This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty powered by Nova Insurance Services ensure your most prized possess yets.
Good afternoon, everybody.
Welcome to I on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera in with me today this good old guy Jay Gonzalez.
And I'm not sure how to take the old guy part of it, because you know.
I figured i'd be like, kind of like that misdirection.
Good. Yeah, I thought you Actually we were.
Just saying old and that, you know, we've been doing this together for a lot of years or old as in I'm a couple of months away from sixty six.
Stop your ahead, Jacob good. Okay, yeah, good. I struggled to say good due, Yeah, old, I appreciate it's okay. Have you got ready here?
So we got you know again, servants Rivera, Gazales, we were attorneys at law.
Whatever.
Good to see you Jay could be here, Good to be Good to see you in town, Ray, Good to see you in town. You know who is still in town? U A baseball? They never left. They kind of left their game here, didn't they. You know, I didn't watch any of it. I just kept in tune with the score.
Holy crap, Well I saw it all and tell me and look, it was one of those games where it got away early. And look, you've played enough baseball. I played enough baseball.
Ray.
I don't know if you were a baseball player, but you games like this happened. You know, North Carolina isn't eighteen runs better than Arizona. You know, they may be better, but they're not eighteen runs better. And tomorrow could be a completely different day. We've seen that, you know. I mean, look Arizona just last week they beat They opened with cal Poly, beat him three to two, got two hits, didn't get a hit after the second any and then
they scored eighteen and fourteen the next two games. So baseball is a game like that. It's not like basketball where if somebody's really better than you, they're just gonna beat you every time on a given day. Baseball can it just it flabbergasts you because a game like this can happen and you can come back and win the next day.
And the good thing for them, it's a series, not a one gamer.
Right, And you know, and you listen to what Chip Hale said, he said, just flush this one.
It's over with you.
You know that in the later stages of the game, he wasn't putting out guys from the bullpen who he's gonna need later this week, and those kinds of things when it comes up.
I mean when it.
Was when it was five to one, I'm like, you know, they can still win this game.
Even when it was eight to one or eight to two.
I thought, you know, they loaded the base once they said, you know, somebody gets a hit here. Now this it's a whole different thing. But it didn't happen. North Carolina State kept hitting the ball. Arizona guy, you know, got some good swings, just didn't get balls that hit the ground. And those those games happen. So you know, you just as you said, you flush it and you go on to the next one. You know that tomorrow can be a completely different day if your pitcher has a good game.
What time tomorrow, same time? Okay, Yeah, maybe they were just wroking up at that. Who knows, you know, I mean Crampkowski came out and I could have hit him today, you know, I you know I couldn't. I don't know if I'd have taken him deep, but I could have hit him because he was Everything that he threw was up. He was throwing the ball where guys swing.
The was and and for how good you n cee Like everybody talked about how good UNC's pitcher was, like the whole broadcast. I mean to get ten hits like they didn't like they didn't they didn't show up on the scoreboard, but you can tell that they were like I wouldn't say getting to him, but like.
You know, they got their swings and they hit the ball hard a bunch of times. They had opportunities to score some runs and stay in the game and then got away, and so you put it away, you go to the next one. You know, my oplon was okay, Arizona's trying really hard to give North Carolina believe that they can do this to all the pictures and then you're gonna throw somebody at him. Tomorrow's gonna make them cry. So we'll see who said I get it was my
piece of what did you become an optimist? Because see, Steve, baseball is like that.
No I understand any given day, and if you play like crap one day doesn't mean you'll pay a crap like that.
I mean, if you get beat by forty in basketball or football, you kind of think that that team can do that again to you in baseball, you think we should come back and do the same thing to them.
If if the.
Picture, if their picture has a bad day, our picture has a good day, we hit the ball. You know, any thinking happened. You know, I'll go back to my coaching days. In a matter of a couple of hours. Right at Saint Gregory, we beat the number one team in the state in the first game of a double header, and they run ruled us in the second game.
Well, the good thing is, I dare I say it, North Carolina has momentum the way that I pull the c Yeah, I haven't had our times to say that.
You know, we'll see. Look, you go to the next game and you come out and have your choice right there. You have to regroup. Arizona has got good players.
