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Ktc R two side Fox Sports fourteen to fifty, the exclusive audio home of NBC's coverage of the twenty twenty four Paris Olympics. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez. Soun Fox Sports fourteen fifty, powered by Nova Insurance Service sets ensure your most prized possessions. KTCR two side.
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Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to Eye on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve, Jay's out, I got Dave Silver with me. Juan is furiously working the phones and the computers. Sorry for the short delay. Our computers went down and but we're getting everything back up as we speak. Thank you, Je, Thank you Dave for showing up. Sure, I'm gonna blame this on you.
Sounds like an exciting afternoon you got going here.
That was the excitement. I hope that's the extent of the excitement. The good thing is we're on and we got everything back. It looks like with one working the board, so that's good. Thanks for joining me, Dave. Yeah, Dave, so we can talk about local stuff. I haven't seen you in a while.
Yeah, it's been, you know, retirement for me, so I haven't been really out and about too much.
But oh, I hate you, Dave. I hate you, David. So I was gonna ask you, how long were you out of the business.
What do you mean?
Oh, I ended in at the end of twenty eleven, out about twelve years, and you were in it for here specifically, So twenty twelve you had to be twenty.
Something twenty nine years?
Did you miss it?
So?
I missed it when I left.
I didn't miss the business too much, but I certainly still. I mean, I'm a big sports fan, so always going to be. But you're kind of watching and but you can.
You could do that from a distance. Yeah, you didn't have to worry about deadlines exactly. You don't have to worry putting crap together.
For it to wear makeup for a while.
By the way, you should put it back on. Let me tell you, tell me the same thing. I should shave and wash my face and put makeup on. I can wear shorts all the time now, things like that. So it's been nice to kind of be away but also be a fan.
Yeah.
You know, I'm kind of embedded in Tucson, so I've been here a long time and I still follow everything.
Sure, sure, sure, And it's been good. I mean lately it's been crazy, not so much on the sports side, but in the administrative side.
Yes, for sure.
I guess the university has a new president as of this afternoon.
Did they hire the guy they did today? Wow? The only guy they actually talked to, Although I would have put this caveat because you know the businesses they probably talked to a few people, don't Okay, if I don't get the job telling you didn't interview me. This never happened, and here's the guy that ended up with it.
I mean, again, I'm not there and I don't really have any kind of inside information, but usually these positions require at least a few people to be interviewed, everyone from the provost to dean's people like that. When I was on campus, there'd be multiple people in town to talk to staff and faculty and other people around the university. So this guy obviously was very very well received as there he is.
So you've been out of the business at Juba for how long?
Just a few months?
Just?
Oh okay, I wanted to see if you could be candid with me. I'm not going to ask you any tough questions, but it's who would have thought they'd be in this situation financially right, however, But he's in this I shouldn't say everything. A lot of schools are like Arizona, they just haven't come up publicly with it. Yeah, you know, the media hasn't gone out and searched, you know, the X, Y and Z colleges to see how in depth they are.
Yeah.
I think there's a lot of universities that are kind of in this predicament. The ironic thing about Arizona is they had just launched a big capital campaign when the news broke almost the next day, so the timing of everything was just a little bit strange.
Remind me what that was, because you were probably at the end of your rope with that one.
Well, no, I mean it was just you mean in terms of how we felt.
Winter, No, no, no, what what was the campaign and you were probably getting out of your situation.
Yes, well, I mean President Robbins was starting a big, multi billion dollar campaign.
It was going to be.
Again starting right in November, basically late October when this news broke, So the timing of that was a little bit odd.
Did that hit TRD to that campaign in terms of.
Because no, I don't think you know.
Again, we'd have to check with you U of a foundation to see exactly how how they did financially, But from what I understand, they came up a little bit short this last year with their goals.
You're talking about billions or millions, millions, okay, but the overall thing was all.
Still the university is still raising over three hundred million dollars a year, so that's not not too shabby.
Right, right, did you like that part of the world. It was.
It was good.
I got to meet a lot of interesting people. I mean, I was such a news kind of person that I almost treated the people I met as if I was doing interviews with them.
For the news story.
And I got to learn all kinds of different jobs and histories. And again, I met people who were students in the nineteen fifties all the way up till the twenty tens. It's really kind of fun to hear their perspective. Everybody had a tie to the u of A right matter where they.
Lived, and I think because of who you are and what you did, that opened a few doors. At least they knew the face, they knew the work, and and that's one of the reasons by the hire you, because you were who you.
Are, right, so that that didn't hurt to a certain extent. I mean some of the people I used to joke with them, like, you know, you were in at the u of A.
You probably weren't watching the news too much.
But some of the people who've been around town, especially some of the local people, they knew who I was, so that that was nice.
Yeah, and that helped you shake hands, kids, babies, and get some money.
And you know it's from a sports fan.
