Friday, August 9, Hour 2

Steve Rivera and jaygen Salez. They have their eye on the ball on Tucson's sports stage yet Fox Sports fourteen fifty streaming live. I mean I hoard radio.

Wam, Hey, welcome back to my the ball here Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve, he's Dave Sober and now we have one with breaking news.

Maybe not, this is I'm the ball Rickey news on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Nice age, truly, mister Goody two shoes? You got Goody two shoes to start off him?

No?

You?

He called me that one Friday and it's just stuck.

You know. He's a good kid. Could be called worse is he doesn't realize he went to be I'm racing it.

It's my thing now, mister Goody two shoes.

Is your mom like that? Did you tell you so?

Told me?

Look?

But happy Friday everyone out there. Start off. In some college football news, Jim Harbaugh is to be Michigan as honorary captain for their season opener. What really, after all that's happened this week, I don't know how it's gonna work.

Place, man, time and places. They don't get it. Just don't touch anything, gym don't give anybody money. I don't know.

I don't know how it's gonna work. But the Michigan's president is excited to have him back, he said, So it looks like it's gonna happen.

See what should have been banned from that game too?

To the NFL, the Patriots have released wide receiver Judu Smith Schuster. Wow, A lot of people are saying that it's because of the youth movement trying to get He's.

Got to find a place. He well, you know, we're kind of living on a reputation of a name right because he's been there for a while. But I'm sure he's still good. You know, I see a cardinal you know, form in soon.

It's nice when they do that though. Now, you know, since there's still like three weeks to go, so I can give him a chance to go sign up somewhere.

So best best look to him to tryphend a new place call home. Dak Prescott is going to be held out of today's practice in the preseason game this weekend because of ankle shortness.

Okay, boy, here we go.

How do you playoff games? That they won.

About as many girlfriends as have had?

Was that a little pr for you. Sorry, yeah, you're probably doing okay though it's it's not a bad thing.

So I mean, just hope he gets well. I hope he's not so sore.

That's just a pr thing for you Cowboy fans.

Speaking of preseason games, we have a couple of games or three games today. Atlanta's playing Miami, Houston is going to Pittsburgh, and the Eagles are going to the Ravens.

Do you ever watch those things?

No?

I mean maybe if by accident, like last night, I know they were on NFL network, was flipping around and you know, I was on for like five seconds.

I don't pay attention to any of that.

I mean, you know, you know what I really enjoyed though, suddenly is Hard Knocks. The first episode of this year's came on this week. That's we're doing the Bears. The Bears, okay, And so they did an off season one with the New York Giants, which was really interesting.

Well that was the Barkley stuff, right.

You would have liked I mean, because it was hardly any football. It was all behind the scenes story in the in the front office and working on contracts and how that worked. I enjoyed it. Yeah, I would reckon. I mean you could still watch it today.

Those are always the best because you're you're after the stories like you were, like I was, it's not about it's not about the game.

No, No, it was great. I mean, let up. All the way to the draft. You got to listen to the scouts talking about certain players and how they would, you know, watch them at the combine and stuff. I thought it was really interesting.

Yeah, uh to finish out some of the preseason stuff. But the Denver Broncos Jerys didn't was to start versus the Colts, oh Nicks.

Against the Packers.

I feel like I maybe maybe I'm a little bit biased, but I feel like it's one of the more interesting quarterback competitions that we.

Have in Denver, Denver, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh great with with that one Wilson or or the new guy it's uh from Chicago right field just Appel.

Yeah, because Next, as you said, Next is starting this week.

It should be I think it's dressed them first then bo Nicks, and I'm sure that give zach In a chance so that when they when they came out with their unofficial uh depth chart, they had Sham starting then Wilson, then Nicks, so.

I like, I like bow next, don't do too how big is I don't seemed to be an issue, but.

I thought was six to I liked him a lot. I liked him better than Penis uh in the regular season, and then that's well, you know, I still liked him, but you know, Pennix was fantastic.

That's going to be an interesting situation with the Falcons.

That's another one.

Yeah, Cousins and Pix. What happens? So the Panthers were flying off for their game and or their flight ran off the taxiway. No one got hurt. Who's just the Carolina Panthers. Panthers Okay, they're they're flying I think from their their Preces game last night and uh hitting back home and they're they're playing went off.

So is that an omen for the future.

I don't know. I don't like that type of stuff, Like we'll like good omens here, Okay.

We well, we don't have the KOD today, so it's not a kids of death.

That's two MLB. The Braves and Reds are going to be playing at Bristol Mortar Speedway next to August.

August second.

Should be a sight to see.

That's gonna be fun interesting. I don't know how they're going to do that. I'm sure we've got the configuration laid out, but do it on a big oval like that. It's gonna be like the old LA Coliseum games, you know, where they played in the Giant Stadium and had.

That augusta next year. Yeah.