They've got good they They certainly showed that they could hit a good picture because they they banged him around a little bits, as Ray said it, you know, didn't show up in the scoreboard. They hit him hard a bunch of times. So you know they're gonna get They're gonna get theirs. And this guy was you know, this guy pitched well, he pitched well enough and put it
this way. He had a five run, four run lead when he went out to the mound for the second Indian, and so he got comfortable and and a pitcher can be way better when they do that.
Oh yeah, no, let's just see what happens tomorrow.
Okay, I'll check you back with you on one day. Yeah, you'll see what the hell? Okay, no, no, that's cool. Hey, a good show today. We're gonna talk about the Belmont tomorrow. For tomorrows Belmont at Saratoga.
You know he's got to step up.
Man.
She gave us the winner last time and need another one.
Yeah, it's the same winner for me, and.
I'm gonna do the same thing.
Man.
I'm gonna go golfing, send a race home, catch the race, you know, throw something down and then watch the races.
Okay, yeah, yeah, so I'm going the same thing, having her a three seventeen.
Uh.
The Belmont is gonna be run at Saratoga. It's gonna be a.
Little different mile and a half race though.
No, they moved it to a mile and a quarter. Okay, so it's not even a mile and a half race. That's a that's a big difference. That changes, right, changes things in terms of the type of horse that can win the race.
Well, it's there's only seven or eight horses now, not like twenty when they were. But yes and no, but remember that Sovereigntine didn't run in the weakness. Uh, journalism did. It's gonna be wet. I hear it's gonna be wet, so like like the first scenario when sovereignty beat journalism. So we'll see to your point, yes, it's totally different, given that they had to go small long, and then they're gonna go short again.
So we'll see sovereignty is actually in third.
Horse Racing Nation dot com it's journalism besa sovereignty.
And then that with the odds are just the pics uh the pics uh, because I'm sure it's it's journalism, journalism sovereignty and then.
Besa no basis In second, what's the odds for to one and the sovereignty?
Oh I think never mind.
I think that's just like the number or like the way that they're running them, because it says sovereignty is two to one.
Journalisms eight to five and then one.
Right, so it's yeah, their third basis third Segntines two.
Oh, it's base valley right right, Okay, it's gonna be fun. Should be fun.
And then at four fifteen we're gonna have Bruce Pasco. We've been trying to give him on. He's been real busy. He had something end today. But just the roster and how it looks. I had heard just today in fact, that because the president situation Jay and Ray is that maybe a player or two might have a tart time getting through.
Wow, you never know, yeah, you know I read that, you know, uh, soccer fans, and maybe some players may have trouble getting getting here for the World Cup under what this damn country is doing.
Don't get me.
Started, you don't you you start yourself yourself because we won't go there. Yeah, so it's a crazy time. We'll see what he thinks about the possibility. Because there's so many on the team, right, so many international players, so it's freshmen to boot.
Yeah, and it might it might come up even earlier because of the club World Cup that's happening, so like the Nation's World Cup, like the big one. Obviously that happens every four years, but the year before they do a Club World Cup where it's like all the big name teams like Madrid, I think Liverpool's coming, Chelsea, Barcelona, like they're all going to be in the US.
But obviously they have a.
Bunch of foreign players, so I could could run into that issue a little earlier.
Yeah, so we'll talk to him about that. The draft is warted two three weeks, we'll talk a little about that too, And where they're placed in the top twenty five. They're still in the top twenty five and a number of well all of them except that you vary from eleven to nineteen to fourteen, winevers and we talked about this. I had Pete on Pete Williams yesterday, Jay, and everyone's in love with this roster, right, Well, okay, you lose Bryant that you get these freshman that are fantastic and
still Arizona's like ranked eighteen seventy good but some other teams. Yeah, yeah, you don't know, you don't, Yeah, you don't know right now, But don't get too carried away because it's always When was the last time we said Arizona was not going to be any good never, right, never. It's just the quality of how good they're going to be.
More than ever. You don't know.
Just like in football, you don't know until you get your guys on the court, because you have so many new guys. I mean, you may have a great roster and if they can't play together, well, what the hell good does it do?
When did you know how good Arizona was this year? March? Yeah, March, late February.
Early March, right, I mean because you wondered in December. Yeah, you didn't know what you had in January, and then they sorted kind of in March.
You're thinking, oh.
Wow, you know, and people assumed that because Tommy in his first three years, you know, his teams came out of the box, you know, kicking ass and stuff like that, and he got them to meld, you know, during preseason and they were ready to go.
This last year, it.