I have to admit, I got to go to a lot of really cool places with these donors. You know, hey, where I was in Washington, d C. Meet me at this, you know, Congressional Golf Course, one of the most famous golf courses in the world. One time I was at Pebble Beach, just meeting on a lum who happened to be a member. So it was fun to have those experiences too, right, right right, intimidating it all.
A little bit. Raising money is not.
Easy, no, no, no, not easy.
But you really just have to make connections with these people and find out what their passions are and see if it matches something that the U of A is interested in money for.
So it was it was a challenge.
Yeah, makes sense. But you know, you're you're a personable guy. You're a good guy, likable guy. I'm not saying that because you're here. Well, you know, we've been to you, we've known each other for a long time, and all that helps because you know, if you were starky and you were paint in the neck, you know, why would they want to talk to you?
Yeah, And it was fun to be able to bring up stories from my history and like, hey, I was at that game too, where there are many many times right I was at this, I was at that game. You want to talk about final fours, I've been all the final.
Fours, and sports is the the bridge for a lot of those conversations.
Very much.
So.
You know, I wasn't necessarily raising money for athletics, although I could, but that wasn't It was always something I could bring up easily.
No good, Good to have you in studios today. We're going to talk to the soccer coach, Rebecca Morros their new season. I think she's in her fourth year, a very good, smart coach and changing the ways that were before. And we'll see what she's up to now in the big Conference and some of the new people that she has coming in. And then at four fifteen I tracked
down Casey Scourn, former U a kicker. You saw Anthony's note right about kind of like the odd quick fact one of the tougher punters you've come across, because he actually got involved in tackles. Yeah, and he liked it, you know, he liked it you'd get hit and he liked to hit. So we'll talk about that. He's now a cyclist. I saw him in April in Scottsdale writing the Scott Stille Tour tour to Scottsdale and ran into him and, uh, you know, what would cook Kickers be
doing today? I mean, what's his routine now at spring as fal begins, because those dudes are okay somewhere else right, yeah, there, and they're practicing. It's like rich Rob didn't know what they did until they showed up, and he says, if you're missing those what are you guys doing? Yeah, those are That's just what you do have to do. All you have to do is do this, and you're missing what the hell are you doing on the other side of the field.
You have one joke.
I used to like going to practice and watch the kickers because they would, you know, they bring them in at the beginning, maybe they do a kickoff drill and then they would disappear an hour or two right in the corner, maybe stretching, doing something right. Bring him back for Pat at the end of it was it.
Was always so we'll talk to him about that, the good old days. And I think I don't think you were here, but I do think if I can remember correctly, he missed the kick against Southern col Yeah. Yeah, one's giving me the confirmation. Kids. Remember, and he's the one that got the death threats. Just remember just the pressure of dealing with that, you know, because uh, sports sucks sometimes.
Yeah, you know, you don't, you don't perform and people are gonna let you know. That's especially nowadays too, with Twitter.
And Twitter and gambling aloud exactly.
I didn't forgot about that.
You're right, you know you cost me a lot of money. Bum.
It seems to be, uh, a reason for a lot of hate in sports.
Oh yeah, just that there's a lot of hate anyway. It just compounds it. Yeah, yeah, okay, hey, Juana, thanks for joining me. Let me ask you a quick question. How's life on the other side of being a reporter?
Oh it's so much fun.
It's fun, so much fun. What the hell are you doing that? I mean here, hey, let the jokes come from the professional space. You're a reporter.
Yeah, just started about two weeks ago where Arizona desert swarm. Okay, it's it's been It's been nice to see the guys out there and be able to write about it. Had an article come out today.
Your first second second?
Okay, cool about the defensive line, how they want to get vertical across the line of screamage and they just want to be physical.
Yeah, so you're out there. We had Brian Peterson, your boss, here yesterday. So, uh so, how's that being kind of part of it asking questions. I don't know if you have yet or not. Uh, it's uh, it's different.
Huh. Yeah, it's definitely different.
It's not it is.
It's not something I haven't done before. I've done a lot of interviews before this job, so it's almost feel a little bit.
Natural to me.
Just go in there and ask questions, ask the not yes or no questions, but answer.
To fill your to fill your notebook, and to do your story exactly. Yeah. Yeah, so what do you see because we had Brian talk about what he saw. What do you see in your time? You've been there two times, three.
Times from for the team. Yeah, I've been to almost every practice. Okay, that the defense is going to be I think very very quick to the ball. We have a really good secondary.
I believe. Yeah, I should say you're not a weed anymore. Sorry, but you're still a student.
But we'll just regard this. The secondary will be fast. They're they're very quick to the ball, very physical. The defensive line they want to pressure the quarterback, which I feel like they have been throughout the first couple of days. And then you have Jacob Mona holding down the linebacker. Tay Brown has been in and out with some mixtures, but he seems like the right hand man.
So so we'll do this and maybe they we'll talk about this. Because you know, you were this sports director right for in your time, how many under people did you have, like secondary people?