Uh, I mean Tennessee and Virginia Tech played a game there and it sold out.

So one hundred and sometimes, I'm sure. I'm sure that would be easier though, wouldn't think so much easier to the Olympics.

Chikai Richardson and the US team. She won gold in the four by saw that the USA women's basketball team advanced to the finals, beating Australia eighty five sixty four. They will play France, so a little interesting between the men and the women both.

Playing France versus France. Yeah, in France.

So should be a good, good couple of games through gold.

Did you see what happened though with the men's one hundred where they messed up on.

The fo Yeah, where you're gonna go there? Yeah, yeah, but yeah they dropped them.

Well, they didn't drop it, but it wasn't very good exchange.

Oh no, it was bad in the first in the first leg, yeah, yeah, it was very bad. They finished the seventh a go. They were disqualified after probably yeah, after a further review. Yeah right, yeah, we.

Had trouble with that for like the last twenty years. It's unbelievable. He used to win that every single time.

And they haven't done it in a long time. Yeah. No, I saw that. It even looked ugly because he was right on top of him. Yeah, okay, anything.

Else for the women's soccer, they will be playing in the gold match against Brazil.

Yeah.

I talked about that earlier. But best of luck to them. I hope they can bring it home. Last thing I have, The University of Arizona has announced that Shuresh Gary Milo it will be the twenty third president.

At the university. Right right, They started to put pictures out there just saw you guys knew this about a while, but an hour or two ago. Right, the only guy allegedly they looked at. I'm sure they looked at more. They had to. Makes no sense not to look at more people.

I booked him yet for a show here.

No, No, we talked about Jane and I because we've had the doc doctor Robbins here a few times. We do want Yeah, he likes coming on the show talking about sports. But we were trying to get him for the last time, you know, before he leaves, because he was always insightful, obviously candid, uh and now he can be very candidate. Yeah, and a.

Huge sports fan. I mean all the things that you know he's he's gonna be known for. He was there alongside everybody.

Well, he was there alongside and he used air quotes, may have been the guide to hire most of the people. Tommy jed uh someone and mean, yeah, I don't, I don't, I don't know. No, I think maybe before, but you know those people and and and he was staunched behind Sean over my chip. Yeah yeah, and maybe him yet yeah, and he and he was staunched the over behind Miller over my dead body. He's eager to leave, you know or whatever. You know. Eventually said okay, you gotta go.

You gotta be a good, good discussion for you guys, because again, you know, again as a fan, you guys, you were closer to it. But just watching his presence, I mean, was there all the time.

Yeah, I spoke to him a lot, in fact at the end, because I'd see him and his wife at the games and blah blah blah, give him my book and you know, uh, he liked the book. But the thing about it with him is maybe not you know, if he could redo it, how would he redo it? And but do you want if you're in juve and you're the ad or you're the you're the coach or whatever, do you want your president to be that close?

I don't know. I mean, I think there's arguments both ways. I mean, that's kind of what doomed the PAC twelve from the stories I was hearing, meaning was some of the presidents had no clue about sports, yeah, and didn't care. And then others like Robbin's you know, probably you really felt kind of terrible that things happened, maybe the way they did.

I don't know with Scott, with Larry Scott not paying atten you know what was really good or yeah, not thinking more than Larry Scott.

Yeah, again, you know, what's the role of the president in those situations when it comes to athletics? And I think there was that that storyline was a big part of what we were listening to right right.

Some other news. Other former Morana football coach Louis Ramirez, the second passed away, I guess yesterday or today, probably yesterday, I think it was. Uh. He coached at Marana. He was coached for the Briget Burget. Who's down with you know the Rana kid kids, Toby's kids, who's now a issue? He passed away. He's only thirty one. He was an ad at in case of ground. So there's a lot of local stuff going on and football is going going to start now.

It's funny, you know. I'm sorry, I'm gonna mess up the names. But the tackle.

From the UFA last year, yeah, last year from Marana, he was he coached him too.

Yeah. And then there's a Georgia's there's a great player there this year. I know that this coach moved on to a different school, but another really players coming from Irana High School this year.

Okay, yeah, Jordan Morgan was the guy him and he coached both of them. We'll get in. We're get I'm sorry, thank you.

That's quite a family. I'm sure you've seen the stories about their daughter too, like football star.

Yeah, she quit she quit volleyball to do that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, No, everybody's athletic, athletic, and it's a crazy great family for sports. Yeah, right, anything else, I think.

That was it.

That's all I got.

I'm looking forward to the basketball tomorrow. That should be fun.

Yeah, because there's there's a chance they could lose.

See Victor and who else they have? They got a few? Yeah, go bear Cat's two and it's gonna be a home crowd. They're all gonna be cheering against em, be like they've been doing.

They're good for a reason. I wouldn't be surprised if they lost or struggled.

Yeah. Did you get a chance to see yesterdays?