Took a while. It took quite a while. I mean we were talking in December like are they even going to make the tournament? And so yeah, I mean anymore, you just don't know until you get these guys on the court. And it's new guys, a whole bunch of
new guys every year. The only thing I'll say to that, though, is that when you've got a three year starter at point guards, that helps a lot, especially when you you know, that helps a lot to get these guys to play a little more cohesively, or it should, let me put it that way, it should. You would think it would when you've got a veteran guy in charge.
On the court. Yep, everything just still place.
Yeah, but I'll say that that won't be a weakness because we didn't know about Jaydon Bradley when he got here, right, and then last year he was doing some better things, but still doing some things. And I know you in particular Downhill the whole I'm going in the lane and I'm not coming out kind of thing. But he's got ar under his belt, and now let's say he progresses even another year. Now he's in a position where he can make this team better just by being on the court.
Right, And I think things will change because Caleb has gone the ball beheadled differently and and the freshmen are going to be fantastic. Walk is back in Creavus will see how healthy is. So you know what, Like I said, I've been doing this long time you've seen it a long time. When the last time you say they're not going to be in a good it's been forever. Well, you know you you mentioned a walker.
Uh you know, I from from day one, I wasn't like sold on him as a I mean, he's a bruiser inside, gets a lot of rebounds, very physical, but he also you know, he needs he needs to score, score something, to throw the ball in there and score and two on two weeks ago. And again there's another guy who has a year here under his belt working with Jade and Bradley. Because when you're a center, when a center or a big guy and a point guard are in sync, you're a lot better.
And that makes you wing guys a lot better.
I mean that, you know, there's a whole idea of you know, point guards need to know how to get the ball inside. You need to know how to make a good a good entry pass, and those kinds of things. And when you've got two guys who've been doing it together for a while, that helps a lot too. So there's a lot of things like that that are aside from the new guys coming in that you think can help them be better.
I like your Bruce's.
Thoughts on all Yeah, we'll see how they all fit because they're going to have some people that will be pretty good.
Are you okay with time? Where you go take a break? Okay, let's do that.
Are you ready ready to discover your soul, your wild side, your passion, your joy and excitement. From the latest slots and table games, to award winning dining, to world class entertainment to a luxurious resort.
Discover all this and more.
Discover with Soul Casino del Soul, the soul of Tucside.
Are you ready enterprise of Fasco Yaki.
Try The Window Depot has everything you need to create the kitchener bathroom of York dreams. Browseyisles of instock cabinets available in a variety of sizes and configurations, and instantly elevate your space Today. Visit a showroom and let our experts guide you. Whether you're choosing for ready to go designs or creating a custom masterpiece.
We can help you select the perfect.
Wood, type, color and style and top it off with unique hardware to complete your look. Find a location near you at the Window Deepot dot Com. The Window Depot more than a windows store.
Steve Rivera here to talk about Dorato Rock Materials. I needed a lot of gravel for my driveway, so I called Eric at Dorato Rock. He found out the amount and color I needed and boom, it was taken care of and at a great price. How do I know radio commercials work? I heard one of his on the radio. Dorato Rock and Materials provides a wide range of landscaping materials, including decorative rock, boulders, gravel, soil, and sand for residential
and commercial use in the Tucson area. They are locally owned and have been around for more than fifteen years. Tip we'll call at five two zero four zero zero for two three three.
Spring us in the air and this school year is coming to a time to order your academic and spring sports awards for your student athlete. Creative Awards with fifty two years as your top awards and promotional product supplier. Give them an award they can be proud of. They have trophies, plaques, acrylics, art class fine crystal, metal, name badges,
stock and custom awards. Come visit the Creative Awards Idea Center at two twenty eight Westtrackman Street, across the street from PEMA College Downtown Campus or visit them online at Creative Awards az dot com.
At Nova home Loans, we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to enjoy the independence that comes with home ownership. Paul Volpi is ready to help you find an option that best fits your needs. Whether you're a first time or veteran home buyer or want to get cash out with the refinance. Nova has a variety of home loan programs
to meet your unique situation. Visit voltpeteam dot com, That's volpe team dot com or called five two oh six eight five six two six Today n MLS three oh eight seven, arizon A BKO nine two nine four two Equal Housing Opportunity, how to commitment to Lyndrix, syn credit rates and available loan programs of subject to change the Did you know?