Either one or two more?
That's all? Wow? So they stayed awhile.
I mean atogether altogether?
Oh boy, maybe five or.
Six with some of them being U A grads. Did they come through being U A grads or from somewhere else?
They came from somewhere else, Okay, I'd have to think about it. Off the top of my head, I don't think anybody was a U A grad.
And the reason I say that is because you said we right, you're still a student, so we can give you that. But and I've said this before on the show, a lot of the guys or the kids here are great UA grads and you know, they might be typing their stories or go watching the game and under the table giving a fist bump or each other high fives and blah blah blah. Did you come across that? Did you have to say, you know, temperate?
Yeah, a little bit.
I mean even I hate to say this, but I mean there were times again, as reporters like you and I have been, we enjoyed it when they did.
Well.
No, we talked about that because it meant.
Good things for us too. You're going to get more readers, people are gonna be watching me. We get to go in these amazing trips of these events, and.
It's easier to cover winter than it is a loser exactly.
I mean I remember sitting there kind of clapping under the desk, you know, when when the teams are advancing to the final fours or bowl games and stuff like that. But you know, on the air, I was never a home, never a home.
Home like that.
Yeah, So did you do? You'll you'll see it. If you haven't seen it already, you can still see it.
Yeah. Yeah.
It's definitely hard to just not being the fan and having to be the.
Yeah, because you've been a found all your life and you're still a fan. Yeah, yeah, and it's is it one of the reasons why you decided to get into this business.
I just wanted to be around sports. I wanted to find any sort of way in and this is something else passionate about.
Yeah, well, suck with it.
And that hasn't changed for people in a long time. I mean, that's really why I went into it, because I knew I wasn't going to be you know, Willie May's or anybody like that. When I was growing up, at about fifteen, I realized that I got to try something.
Else, right, right, Had you not got into this, what would your plan be?
I mean, I was really into the media.
I can't think of anything else that I was passionate about other than maybe newspaper, maybe radio, and then eventually it became TV. But really, from about again, like age of fourteen fifteen, I was driving my mom and dad crazy. I was doing play by play in a car things like that.
Well, I'm sure they're okay with it. When the chicks started coming exactly. Yeah, yeah, Dave, I'm so proud of you, son, thanks for doing this. Shut up, Okay, So we're going to take a break here. Get a call from coach and move forward with soccer.
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This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. Subscribe now to the podcast on the iHeartRadio app Just Surgeon I on the Bar.
Hey, welcome back to Oin the Ball here at Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. Been with me today. Dave Silver is my co host, and now on the line, we have beca moros the Arizona soccer coach. Becca. How are you?
I'm terrific.
Let me say this, it seems like yesterday we introduced you and met you for the first time. I think you're in year four? Is that right?
Yeah? You know, yeah, yeah, exactly. This this is my fourth season.
You're a cagy veteran. Does it feel like four years already?
No, it's slown I mean there's there's definitely been some different eras in the in the three years that we've had so far, from the drinking from the fire hose era to the almost feeling settled era to the like, okay, this is home era. So a lot's changed over the three years that I've been here, but it's slown by.
So let me throw another curve at you. You're going to the big dwelve. Now what.
Do I don't even know. I'm excited. It's crazy to be a part of such a big change when I feel like I'm still pretty new and so I was still getting used to the pack and all of the rivalries and the culture and the history. And now I'm moving into a whole new conference with different rivalries and the new history and get to be a part of writing this chapter in Arizona's incredible history. So it's just crazy to me.
You know, you're coming from a conference that has had a lot of good success. Obviously, the Pac twelve was quite a soccer league. What about the Big twelve. I know a couple of teams made the tournament last year, but one of them was Texas and they're not there anymore. So where do you see yourself slotted in here as you make this move?
Yeah, I mean I think I think we have a great opportunity.
Ahead of us.
I think soccer across the whole country has just continued to improve and improve. I'm I'm always blown away by the level of the college game compared to when I was there over twenty years ago. Now, So it's just, I mean, it's just it's insane how much growth there's been, and it's such a popular sport, and so I think all of the Power conferences are really competitive and have great programs, great support from their universities and the conferences.
So I think the Big twelve is going to be a huge challenge for us, but I think we have you know, we're in a great spot and we've continued to grow and develop, and so I think we've got a great chance to have a very significant impact in the conference.
So pardon the naiveness of this question. David and I have covered the PAC twelve for a long time. PAC ten back in the day. It's more and it's more in football and basketball. It's more of a finesse, speed type of thing. Is that the same in soccer? And as you move to the Big twelve, we all think that the football and basketball will be tough for more physical Does that apply to the soccer game two in general?
Yes, I would say that's that's definitely the reputation of the conferences. But overall, as a game, soccer has been getting more and more finesse, more and more tactical, more and more cerebral across the entire country. So I think where that sort of difference used to be extremely prominent. I think it's a little more subtle now, and there's good soccer being played in all of the power conferences.