Just the just the highlights or low lights when they made a come back. I saw it on on on the internet. They were down by fifteen and a third. I'm thinking of that's three four three pointers from Staff. They're back in the game.

Yeah, I mean Lebron had a look up to him then, like this is not going to happen under my watch. Sure, and Staff played well great actually the whole game, but Lebron that in that last quarter.

If the thing is, if if they don't win it, how much falls on stet On Steve.

Steve I don't know. I mean he got he's been taking a lot of heats well from the Boston fans because of Tatum basically. But yesterday there was like nobody coming off the bench near at the end, and those guys played the entire quarter almost.

Yeah, yeah, because you had they had to win. And and do you go to Tatum? What do you lose? I mean they're all fantastic, Yeah, and you have what twelve people.

And he's been struggling honestly, you know, you just look at the stats.

Yeah, so you know, how do you how do you not play these guys though all of them they're all good.

Anthony Davis sitting on the bench.

Well, you can have you can have the second team probably playing for the gold.

Yeah, I mean Anthony Edwards although he struggled too, like it's part of the you know, part of the game where they fell behind. He was not playing well, but so he never came off the bench in the fourth.

Right, right, Okay, who do we have coming up?

Now?

We have oh, Casey, Casey, let's just take the break. We can find out how to get ahold of them, not to find out we'll get a hold of them.

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This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jacobzalez on Fox Sports fourteenth fifteen.

Hey, welcome back to I on the Ball here Foxsworks watching fifty. I'm Steve Rivera, Dave Silbert in with me to day. We got Jue as our guy. He'll be a bed in the phone and we have Casey Scawn here pretty soon. Casey is this you?

Hey?

See how you doing flying?

Thanks for on the air, so be careful, no customers. Great to have you. How you doing.

I'm going well. Thanks for having me.

Great. Great, we have Dave Silver here. I don't know if you were working at the time already.

I was working for your school at the time, but I have been on television here in Tucson for a long time, so I watched you as a fan in your years.

Hey, Dave, Yeah, so now Casey is it was a heck of a punter, was a heck of an athlete. Now he is a cyclist. How's that going for you?

It's going well, and I'm still riding about twice a week right now. It's it's a little harder and it's super hot outside, so I have more time on the trainer inside. But yeah, give me bitsy.

Yeah. One are the questions Dave asked me just and he kind of knew the answer already. Wasn't he part of the last very good team that Arizona played it in twenty fourteen?

Right? Yep? Twenty fourteen was our Festiboy year as a part of that, and then twenty fifteen was my last year brand not quite as successful overall, but s pretty good for Arizona standards.

Yeah. One of the things that Jay and I talked about a nauseum here Arizona, you know, wins a lot of games, nine to ten wins, and there's a lot of expectations, at least the hopes are arise for the next year, and it doesn't work, and Arizona doesn't work. It hasn't worked. So that's kind of the reservation we have this year after last year. Why didn't work the year after in twenty fifteen?

You know what, that's a really good question. I think I think we've had a lot of ipe around that season, especially in twenty fourteen, and we're kind of riding the hypewave, you know, that was a big factor of it, and then I don't know, for whatever reason, it just kind of died off in twenty fifteen. Yes, I think a lot of it was just the motivation and we had

Yeah, I mean, I was it was fun to watch that group play. What are your biggest memories. I know I probably know your biggest, your most famous memory of that season in twenty fourteen, but what was it like to be part of that experience.

Yeah, I think my my obviously favorite individual memory is a Washington Washington game. I think most people that watched that season can guess that. But I think my favorite team memory was when we went and we beat Oregon at home and they were ranked number two nationally at the time. I just remember we could have stayed in the locker room in Oregon for the entire entire night, just partyed and having a good time. Everybody was on a high after that win.

Yeah, no question, you realize how rare that is to win up there for Zona that I don't think they've had more than a couple wins ever. Right, and that's it. The series is now over.

Yeah. You know what though, for my team especially, it seemed like we had Oregon's number for whatever reason. We beat them way more time than anybody expected us ever to beat.

So you can talk about his experience. The best play was it the one that Anthony said.

Tell us just tell us about that about the the winning kick.

At the Washington game. Yeah, you know, I think what what added to that experience was just a few weeks prior having the losing kick against USC, right, and so it was it was really nice to be able to have that opportunity so close. I think it was three weeks later for the Washington game, and so I was just trying to improve on that. You know, I learned a lot from the USC kick. I learned never to

There was a game, and maybe you've been the same game Washington game, because I talked about how tough you were where you scored a touchdown, right, is it is? You scored a touchdown and you also laid out somebody on a kickoff or somebody you remember that.

I don't remember laying anybody out of the kickout from the Washington game, but it did happen more than once. We talked about. Got in a lot of our special teams meetings. I had way more tackles than I would like.