Collecting sports cards is one of the fastest growing hobbies around. Whether you're looking at chart or expand your collection, Showtime Cards is your ultimate destination. As one of the leading card shops in the country, we've been serving our community for over twenty five years with the best in sports cards and trading card games, from rare fines to the
latest releases. Showtime Cards has it all. Check them out at Showtimecards dot com or visit them on East Speedway and discover why collectors everywhere truy showtime Cards for their passion.
Richard bacall Law Office, defending Arizonans for over thirty years and a wildcat fan for over sixty. If you need an experienced criminal defense attorney, call Richard McCall five to two oh seven to four to Roh twelve thirteen, broud sponsor of I on the Ball.
Go cats, got bugs, termites, bees, or rodents, Arizona Pest Control will hunt them down. Arizona Pest Control is your complete desert pest management specialists. That's can't run or hide from Arizona Pest Control. They use only the latest and most technologically advanced methods. There's a pest elimination available which minimizes the effects on the environment. Let Arizona Pest Control get rid of your bad bugs, termites, bees, or rodents.
Serving Tucson and Southern Arizona since nineteen forty seven. Go to azypest dot com to schedule your free evaluation today.
Why is mining so important?
It's the foundation of everything that defines the society. Everything you see is a product of mining. No matter when, no matter how, no matter why. Every society on this planet has developed, grown and modernized based solely on the mineral's APHI process. That's flidlining is so important.
God to BYBM dot com.
Looking for quality windows without the weight, Come to the Window Depot. We carry a huge selection of mill guard windows and stock now and ready for pickup. Needs something custom no problem, from new construction to full home replacement. Will help you order the perfect mill guard windows built to fit your space, style and budget. Whether you're a homeowner or contractor, the Window Depot makes it easy to get the windows.
You need fast.
Visit the Window Deepot dot com to find a location near you and see why we're your mill Guard window experts.
This is I on the Ball on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Want to take part in the show? Call up Steve Now went five to two oh four, one seventy four.
All back together, man.
Wekay wait a take you this is my show. Don't interrupt me. You're on the air now. Just blick up here.
Hey wa, welcome back to I on the Ball. I'm Steve, You're Jay and we now we got d back in the house.
Hey, guys. Bye, what's up a match?
How are you guys doing?
Okay, we're good, you know good. Let me ask you a question. When when are they running at Delmar?
When do they run Dalmar?
Opening day is July I'm not gonna pull my calendar. July eighteenth, so that's Friday, and then they're.
Gonna run until September.
September seventh will be closing day. It's Grandparents' Day is closing day.
Okay.
I need you to send a nice letter of invitation to my wife because we're gonna be there in like the first the second weekend of August. I don't know if she'll she'll put up with me going to the horse races, but it would be fun.
Well, you let me know when you want to go, and I will make sure you have tickets.
Oh okay, free stuff, all right, yeah, okay, all right?
What happens when you know somebody.
Here exactly exactly? Okay, all right, we can move on this.
Okay, everybody, So you're working the you're working the track this weekend and Satday though no I'm not.
I'm actually going to be taking some vacation time and going back up to Washington.
This is really exciting.
So I get to actually watch the.
Belmont with my dad, so we.
Won't be doing phone tag before.
The race and after the Yeah nice nice, okay, cool cool cool. So now now let's get to the bill nod there's anything today? Is there anything going on today? I didn't pay attention.
Yeah.
So the Saratoga Belmont Week racing festival has been going on since Wednesday. The Acorn ran just about fifteen minutes ago. We did see a seven to one upset over the one.
To four favorite.
The favorite was Good Cheer, who was your Kentucky Oaks winner. She went off at about one to four odds. The track right now is extremely sloppy. It is a steeled track. There has been quite a bit of weather coming in today and so that has definitely affected how I look at the races to tomorrow because this track does not drain like Churchill does. Churchill is a very standy track, so the base allows for a lot of water to be able to be taken in and then drain away
within a day. Sarah Tooga is not really built like that. So if it's super sloppy, money, it's going to affect how the horses run tomorrow.
Yeah, No that I knew it was going to be wet, because I've been studying it myself, and we know how it went the first time in a ready muddy situation, in a Churchill right right where I couldn't hold on against a sovereignty. But so what does this mean if it's still going to be sloppy.