No good.
How about this is the match up with your arch rival with going into Chapel Hill this year. What's that going to be like for you and for this team?
I know, it's kind of funny. I'm excited about it. You know, you have to have a lot of respect for for un C and their soccer program and what Anton Durrance has done there and the support staff and technical team he has working with him and the players
he brings in every year. I mean, it's such an iconic and historical program for soccer that it's it's it's a little bit of an honor to go there and play there and take take our team there to play, and then to have them coming back to play at our home in two years and then be able to bring you know, guitar heels to Tucson and have our community come out and be able to watch that battle.
And obviously I hope and expect to have good results and have a good game against them, But I think just the significance of the significance of it for the team is is something special? So and then with size, there's thoves up really quickly against you know, a top contender early and in non conference play and get ready for all of the best competition we'll have in conference.
So we'll talk to some of the players in a bit, but first let's talk about someone who you lost. I'll hope who's been your goalie for a long time, did very very well. How do you how do you hope to replace someone like her?
Yeah, I mean I think I think the players returning, especially the back line, have to fill some of those shoes, so it's not entirely on someone new and coming into the lineup. We obviously have four goalkeepers in our goalkeeping unit, and they've been working really hard in captains practices and
in preseason and in all of their preparation. We have a little bit more experience coming in and in Olivia Ramy, who transferred to us from Oklahoma, which we were not sure, you know, where we would get experience from, so that that's been positive. And then we have very talented younger keepers, including Kira who played with us to the spring, and Sophia Cortes Brown and Kayla Kuschoffner, So that unit is
very competitive. But Hope's experience, experience with the back line leading the team, the confidence that she had in her ability and end their leadership as a captain is those are big shoes. So I'm expecting that our our veteran back line will be able to you know, fill some of that, and then one of or two of the other keepers will will also be able to step in. But she's you know, she's already been back to visit, which is tremendous and was pretty pretty awesome to see
our freshman keepers get to saylo and introduce themselves. As you know, she's been such an icon here.
You know, in terms of recruiting, how do things switch up on it? You've got a pretty good mixture of players really from all over the country, does it? This does really matter as far as recruiting goes, since you're joining a new conference or or what I know, you've got you've got international players, so they're coming from everywhere.
Yeah, we have a couple really tremendous Internet players, and I know when I was playing, playing with international players is one of the opportunities to learn because every every country has their own soccer style and you can pick up different things that you know, are different from the
American way. So I think it's a great opportunity to have international players in and I know it's appealing for for soccer players from a lot of places to come get an education and play such competitive soccer in the United States in college. But as far as the conference changed, I think Dallas has always, you know, been a hotbed for soccer in this country. So getting into the Texas area to play games and conference is you know, that used to be something we tried to do in non conference,
but you know, now we'll have that in conference. So that's helpful recruiting. And you know, non conference play is always great to schedule on the West Coast, and that's still really appealing for us. And I think just the university overall has such such tremendous appeal in southern California that I think we'll still do a lot of our recruiting there. But we've been able to get into Colorado, Georgia, some other pretty big areas. You got some some players
from Maryland, Florida. So yeah, we've been we've been, you know, hitting up a lot of areas and just looking for that the best players we can get, best students we can get in creating the best team culture with the right people.
So when you recruit, do you get the get the lady or the player who who fits your style or best player available? How do you put your team together?
Definitely some of both, you know, we I really try to recruit players that I'm going to enjoy coaching whatever their role ends up being, whether they come in right away, have an impact they need to earn a spot, whether they're you know, in contention for you know All Conference Frenchmen team, or you know, maybe a role player coming off the bench. I think, you know, everybody has a role and can contribute, and I think the right people are always the most fun to be on the field with,
whether it's as a teammate or a coach. So I'm looking for players who love the game, who don't need to be motivated to show up. They want to get better. They're intrinsically motivated, they love training, and so they bring something extra every day when they show up, and a lot of that you get from their club coaches to see them every day. They really know what their character
and drive is. And then you are definitely looking for for soccer players that fit your style, and for us, it's players who like to think the game, who are clever, have good technical ability, and and just a lot of soccer savvy.
A lot of soccer going on this weekend too in Paris. What are you what are your thoughts on what we're going to see?
Man, I think this is the best I've seen the US play in a long time. The quality is great. And Brazil coming back and getting themselvesselves to the top of the tournament is you know, for those of us who grew up watching Brazil dominate to see them, you know, back is great. There's such I mean, it's just a football powerhouse in the world. So there's no reason that their women shouldn't be at the top of world football every single year. So I think it's going to be
a heck of a battle. And you know, Mark's last international game, and uh, it's just there's so much going on. So I'm excited for it and really been enjoying the US players and their style of play, and so that's pretty pumped for him.