And why did that happen? Kickers? And usually you run towards the sideline, don't.

I didn't want anybody taking one of my kicks back to that.

No, but you were in the mix a lot. I remember one time it was like, holy crap, that Oh it was Casey. What the hell, do you think it's gonna get hurt.

You know, I grew up an athlete. I played soccer my whole life, so it's not like I you know, I wasn't a kicker for my entire athletic career. I did have some physical contacts.

Did you when you played high school? Did you? Did you play another position as well in high school?

Uh? So, I actually only played three weeks of high school football. I played soccer my whole life, and then I was actually a walk on for my high school team as well, just in my senior season.

Okay, okay, let's go back to real quick to the USC game. Have you here?

So?

Why not? Right? You missed? You missed the thing, and then the big news was after the fact because you were getting death threats, which was very upsetting.

Yeah, I think it was. It was more upsetting for my family, especially for my mom, than it was for me. You know, I was playing in the game, so I knew the stage that I was on, and unfortunately that I wish it wasn't. But that's just a part of sports, especially at that level. Right, And you got people that are gambling on the games, who knows what they have invested in it. So it was definitely I mean it's tough for me too, but a lot tougher on my mom than it was for me.

Well, how did you handle it as a family? Did you? I mean, try to tap it down a little bit and maybe not make it such a big deal. And I mean, you don't want to give it too much passion?

How can you write? How you can? And it's tough.

Yeah, yeah, so actually, you know, moms will be moms, right. So, unbeknownst to me, she had reached out to Greg Byrn, our athletic director at the time, and you know, asked what he could do about it, and he handled the situation really well. You know, asked if they had local police and asked if I wanted to have an escort to class. You know, they investigated some of the threats and you know, found founding people that made the threats and reached out and kind of said, hey, you can't

To see you tackle some dudes.

Probably walking around campus. I would guess that probably ninety nine point nine percent of people didn't even know where you were without you know, uniforms.

It wasn't like your.

Going to my you know, sociology class and I'm worrying, who are you?

Casey was in a class.

You know that you have all of the team issued here, and I obviously would wear it to class for so many times. He would be like, oh, are you a manager for one of the teams?

Not anymore? I was, well, let's go there because uh and I said. One of the I wanted to ask you was okay. So it's August eighth, eighth, ninth, you're getting ready for the season, and we see you and the guys who go to practice, see the kickers kick off at the beginning, and then you go to the stadium and they do their stuff and then they come back. What is it that you guys do like now.

In terms of practice practice?

Right like August ninth, you have a game in three weeks what do you guys doing while the team is practicing.

I'm your practice, Okay, Yeah, So being a kicker is a lot like being a pitcher. You really have to limit your kick count because you know, you end up kicking the legout, just like throwing your arm out. So you go to the stadium and do your own thing because it just has extra space. But realistically, it's you know, do a couple of kicks because you're not in anybody's way,

Don't they call it like a dead leg or something where you just you just get worn out. Maybe you know you have to kind of pace yourself through the course of the season. I would assume, right, yeah.

Exactly, And actually the twenty thirteen season. That's that's exactly what happened to me. I ended up kicking my leg out and just totally ruined my groin and unfortunately couldn't kick. And it was hard just you know, knowing that I was competing for the starting job going into that season and I had to stop due to injury.

We talked about this kind of jokingly, Dave and I so rich Rod, you know, the surdly cranky guy that he was, and you guys miss missed the kicker, says, what the hell you guys doing on the other side, because this is all we asked you to do, is kick the field goal or kick nnect your point, you know what I'm saying. He was kind of that god that way, absolutely.

And it was especially hard for me because you know, I grew up as a soccer player and if soccer isn't as one sided, so you can just go out and practice more, right, It's that's that's how you get better. And unfortunately you can't have that same approach for kicking. It's you've got to be a lot more analytical and look at film and you know, get your reps in kind of mentally instead of physically.

Are they filming you in practice, like up close where you can again go in afterwards and take a look at how you're doing, or is it just a big wide shot.

Yeah, all the time we probably had you, so we had all of the regular camera angles, and then we had at least one person that was just directly focused on off as kickers.

So when you decided to come out and play your soccer guy before, did you have hopes of playing in the NFL as a kicker?

Kind of? But I was. I was realistic about it too. You know, so many of the big guys, especially in Archimi talks Scuty right, they have agents that are like hounding them before they're even graduated to try and get them to have an agreement, you know, so they can be represented. I didn't have that kind of experience, so I just told myself, you know, maybe maybe the road to the NFL isn't going to be the one from so looking back, I don't know if I really have regrets.

Well, the kid that just left maybe two three years ago, have a second.

He's been bouncing around a huge.

Leg too, and he's got what you know, what every kicker wants, right, But then he bounces around.

And just got picked up by somebody or released. He was in the news this weekend.