So it means that horses that are breaking on the lead and they're getting comfortable leads, the speed is holding. It's it was a very speed bias track last year. We saw that in last year's Belmont when Dorknock went gate to wire and sire Leone struggled to close for third. We saw it again at the Acorn Lacara, who was the winner. She ran nice in the Kentucky Oaks, did not take to the Churchill track sloppy that day. She did seem to take to the Saratoga sloppy sealed track today,
So it could be a thing. If journalism didn't particularly.
Like churchill sloppy track, he may like.
The Saratoga sloppy track.
I did get to hear.
An interview from Michael McCarthy earlier today with one of the reporters up at Fox and he said, Journalism has been training very well. He's been eating up and you've had kind of this kind of re energized energy about him in the morning.
He's training really well, and I've.
Watched him galloping and he looks like he is on something. He's not for drug testing purposes, he's not, but he looks just like he did before the breaknance. He looks like he's in really good form. You know, it's it's going to be a matter of I think pace makes the race.
In this case.
We do have a little bit more speed in here with the ad of Crudo the five who's the other Todd Pletcher runner in here. But if we're talking speed on the front end, this is Rodriguez's race to lose. Like if he's going to break on the front end, like Bob Baffert says, that he's got to come out of the gate running, he's going to set very comfortable factions up front, and if he doesn't take a lot of pressure pressure, he's going to go a mile on the quarter around the tracks very easily.
How much of a I'm very ospussion how much of a factor is that the Journalism ran three weeks ago at the breakness and sovereignty did not or sovereignty a factor. We're seeing that sovereignty is like the third favor right.
Now, right, Yeah.
So this is the really interesting dynamic of why horse racing is so much fun and specifically why the Triple Crown is such a cool series of raceists to watch because this year, Journalism is the only horse to have run in all three Triple Crown races. Last year, Missed Dan was last year's Kentucky Derby winner. He was the only one to have run an all three Triple Crown races.
So looking at Journalism, who's built like a classic horse, He's got long legs, he's a long stride, and he hits his best distance at a mile and three sixteenth And we saw that in the Preakness as he got out of trouble and he just started powering home, his stride got longer. He literally was running faster. Typically when you see horses clothing like that, the front horses are slowing down, but he was literally starting to run faster
in that last eighth of a mile. And so it's a very interesting thing because Belmont has said that sovereignty your Kentucky Derby winner. This past year has been training with also any type of energy. He's much more aggressive in the morning. He's also filled out. He's the five weeks has done him a lot of good. He's said in previous interviews. The Preakness was never on their mind had they won. The plan right along was when the
Kentucky Derby goes straight to the Belmont. My concern is is this track has been a speed bias track, and so the fact that he typically is farther back, granted it's a short field, he may have to sit close to the pace, which is not his typical running style. So that could take him out of the race a little bit in the sense of what he's comfortable running.
And Ben and you know this is a shorter race.
It's a shorter distance is time.
Yeah, So typically your Belmont race is a mile and a half. And because the Belmont for last year and this year are at Saratoga, they can't run a mile and a half due to the track configuration of how large the oval is. So we are back running at a mile and a quarter. Now, if this race was a mile and a half, I would say, Besa is your runner hands down? The way he was running on in the Kentucky Derby told me that worse the farther he goes.
He will be a marathon runner.
And I think the thing to note.
With him is his half brother was door Knock. Door Knock won last.
Year's Belmont here at Saratoga, So that also, if you want to call it a bit of a sibling bias, it's a sibling bias. Pooka also had the twenty twenty was it twenty twenty What Are We? Twenty five, twenty four, twenty three Kentucky Derby winner with Mage, and so she is one of the highest producing brood mares to ever have this many classic runners in the Triple Crown series. So to say that Besa is bred for this is an understatement.
There's also a horse that Jay would like and Olvic would like, maybe maybe Dawn called Krudo Grudle. I love that, and Ray knows you know what that means. They're a little girl.
I don't think I know the meaning of crude.
Go ahead means hungover.
Oh well, I mean that would make sense considering Jay just got back from Corona and I was hungover.
So that's that's your hunch point. If if this race was running on.
He's an interesting horse in here, in the fact that he's the second Todd Pletcher runner and he's the other horse that has speed, so he'll be the one the theory that will break with Rodriguez to push the pace, and the faster they go, the better of a race. It makes for your geek closers. Now, I think journalism is going to sit very close in the race. Crudo is very lightly raced. Who's coming out of Sir Barton, which was at Pimlico. He also raced three weeks ago
at a mile in the sixteenth. He didn't beat a whole lot that day and didn't run a super high buyer speed figure, but that was kind of the standard for that day at Pimlico.