It's so kind of a transitional group too, right, I mean, Alex Morgan not there, and Megan retiring things like that. So what does that say about maybe just the depth. I know a lot of these are college most of them are college players, I'm assuming, right, Sonya Smith Stanford, right, something like that.
Yeah, so Smith is she's She's left Stanford after her sophomore year, so she's been in the pros for a while. Jade and Shaw never never went to college. Corbett Albert, I think, is probably one of the younger players. But they're most of them have finished college. They're still on the young side. They're They're not better in the way
Alex Morgan and Megan Raupino were. But I do think those players were so so large and larger than life that the transition, you know, it's harder to make because they they really did push all of soccer forward and put the national team or continue to put the national team on center stage, as as the players who came
before them also did. But you know, when you have such large personalities and icons, it's the transition is hard, you know, and in your you have young players who have to step into such big shoes and make such a big splash for people to start to support them. But I think these these players have and definitely the front line is just really exciting and dynamic and also
able to produce for each other. So it's it's it's neat, and it was probably a long time coming to a changeover, so you know, it's it's been great for these players that they've been able to do such a such a strong job and put together such complete and professional performances.
Let's go back to the team real quick. I think one of the big statements or or or thoughts when they move to the Big twelve and the staffords of the world going east to the ACC the travel for the for the Olympic sports like yours, Uh, is it going to be as difficult as people like you know, me and Dave, the common people who think that these these kids can't survive a trip to West Virginia and study and all that stuff. To me and I could be totally wrong, and I usually am where these kids this
is what they're built for. You know, they're still young. They can do a lot of different things where the travel is not going to be that tough. But I could be I could be wrong, and it's going to be tough.
I think it's going to be some of both. It like everything you know, when when young people come to college. Some people just roll right in and get it together quick, and some people take a year to figure out college living. And I think there's going to be some of both. The time changes will pose an extra challenge because you know, anytime you mess up your bedtimes and stuff, there's things you don't really realize are are affected. You're eating schedule,
stuff like that. So I think there will be some challenges. The travel will be longer, Do I think that it will, you know, just topple these student athletes, know, I think they are built for it, but there may be some who have some challenges depending on you know, fatigue or missing class or if they're you know, communicating well with their professors ahead of time, or you know, that's the
skill they really do have to learn. So some some student athletes take a little while to learn learn that as part of growing up and not having parents to communicate for you anymore. So, you know, I think there will be challenges, but they are similar to the challenges they already face. It's just maybe you know, amplified in a few situations here and there.
These are all products of the COVID lockdowns and having to deal with education, you know, from a distance for a couple of years themselves while they were probably in high school or junior high. So we'll see how they do with this next challenge again, has the U of A. Has the athletic department kind of gone over this with each team as to how to orient yourself and prepare for this.
There's been a lot of support along the way. I think as we you know, a lot of our schedules were already kind of locked in, so the conference schedule changed, but you tried to keep you know, non conference stuffs as consistent as you had planned and where you kind
of made commitments and had contracts with school signed. So I think as we go forward there may be some more recommendations and best practices and things like that, but you know, we just kind of had to roll with it quickly and pivot as fast as we could and get ourselves organized and scheduled since you know, you kind of scheduled two plus years out, so kind of happened really fast, I'd.
Say, right, So maybe just go back for the final question, to go back to the beginning. You're starting your fourth year. Is it long from the end of last year to this point I'm sure you're a coach who wants to do it all the time. To coach and to get on the field.
Oh yes, an eternity. It just feels like forever and all the players are training and doing so much work on their own, and your ability to support them is fairly limited. It definitely can support them in terms of, you know, giving them training programs and things like that, but you know, you really can't help or provide input or be on the field with them and help them
in their development. So it's kind of like you're just waiting for them to arrive and get going so you can see what they've done and how they've handled their development plans and things like that. So it's tough. And then they come back and they run some captains practices and you know they're all out there working so hard and you're sitting in your office doing admin stuff so
in recruiting, So yeah, that's tough. I would love to coach more of the year, but we're full swinging now and I'm just happy to be back with them and you know, they've made a lot of progress, and you've got new players are really competitive who have come in and you know, all of that really makes for an exciting environment.
Well, good year, good luck to your four. We appreciate you coming on.
Thanks so much for having me. I appreciate it.
Yeah, yeah, thank you, Becka Morrils so for your coach. Just unus you got here. You can see the program inching its way to success. Those are one of those things because you face, like you said, the West Coast, the Stamford's and all those they're pretty damn good. Yeah, I mean it's tough to crack that top four, top five. Maybe it'll be different than the big.
Twel's going to be a different adjustment for sure, because you have the Stafford's and UCLA is winning national championships while you're trying to grow the program. It's hard to believe it's thirty years since this program even started, so they've had their ups and downs.
For thirty years. Lisa Fraser showed up him back in the day, thirty years ago, Dave year old man, ten year old.
I think you there.