And then you have the other dude in New England long Yeah, yeah, who's been there since this casey was born doing this job. I mean, come on, how does this happen?

Yeah?

I think that's the life of the kicker. Lucas har six experience has probably been norm You know, you get into a rookie camp for your first season, probably don't make the team. You bounce around to a couple of different rookie camps until you make a practice squad and then you know you're you're trying to crack that fifty three man roster. And for a lot of kickers, that's the life for multiple years. And it was what I wanted to sign up for.

Yeah, I mean, Nick Folk has been around what almost twenty years. It seems like it seems like he hasn't stayed on the same team.

But he's done really well.

He's you know, been good enough and consistent enough. Right, That's going to be one of the keys to that job. Is this the consistency? You know, we look at these kickers and I mean, really, you're making what eighty percent of your kicks usually, and if you got you dropped to seventy you're in trouble. I mean you have to be steady.

And strong, absolutely. Yeah, That's that's one thing I wish I knew going into kicking in college with how much I really needed to take care of my body. That the body, maanings is a huge factor. And the people who end up playing in the NFL for a long time are the ones that are the best at it.

Yeah, right, right, anything, how we talked a little about this, but how was it being a student athlete Arizona? And now don't you wish you were like maybe ten years younger, you'd be making some nil money?

Yeah, I know, just missed it by that much.

Job, right, How do you think life would have been would have been different even for you a kicker?

I think I potentially would have tried to pursue the NFL a lot more. You know, I don't think I would have been making hundreds of thousands of dollars, but I probably would have been in the tens of thousands, and seeing that cash may have made me reconsider if I wanted to try to go gro Yeah.

Well, it's like Tyler Loop is a fantastic kicker. Yeah, their guy now, and they're just they're you've got to be good. You've got to be good to play at this level one, and these guys are really good because he's one of the best in the country.

Yeah, he's terrific. You guys stickney the way I'm motivating too.

Yeah, that's true.

That's interesting. Of course, that's such a difference in just the last last couple of.

Years, right, right, right, anything else isn't this?

This is the ten ten year reunion. I guess if you're anything planned for the ten years of from twenty fourteen, Gosh.

Thanks for me making me show old. You know, we all to go down for at least one game. I haven't been down for Homecoming or a few years. I'd really like to go down and celebrate for that, so we'll see at least the AFT game and potentially one more.

So.

We've had the rich Rob here a few times on the show. Always a good guy and kind of you know, how was it playing for him or did you deal with him? Maybe outside of a game winner and a and a miss Oh.

I loved having coach Ron as a coach. He was the kind of guy. He looked good for work that you put in, and he rewarded you for working your butt off. That was you know. I actually got put on Starship the year that I started, and for twenty fifteen, so I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Right right, Okay, Casey, well, thanks a bunch and enjoy your cycling. We'll see you up in scott Still again soon.

All right, guys, thanks for having me do well.

Thank you. That's fun. That's good. Yeah. Yeah, kickers have a bait. He keeps having. It's like the backup quarterback.

It's like, uh, the closer in baseball. You're either great.

Or right here or people hate you yeah for one game and then you come back in.

Yeah. But those kickers, I mean, like I was trying to say, they have to be good. There's so much pressure and you know, they're they're pretty solid, most of them. Once they get to the true level.

Sure they have to be. Who's the guy, uh is it Baltimore? Who's the kuy of Baltimore? Oh yeah, they never miss this, seemingly just in Tucker. Yeah yeah, and he's got the record now, right, sixty four sixty five he misses.

Yeah, he's I mean anything inside sixty he's pretty pretty cool.

And then you have the case guy who just scored a huge, huge contract.

Yeah right, yeah, you're sure Tucker will be wondering about that.

Right right, and and happy about it too, because you know it's a it's a copycat copycat.

It's interesting though, the whole NI. I know, you just kind of got in there at the end about the nil you wonder how things are now? Oh yeah, Arizona, how that's been going?

Right?

And I'm hearing again, kind of again from people who've been asked, who've been who want you know, just kind of out of the blue, like hey, do you want to help out here?

Sure?

You exactly right? What's this going towards?

Right?

But the money's coming apparently.

Well, which is great for them. And you know, two sons that college town and everybody loves the U of a seemingly unless but you know also to j Dave Dave and Jays Dave that that I don't know what the percentage is, but a big percentage is not from here. They're not They're from Iowa, They're from California, from Colorado. They're not two sonents. These are not fun players though.

Yeah, I mean again, just again, anecdotally again, There's a person I've met in Washington, d C. Who's in Aluma, and he reached out to me just before I stopped working at Arizona about that. Like, wait a minute, I just got a call from some it wasn't the athletic department. They wanted me to give to athletics for the ni L program. Is this legit?

You know?

So I had to kind of send him a link. Yeah, this is the organization, this is the group is doing.

This right right. So in about three years on, when you're making a ton of money becoming a sports guy, somewhere in they're gonna say, can you give us some money? I know you can't come to the game.

