have to sacrifice as much as I did before.
Well, well again, I think you said it a little bit ago, Steve, that you know, you're you're in a situation where if you yell at a kid too hard, he'll just say I'm leaving.
Yeah, right, and he can right.
Well, you guys can deal with it.
You guys been in high school too.
Well, in high school, you guys coach. You guys coach the kids.
Let me say this, I think in the generation that's maybe a little after us became more helicopter parents. Uh, they didn't want to see the kids fail, so they kind of took over control. You're not gonna fall down, because if you do, I'll pick you up right away and dust you off. Back in our day, our desk hosts, get the hell up and back there, and you put dirt on it.
And get up and do it right.
Yeah, ret some dirt on and get back out there.
You know.
But also one thing too, you talked about high school kids. You know, high school kids too now can transfer out and go somewhere else. Yeah, it's you know, it only gets it maybe maybe only moves reepore games. They can go, you know, decide to go another high school.
And but you know what that's and that's across all sports too, that's not just football or basketball or whatever.
Let me ask you, right, Brian, So how old are you? Can I ask you that?
Like one hundred and five?
Yeah, I'm seventy I'm seventy second.
Oh so you're you you are one hundred and five. Let me see this? At what point? So I'm sixty and Jay sixty five?
So at some point there was seventy five in real life he walks with it.
So let me ask you.
Was it the thirty year olds today? Is it the forty five year olds today?
You know?
At what point did it happen nineteen seventy nine eighty two, Because it happened somewhere.
I think, well, it's hard for me to tell because I you know, I was one of those parents and I, like you talked about okay, get up, brought some dirt on to get back in there. And my kid played like that. And I know Adam Jay's son played hard. You know, he didn't you know, he was out there breasting his ass all the time. I think parents now days, the younger parents, they treat the kids differently because all
of them seemed to think that we got a shot. Okay, if I joined this club team and I do that, my kid will get a college scholarship and figure out a way to get to the NFL, NBA, major League Baseball whatever. You know, they had these unachievable expectations.
No, they I think there was a parent that came shortly after us.
Steve right there was shortly after us, because you know, my dad and your dad, I think we're you know, and Brian were the same guy and stuff like that. But there was kind of a next level of parent that I dealt with as a as a coach, as a little league coach, and as a as a high school coach that didn't treat their kids the way I treated my kid.
And so there was some kind of a transition to that.
To the point of, you can't talk to my son like that, right right right, you can't talk to my daughter like that, and and that, and it changed, and that's become the expectation. And now you're in college where the chains are off in terms of being able to and you can go anywhere you want to go if you don't like your coach, and there's no consequence to that,
you know. I was just reading there's a study commands This is in the context of other stuff, but there was a study recently done that said that sixty percent, I take back, a third of football players that entered.
The transfer portal did not find a place.
No played at at least three schools, and they just kept going and going and going until they found somebody or somewhere that they like or they ran out of time.
Yeah. Yeah, that doesn't surprise me at all.
Yeah, because if you're used to divorcing, you guess you keep getting forced.
No big deal.
I'll just go on to the next Yeah, all right, Brian, Yeah, that's Brian.
Okay, seventy doul.
That's what I learned from that.
And he looks like a hippie now, he's got long hair and stuff.
Yeah, but that's why I ask you and Jason justin talked about this work. You don't want to get these guys. We're paying a lot of money for him. It's like driving, buying a nice car and keep it in the gruge, right.
You don't want to you don't drive it because you don't want to reckon. That's the purpose of buying the damn car. I hear you. Uh, you know.
But but a lot of it goes hand in hand though, with the fact that the game has has changed to the point where you can't even fall on the quarterback anymore.
Well, that's right, because you're paying them them a lot of money.
The league is recognized, well were those guys are getting paid a lot of money. They mean a lot to the league, so we're not gonna let them get hurt. So, you know, there's a whole bunch of factors in the fact that you know, yeah, these players are I guess you would say they've got it easier.
Yeah, I mean, well, do you play any high school football? Little? Okay? Yeah, I mean think about your practices, right, your thought if they people will die? Yes, you know, you know you thought people could die.
From this, and it's looking back yeah yeah, yeah, And they just don't practice like that anymore.
No, let me ask you, there was something. God, I just missed it, and it'll come back to me. Maybe, I hope we have time. Maybe we only got three minutes before the next call or before the show ends just about playing time in our generation.
Well load management, oh another thing.
Yeah, you're right. So this is the perfect example.
You you were at the the volleyball thing and your daughter was playing right and the women behind you were saying, oh, my daughter.
That was softball. Yeah, my daughter is going to be this.
I think a lot of the players, to Brian's point, is that they think the kids are going to be their bank roll. There's that because now with the with the with the collective, the two hundred. Yeah, now you don't have any wait for your kid to get to the pros to make money.
They're making it.
You know again that the Tennessee kid you know who got an eight million dollar deal coming out of high school?
Yeah, what the hell is that?
And that's a one off? I mean those are these are one off.
There's others though, I mean, how much did Cooper flag you?
But you know what I'm saying, there are these are not these are rare exceptions.
But they're letting they're becoming less and less exceptions. Steve.
These guys are coming out of you know, high school kids are coming out and going out and trying to find their best deal and marketing themselves like a first round draft pick, the end going into.
A proch So, so you know why I'm not a big fan, right. Does this sour you on your fandom? No, because the.
Games are still fun. The games are still fun. I still love going to a college football game. I still love watching a college basketball game.
I want to talk to you in two years. No. No, no, because this is still fresh.
Because I still think the games mean something, and that's that's what's important to.
The kids, are, to you, to me. Okay, but now you kind of know how the how the.
Cake is made. I know, but I've accepted it.
You know that the cake is not as nice as it used to be.
The cake doesn't taste as good as it did.
Yeah, one hundred percent agree with you on that, but I'm I'm the type of person that is willing to say that's what we're dealing with.
So I still want to have fun with this.
I still want to throw some money down on this, and so I'm still trying to have fun with these games, even though I know that this wide receiver that Arizona got this year, next year, he may go off somewhere else.
You know, I let me put it this way. I'll tell you what it is.
I'm not getting attached to players, right, I'm not getting attach the players. I'll thinking about this because over the weekend if I'm not. Oh yeah, Ron Guardeen, he was a guy played in Arizona. Yeah, and he was there in sixty eight and sixty nine. I'm nine and ten years old. He was my first U of a football hero.
He passed. That's what he was.
He was my first U of a football hero and it took me back to a time when those guys were like my heroes.
I don't have any of those anymore.
No, no, of course, not because we're older too, but not just because.
The world, but because I don't attach myself to players anymore.
You know, even Dodgers I don't.
Yeah, because you don't know if they're going to be around it. Well, that's the whole thing.
That's why I'm not a fan, because mine was I stick to the team and I'm gonna love this team. And then now it's free agency blah blah. Yeah, you're gone, gone, but you love Oani. Okay, we gotta go. Thanks everybody for the week. Thank you Jay for showing up. Thank you Henry