I was there. I haven't got old David.
I forgot the coach's name. You got me.
She's a friend of mine, so that's why I remember. Okay, hey, let's take a break and then come back and talk some more. If you're an Arizona Man's basketball fan, you know it's been successful for nearly forty years. Now take a look back at the Ludolsen era in my new book, Lessons from Loot. It was a labor of love through the eyes of twenty five former players, coaches and friends to give insight to the coach and the man who
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Steve Rabera and Jacob Salaz they have their eye on the ball on Tucson Sports Stage. Chef Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Welcome back to line the ball here Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve, You're Dave.
I'm Dave, and he's won.
Yes, sure you're one. So if anybody paid attention to us before we went to break, before coach I said that we're going to talk about that, and I don't write anything down, which Jay doesn't needed until we forget. So if anybody can remind us what we're going to talk about. I think it involved something you had done, but you were busy the summer. Dave, Dave Jay, whatever your name is.
Yeah, I got to make a shout out to my friends from my alma mater, San Diego State. We've been doing these baseball trips for the last about ten years, so we went this year. We went to New York, which was a treat. I'd not been to the new Mets Stadium, City Field or newish.
Field, which was very nice.
We saw a Mets game against the Phillies and then followed up later with a Yankees game against the horrendous White Sox later in the week, so it.
Was bad too.
Did they don't even remember?
I don't know.
I just was in eminated by the Yankee fans. I don't know if you've been to a game there before. This is this was again the relatively new Yankee Stadium.
But it didn't matter.
Fans were in rare form and just being kind of a quiet you know, Arizona and in Californian as I am. Just to listen to the noise and listen to the people was as much of the experience we have.
We have Henry, who's from New York in Manhattan, so he's this one. But Henry Henry, and we talked about that, I'm not a New York guy. My son went to Rutgers and he lived in that area, and I'm thinking, I really don't like the people.
It was unbelievable, you know.
And again you watched the games on TV and you see the enthusiasm.
Actually, you know.
Also speaking of sports, we took a tour of Madison Square Garden, which you know, for.
Me, we talked about that. We talked about go ahead, I want.
To ask you. It was kind of cool, you know, again, like were people.
There was just an empty building.
It was empty and it was like, yeah, it was like it was like ten o'clock in the morning, so they cleaned up from the night before.
I guess it was fine.
Okay, remember that some people sports arena in La Oh yeah, not that bad. That's where I was going.
But it was fun, you know.
For me, it was kind of like, oh, yeah, I've seen a locker room before, I've seen the press box area and.
It seemed, you know, it's old for me.
My friends and there were like maybe twenty five people on this on the tour, and most of them were from different countries. Yeah, and you know, it's kind of neat to see the banners. We go up, we went really high. I could see all the Knicks banners.
And how long did you say in New York? A few there?
About a week?
Oh okay, yeah, that's a long time in New York. Yeah.
It was fun though.
You know, which if you if you haven't been and it's relatively new, is the World Trade Center Museum?
Oh yeah, it's nice.
Yeah, so that's phenomenal. That may have been the highlight even more than the baseball.
There's the White Place Oculus is the oculus whatever next to the monuments, like a shopping mall, but.
A huge yeah white Yeah. That's where you come out of the subway.
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, it's very impressive.
Yeah, it was very very neat, and just the whole all experience there was was very dramatic and very well done, you know.
As far as museums go, right, yeah, yeah, yeah, and you went at a good time this.
Yeah. We try to.
You know, we're a bunch of old guys, so we don't want to kill ourselves walking around in the humidities.
We look.
We usually plan these trips for the spring, like May.
I don't want to go a couple of blow.
We were on subways. It was right, and again I'm not used to that. You know, you're not used to just walking out and just jumping on some subway.
The Saints Connectity.
We went there.
And then so next year we're looking at the Kansas City in Saint Louis, which will be a.
Little Go go to Kansas City in March and you'll be fine for the you know, the Big twelve Tournament, which.
I'm looking for baseball though in March.
Yeah, no, there's not, but you know, there's gonna be basketball, and by all accounts, everybody's really excited about that because everyone complains that it's not gonna be in Vegas, and you've been to Vegas for that and it's exciting right now, everybody in Tucson goes. But now I think it's gonna be in a different experience and it's supposed to be a lot of fun. Yeah, so I think the people who go are gonna have a good time. Oh we didn't realize.
This, Yeah, I mean just getting to Kansas City is a little difficult. That's probably ninety percent of the people who would drive to Biga.
Right right right getting there. Oh, they ain't going to day going to Kansas City, the people they go from here to to Vegas. What they're gonna do is they're gonna go watch the games in Vegas on TV about the Big Twelve.
Because there'll be other terms assom in Vegas au lest everybody else.
Is going to stick around, right, And that's how it is.
Whoever's left Mountain West, yeah, Big Big West or whoever?