But I'll always be I.

Will find a way. You'll find a way. They picked the trip.

Okay, do you have any friends who are athletes? No, no, no, they're not taking you out to these expensive dinners.

No no, I don't go to mister Buys.

I still go to mister yeah, and he's not here.

They go to selling it right, so.

Yeah, right, just down the road there, yeah, okay, yeah, okay, let's let's go before this, go sideways and then come back for a final final twenty minutes. If you're an Arizona men's basketball fan, you know it's been successful for nearly forty years. Now take a look back at the

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Breaking down all the excess at alls. It's Steve Leavera and Jacin Salvez. This is I on the Park on Fox Sports fourteen.

Hey, welcome back to Eying the Ball here Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Stevees Dave Silver and got a quon with us for seventeen minutes. If you got a call, please do five to two zero four one six seventy four forty. If you want to call, please do end out the day. Thanks for coming in, Dave.

Sure.

Oh a lot of fun you enjoy doing this? Don't you good to be here rather than see if I can even still do this? That's kind of fun. Yeah, this is simple. This is like us talking at a bar. Can I see your ID? Want? I don't know if you're allowed in the bar yet? Yeah I am. You're twenty two, twenty one.

I've been allowed for years.

Oh yeah, yeah, sure.

I'm at the point where I just don't go anymore.

Yeah, ten o'clock I gotta go home, exactly, get my wrist the dogs. Yeah yeah, the good old days of being young crazy. Uh. You're looking forward this You are looking because you get to cover the games, go to the games. Yeah oh yeah yeah.

Just in general, it would have been exciting just going into the Big twelve, just seeing the new traditions and new teams, not the same old the Organs, the UCLA's, the usc s. Right, not that it was that it was bad, but it's it's time for a refreshing now nowaday.

Along those lines, Arizona has a chance, a better chance to win the league rather than they did previously.

Exactly get in this expanded playoff situation, but brought in the Big twelve only I think, to two schools as opposed to the other big conferences.

And that too kind of like a dumb and dumber are you're saying we have a chance?

Yeah, I mean, could you imagine if Tucson got a playoff game? What that would be like on a Friday or Saturday night and.

Now you're getting carried January. Now you're getting carried away.

Yeah, it would be the national exposure. The first Arizona football.

The first hypotheticals that came out were what if Arizona hosts it? Yeah, you got a team like Washington coming back?

Who who's whose hypothetical? Is that just a bunch of yeah, of course.

Like they they got the brackets out when when the expansions came out.

That's which we're thinking that get jed back here just you know, yeah, yeah, how was it?

How was it?

We had Alie Smith here last week? I think Monday, maybe Monday. Really she was fantastic. It was fun, we reminising about the good ol days. Right, how was and you were here for that time? How how was that with him coming back? You were here?

Oh yeah, I'm well, I'm gonna I'll start up by saying, I remember, I'm old enough to remember when.

She was just a little girl, and she talked about that.

And you know, we had the Larry Smith Show on k GUN when I when I got here. So I've been here a couple of years and my predecessor was hosting and he leaves and I step in in nineteen eighty five, so I don't I don't know how old she is, but she was probably.

She was ten and like eighty two, is that what she was? She was ten?

Young girl. Yeah, And occasionally they would come in. She and Corby would come in and sit on the side of the set and just be there with him, and they, you know, he take him to breakfast or whatever after we did the show. So again they've been we haven't been friends or anything or even close, but we know each other. So it's cool that now her son is playing the football team.

But that's one of the reasons why we had her on because you know, here's the football mom of the place where her dad coached.

Yeah, that's great. I mean, you know, that's going to be an interesting story to see just how that plays out if he gets a chance, maybe as one of the backups. He's coming in as a true freshman, so I'm not sure what the chances are there, but maybe eventually in a couple of years.

Yeah, who knows. But back to the question, how was it for him coming back and how did they how was he treated?

Not well, there was a lot of a lot of noise, I'm sure you know. He left under you know, kind

Off part of that over the over the over the way.

I didn't go.

Somebody else.

Somebody else did it, one of my said, one of my, one of my guys.

Of course, yeah, I think they could still partly try to do that, you know.

Yeah, But you know, it was fun because we played them a few times. I don't mean to say we, but uf A played them, The USC played USC, and I got to go over there for their weekly news conference like that week, maybe on a Tuesday or Wednesday. It was really fun. L a team that had Rodney Pete who had a Tucson connection obviously, and Larry and I think Junior say out. So he left me for eighty seven. So that was it was. And he went he went to three straight rose balls right out of the right off.

The bat, and you can slideing for doing that. I mean, that's what that's the reason why you go.

Of course, you know. So he does that, He goes to Missouri and then he comes back to Tucson and lives his final years here and we to see him in the press box and his wife Cheryl is still around, right and she's fantastic.