Right right when you found out that they were eventually a year ago now Big twelve and you've been around, so did you think, Okay, it's a good idea, it's gonna be fun, or what the heck?
It is?
Kind of what the heck? I think maybe we should talk about this in about a year's kind of see how it went played out. Okay, really, because like as I was trying to ask Becca, you know, have they had kind of meetings internally, like how are we going to handle these road trips where we're leaving on a Tuesday and not coming home till Friday? Right, you know, school and travel and sleep and I wonder how athletic department is doing.
And I hope I didn't kind of overstate myself, But I still believe the kids and want kind of kids care about students being the student right but okay, maybe signed up. There's student athletes. Some are serious about it, some are not. They'll get when was the last time you heard of a kid not doing well academically a student athlete?
It doesn't happen.
It doesn't happen anymore. Now they have a lot of resources.
They've got that beautiful buildings, the Ginny Clements Center right outside the ticket office that has been open now, I don't know, maybe inside ten years. And that was a big thing to have, you know built. Remember the days where there'd be students, you know, getting tutored.
Oh sure, Anima.
McHale right by our area.
Right right right right in there, tutoring right well, donnad Swayne. It would be a legend, right right. So now it's changed. I don't remember all Lott. Well, we don't hear much about academics anymore anyway. But you know, someone's not ineligible or ineligible.
Sometimes when those when those headlines happen, we're not quite sure.
Sure, sure, sure we can't talk about it for we're probably right. I'm kind I don't have to deal with that stuff anymore. Yeah, i'd be sure that's the thing you don't miss.
No, I mean again, as a reporter, it's never fun to cover those kinds of things. I mean, you have to and you've got you know, kind of news people behind the scenes who are bugging you and want to make sure that you get the story fat first and correct, and it was always difficult.
Yeah, those days are kind of over or not kind of there for us at least.
Yeah, which is there isn't a desert swarm guys doing those kinds of stuff.
Well even yeah, they're there, even for them. They more they more so grab the stories from other people too, you know, the Daily Star and rewrite, rewrite those so let the other people do the dirty word.
Not that we ever did that. Well maybe maybe you didn't.
Yeah, I'm not going to throw Yeah, well we're well aware that TV were understaffed and you know, had to kind of you know, oh, this isn't the paper. We gonna follow this or chase this or whatever. No, No, No, the business is the business and we'll see. Okay, if anybody wants to call, let me remind you when talked to Dave, you haven't talked to David A while five to two oh four one six, seventy four, seventy seven, four four zero. You can give us a call, anybody. It's Friday, right days Friday.
It's Friday.
Finally, yeah, finally. So okay, and see what's going on football? Have you paid attention? What's going on with football?
With Arizona?
A football?
Just again again not being able to really be there and see it. But sure, it's been fun to see the headlines and players getting named All American teams, preseason All American teams.
It's kind of fun to fall and.
Which hadn't happened in a while. I mean to this extent, No.
I mean t mac is first team All American. He's gonna you know, he could be top five pick.
Yeah.
So you got here in like mid eighties, right, eighty four ish, eighty three, eighty three. How do I know this? Only because I came a little later in eighty seven. Uh, you've seen a lot of football, and what do I know? You saw the end of Rickey Henley or very very end. Okay, So, and you've seen a lot of players in that time. And I've seen a few things since eighty seven, mostly basketball.
I'm gonna go I've go on the record a number of times to say, at the end of this year and if t Mac gets to play a lot play without being hurt, that he'll go down in my mind as the best football player to ever play here. That's saying a lot. I know in his position is hard to gauge, but the dude is fantastic.
And we'll see what the what the accolades look like too. I mean again, Ricky, I remember correctly too. He made every All American team and first team this first team that.
Yeah, he made every tackle he made.
He was the star of the show.
That was probably the most decorated player. But there were there we been a few others.
But not Bruski. Yeah uh, you know Kadem who didn't get as many act but did a lot. Of course, Gronk, but he didn't play a lot because you got hurt.
It would have been nice to see him play a full three or four years to be healthy because he was, I mean, he was a dominant player even here for those couple of years.
Right, So you you won't You're going to reserve your right to agree with me after the year that the team at could possibly be the best player. The dude just catches everything everything.
Yeah, it's great when you have people like that. I mean there's you know that that position too has really become kind of the marquee spot in the NFL. Yeah, I mean those guys and what is in Netflix doing a series right now just on receivers and things like that. So those guys have been kind of the prima donnas.
Well you went exactly where it was going to go. What the hell is wrong with or I'll say wrong, but they're all dimas. Yeah, throw me the ball, give me the ball, give me the ball, give me the just catch the ball. Be quiet.
I don't remember Jerry Rice anything like that. The next generation kind of started with like.
The mikel Sinco and well Michael Irene kind of he.
Was Nev was kind of a trash talker, but he was playing alongside Rice in those years.
Yeah, yeah, same time. But now it's you know the we you follow it.