Yeah, we had her on the show two years ago. I think too. I had her on the other at the other station because the Larry hated the issue and it was during the week of a issues. Could you kind of reminisce about the weekly grind or whatever because he just didn't like listen to him. Yeah, and he didn't.

I don't think that was like, you know, maybe winning the Pac ten was maybe number one or maybe a national championship. I ASU was right at the top of his list every year.

Yeah, and it still is because that's one like the first questions. How do you feel about the rivalry? Yeah, you know, if you don't know about the rivalry, sham on you.

Yeah. At least the rivalries obviously will continue. And I mean you talk about some of the games and some of the teams, but happened by you back in the mix is going to be huge for people in Arizona. That's going to be a big game whenever by you would come to the Phoenix area or to hear they travel, they travel. I've got a lot of fans in these cities, so that's going to be a fun one to continue.

I'm doing a big story on the Arizona Bowl for BIS Tucson. Your thoughts on that and both you guys with Snoop Dogg coming back coming to bring it or sponsor it.

Yeah, well, funny you should say that, because I'm probably going to be involved in some way with that. The Blazer group, the Blue Baby Blazers, which is what I would be in if I do this. At the beginning, they're the kind of introduction to.

The bull.

And you get to graduate to the Blue Blazers after a year or so. But they have a number of events throughout the course of the fall, especially they they will be at many high school every Friday night. They'll be at a game with their big helmets.

You know.

It's just kind of handing out information and just getting people to know that they've got their kickoff lunch and in October, which is going to be a La Paloma, the teams will be staying, you know, in their usual places, Star Pass and La Poloma.

A lot of festivities with kids. I think it all start kids coming in, you know, youth football.

You know, if you've been watching the Olympics, you've seen Snoop every night on NBC having a good time.

So who's more you biquit A than him, who's now more loved in from generation to generation to generation.

Yeah, you know he's a football guy too, right, didn't you have like kids played? He has a big league in Los Angeles, a youth football league. So he's you know, he's he's legit when it comes to that. And you know, this is the first Bowl game that's kind of tied to alcohol, right, alcohol, which ought to be interesting from that standpoint. It's going to be on the CW network, so.

Yeah, it's alcohol, and then they're going to pay some ni al money to the kids who were playing.

All the money that they raise stays in Tucson for different charities. So it's it's great.

Right, I got here in eighty seven. The city landscape has changed so much, right, I think when I moved here, I know, it was maybe there was stuff beyond that, but it was you know, we lived out there, We lived all right, You and I live in that area, but there was very little out there, and now it's all out there, a lot it's out there. Just how has the place changed for you? Because you got here a little before me.

Like you said, I think about it, You're right, I mean, I know it was two lanes in those years, and it did expand eventually and kind of didn't turned into Sunrise and La Paloma was built in those first few years and I was in town. But it has changed a lot. Ooral Valley doesn't look like it. Mirana doesn't look like it is now. So I'm kind of where we live. It's kind of on the fringe of Morana. We've got you know, family out in Morana. That's you know, in an area that was just a bunch of farms

Here right well we're almost south or the north.

Thus, yeah, I mean the populations are growing, families are moving in, and youth leagues are expanding. And the given you a.

Chance, did did it?

I know it grew up and we're talking about growing up, but did it grow up exponentially if that's the right word. Uh, athletically? Even with Arizona because I saw you know, Dick Tomi was the coach. They competed, but they didn't compete. You know, there was a time or two and basketball was you know, just kind of starting when you got here with lout. You know, it was kind of getting that magic and then you got you got there with that magic and it's kind of sustained it kind of Yeah.

I mean basketball, we've pretty much can count on basketball every year. I mean, there's there may be better years than others, but it's always going to be at the top I think in town. And you know some of the other sports softball, softball had that run too, but it's also kind of been up and down the last maybe baseball, baseball, they've all they've had their moments. I mean we've had golf championships and swimming and things like that.

Well, let me say say this, when you first got here, and I didn't know if I didn't feel this because I was a small town guy, did was it Dusty Tucson when you got here a little bit?

I mean it did grow up, it got and that's kind of a reputation. I think I think you got to give Luton basketball credit if you kind of put us on the map and it's like, hm, basketball's kind of set the standard. Maybe some of our other sports can also rise to a level like that because we can see it can be done here. So that that's kind of how it worked.

And then what about the city though, because I think that it had to kind of grow up too, or grew up maybe that would be the right word, but maybe become more provincial.

Yeah, I think so. I think that's probably it's probably hard to answer why that's happened. You know, businesses have kind of have not always picked Tucson as a location, right, you know, so that's one of the reasons why people aren't here. Are people are here because you know, a Raytheon has continued to build Caterpillar. You know, a lot

Sure, sure, no, it's changed a lot. And you grew up here, right and and sure it's changed in your lifetime and you're still your young kid.

Yeah, And the U of A is also has done that too. People, not all of the people come here. Sure, you know there's now places where you can begin your careers here in tech and then those types of business medicine.

You were going to say, oh no, just so I didn't even know Oral Valley, Moranda that stuff existed, and now it's even more than it was back then, right right as.

A kid, Well you got here, tell me because I came to visit here in eighty four eighty five for something and I think it was like the Revenge of the Nerds type of time, right, and that was still kind of you know, it was Tucson, you know whatever. How was that because you were here?

I mean, so they just had their what fortieth anniversey eighty four, So if anyone remembers, I worked with Ed Sorenson, who is a sportscaster at k GUN then and his wife was in the movie. He was in the film was one She was one of the cheerleaders. I need

Tin Cup was here like early literally.

Nineties maybe, yeah, they shot you know, some of that at La Poloma and also in two right, right, so that was that was pretty fun, right, And the early again back in the western days too, you know High Chaparral, you talk about that and.

Yeah, well it's growing a lot. It's good, and it's just different now. I mean obviously the traffic you can tell with the traffic not so much in the winter in the summer, but it's HiT's here in the winter. It's got to be here pretty soon for sure.

You know, we've got the casinos, we got you know, attractions that we've got resorts that weren't here.

And let me go with another school, Pima, because Pima when I got here was like, you know, you can Pema blah blah blah. Now it's like it's competitive nationally, it's kind of no longer the it's maybe the little step brother, but it's not as.

Much right right. And some of those some of those athletes are getting situations where they can go on to college, to the bigger universities, and that's been good, and it's always kind of been the case.

But and you never left. I mean I'm sure you had a chance, what chance you And I did too? And I like this place, yeah, I.

Mean I liked it. I like being the main guy on on the on the station and you know, again with loot and with that kind of being you know, the exactly people. So many of my friends around the country like, oh, I've never been to the n cua A basketball through and I'm like, I've been there like twenty five straight years, right, I mean I had that advantage. So it was a good, good time to be here.

If you're gonna go cover a team and you have a good one here, what's the point, right, Well, why leave? Right? Yeah? That's was my idea.

Yeah, And I mean again, you've written about it and documented it, you know, so well over the years. But most of my memories are in my head and I can think of, Wow, you know.

I'm sure you have tapes somewhere, good tapes.

I got to figure out what that.

Yeah, right, You're like, Jay, You've got them stored somewhere.

Yeah, that's gonna be my next during my retirement years.

That's a VHS VH probably even tho. They're even weirder formats three quarter when you first got here. Yeah, Beta, Beta cam things like that. So I need to contact my old friends and try to get some transfer.

Right, right, I know those guys too, the Mark Bateman's of the world, right, Yeah, he's probably listening right now. Okay, we got a couple of minutes. Nobody called the day sorry to say it wasn't that big of a draw. No, okay, yeah, you have to go to the bottom of the line. No, no, no, it's fine. You feel me back sometime field in well for Jay. Of course he's out. He'll be back on Monday. I will see. I hope you have the Little League little We didn't talk about that. The Little League girls

It was fantastic. Yes, great, I mean I go out there and pick peaches, you know, at Apple, So we go to Willcox.

Come on, how can you come up with ten twelve girls and to do this? Yeah, it's one of those needle in the Haystack lightning in a bottle thing.

Yeah. I mean I was watching the game, I don't know, a couple of days ago when they were on and they were already saying the picture.

But yeah, she's the daughters. The coaches done it.

We were saying, oh, college, college coaches are already taking it. She's twelve.

Yes, she's twelve, right, you know.

So that's that's where we are right with sport Well.

Yeah, and then that was one of the things that I think Ken's ready to talk about. This is what has come to I'm not sure I want to be part of this anymore. Yeah, because it's crazy. It's got to be tough to be chasing around. Yeah, the League Softball world. It was tough for us when we did it. When we were chasing eighteen nineteen year old is seventeen year olds? Where you're gonna go recruiting, which I absolutly hated.

Yeah?

Ever, No, no, you have to go check again, because you know they weren't gonna do it. Now they break their own news with the Twitter and the TikTok and whatever that else stuff is. Your kids, get out my lawn. Tired of you guys.

You know you're a TikToker.

Oh no, I'm not a TikToker at heart. Don't even know how to log in.

I can log in. There's some pretty good stuff TikTokers. Every once in a while I'll find something my kids love it.

Hold your kids thirty, they're in their thirties. Now, I got a forty year old. Oh, holy moly, good luck with that forty one. They're on their own.

Yep.

We used to play softball right a long time, about thirty years ago. Yeah, he was a kid. He was about ten years old. Makes sense now, Well, Tanks day for coming in, of course, thanks for enduring the QT area. Thanks Jan as usual, I mean, thanks for everybody's help. And we'll see you guys Monday,