It's Ceedee Lamb making a big deal about his contracts. I get that he's a top receiver in the NFL, but has he won a playoff? If they want to go in some playoff games and then.
Weekend right right, your importance to the team means something.
But no team MAC is sensational and obviously Noah has and they have a wonderful chemistry chemistry going AND's just keep them healthy and let's see what happens.
Right. So, so, and I've talked to you about this before, because you've been on the show before. Uh, the success of the athletic department, uh coincides or or at least uh leads to other things the stuff that you did, because if the teams are happy, if the teams are doing well, alums are doing happy, are doing well and are happy, which means your job was a little easier, a.
Little bit easier.
But again, like I said, as I've said before, you know, I wasn't really specifically raising money just for athletics, but you know I could as well if people wanted to give, they can give whoever they want to. I'm just the you know, the conduit for that. But yeah, it was always easier to go on a trip on a Monday after they just had a big win on a Saturday, knowing that the people you're going to talk to were interested and had been, you know, keeping tabs on the school.
So did you raise money accidentally? Like the accidental tourist for.
Athletics accidentally, but I was specifically at the end was working for one college, the College of Social Behavioral Sciences.
So that was kind of my main goal.
What did you do before you did something else?
For that?
I was with the foundation, the foundation, and then there we could raise money for anything, Okay, So we were kind of representing that's and that was early in my time of even just doing the job and learning it, so that was kind of neat.
Then later I branched off and just went.
To one college. So so I think you can speak to this. You're no longer tied to u A. I'm doing a story on the AC, the Arizona Sports Entertainment Area, the new the new program that with no more lear Field. Oh okay, you know, the the new leear Field. Your thoughts on that, you know, I.
Wish I knew more. I don't, I don't.
I mean, I guess the big question was whether Brian was going to continue was play by play, which they've already answered that, but again that whole I've got a friend again.
This is just kind of an anecdote.
A buddy who had a company and they were giving and they were sponsoring things, and all of.
A sudden, he doesn't know who to call.
You know, it's like the person I was dealing with inside gone. Yeah, so I think maybe those questions need to be answered.
Oh sure, was that a while ago?
No, this was like last week?
Oh really, because last week I know desirely had a meeting, like a pow wow with with those people, those those people with money locally, because I know I had lamont in here Friday and he talked about that meeting. I saw photos on Facebook of some of the donors, the potential donors at this thing at Sand's Club I think it was, And so maybe that's the starter.
Yeah, I mean a these are not donors, they are more sponsors different right, the gift Right. So he was curious, like, well, who do I call now?
My guy that was the guy wants to sponsor this show? Give him my number.
I mean, you know, they would have their name on billboards inside the stadium.
And that's important given that lear Field, at least in the past gave seven million dollars a year. I'm sure that's number fluctuated through the years, but I think potentially there was more gonna come. But now it's we're on our own Arizona and we're gonna we're gonna sell the heck out of it.
Yeah.
Yeah, you wonder about their exposure. I mean, how things Do they have a radio network still? Is that even a thing anymore? You know, they used to have twenty outlets around the states?
Does that even That's a good question because I didn't go there with anybody yet. It's well, Brian's coming back. I don't think they have the contract with the other guys yet. The twelve ninety who's typically been the player. I don't think that's done yet, so that the talent has yet to be signed. But I think all the talent's coming back. So there's that, and that's what you're talking about, right.
Yeah, yeah, I don't know.
I mean, it's always kind of been the same.
Way for her right years, right, you know, it'll be one flagship and.
That lends me to this. Okay, it's always been the same way for a long time, and now there are changes. We have a new sheriff in town, if you will. Part of the expression with Desirae and things are changing, people are leaving, people are coming in maybe and maybe that's a good thing, because well we know what the old thing looks like, and they got in trouble.
And again, I guess going back to the radio thing, people are consuming their radio in a different way.
These there's no question.
Necessarily sitting in a car anymore. They're sitting at home, you know, streaming, listening to you guys streaming all the time.
I don't know.
I mean some of the professional sports have been almost dropped on over the air radio doing things just online.
Well everybody, we talked about that earlier this week. You know, website like a desert form all sports. Tucson newspapers are not being read as much, if at all. The news is coming differently at different.
People, and you know the next general is the ones who you know they're going to be targeting. Sure, old guys like us, we still want to read the paper physically.
Or right, we talked about that too.
It doesn't happen.
Yeah, No, do you read the paper physically? You read it online. So you're an aboration because we're older and so me too. I don't I don't get the pay per ut it's five bucks on Sunday. Did you realize that? No? Did you?
I'm shocked, But I mean I'm reading I'm reading the Sunday and Quotes paper on Saturday afternoon.
Oh yeah, right, right, right Hanson. Greg Hanson's notes are right.
Right early, sure, sure, okay, we got to go. We're gonna get ones breaking news and then we'll talk more on the other side.