The track was just playing kind.
Of weird, and it was just it was a very slow day. Times were very slow. They were just dragging on that dirt. But I mean, Johnny Velaska's Hall of Fame jockey, he has been having himself a day. He has been winning races left and right, large prices, short prices, you name it. So I mean you got to give him credit. That Todd Pletcher goes to Johnny b a board Crudo, I mean, in a'sn to justify, how can you not bet a don of a triple crown winner?
I mean, how can you not take a Latin Hispanic jockey on a horse named Crudough?
Right? I mean you have to right. Let me ask you something.
Because a sloppy track, how how much does it affect the time? You know, the speed of a race. I know some horses like to run in that, some horses don't. But is it several seconds? Half second? I mean how much of a difference in a winning time would there be because it's a sloppy track.
I mean it really depends on the track because every track composition is a little different, it'll affect that. The other large thing to consider is if the track is sealed or what we call open. If the track is sealed, it means the dirt's been packed down super hard, so it's more like running on concrete versus like on sand on the beach. So if you're running on much like fluffy or wet sand, you're gonna sink a little bit more.
Whereas a wet sealed track that's muddy, where you just see water kind of sitting on top, it's gonna be much harder, they're going to get much more of a push and a bounce off of it. So it kind of depends from that standpoint. I mean, we could be talking a couple of seconds. I mean, you're not talking twenty seconds flower in a race, but you could be a solid three to four.
Second time difference between a.
Wet, sloppy track that's sealed and a dry, fast track.
And you said this one is not sealed, right this.
One is sealed right now.
And they gotten enough rain earlier they pulled a couple of Grade ones off.
Of the turf.
It looks like they're going to race on the turf for Race twelve right now at Saratoga. But if they continue to get weather like they have been today, I would not expect the track conditions tomorrow to be great either.
Oh man, who was gonna ask you something? Oh?
I haven't talked to you since the last time for the pregnants, right, we haven't.
Taked to you. Just the I don't think that just the just the performance of.
Journalism, because holy crap, there's no way we're thinking and Jay's probably thinking, there's no way's gonna cash a ticket, and I'm thinking he's gonna finish a second, but then he gets through it and he comes down rushed. It was what he did even if we had baffort on last week. And he was like, I mean, that doesn't happen very often.
No, that that race was something else to watch. And I was sitting in the newsroom with a bunch of other people and we were all hooting and hollering, and you know, he got slammed and in that corner, and some say, you know, the jockey shouldn't have gone.
He should have gone, he should have had.
A different trip.
But I look at it from the horse's standpoint, and that horse is a winner, like he knows how to win. And he saw daylight through that hole, and the horse was gonna go. Whether I'm virtual riskling, his jockey.
Told him not to or to go or not to go.
So I mean, at that point, I believe the horse made the decision, which tells me how gussy and game he is. Again, he's a horse that we have seen in multiple races now that can take a hit, They can take adversity, and he's going to keep running afterwards. Again, I think while he can get over the mud, it's just a matter of how easily can he get over the mud? Honest, everybody would like to see a dry track.
They would like to see an even playing field from that standpoint between SOT and journalism in a dry track, but we may not see that until the Breeders' Cup Classic when they both come out to Delmar, because Delmar is gonna have a really good weather come November. But for right now, no, you can't take anything away from what journalism did in the Derby and then the Preakness and what he's trying to do here in the Dalmont. His sire Curlin ran in two thousand and seven in
the Kentucky Derby, he ran third. Curlin proceeded to them win the Preakness, just like journalism, and then Curlin lost the two thousand and seven Belmont to Rags to Riches,
who was a todd Pletcher Philly. So while we don't have any Phillies in here that I think will be beating journalism, it's definitely something to look at as sire lines and Curlin's represented by a couple of horses in here, and the last horse that won the Preakness and then went on to win the Belmont was a fleet Alex twenty years ago, in two thousand and five.
So let me ask you, because you I don't think I've ever asked anybody this question, because you have horses, You own some horses or a horse, and you're you know, you're well versed in all this stuff. How smart are the horses? If you said that journalism was going to get through no matter what jockey or not, what are their instincts?
Like? What do they do?
You know?
I truly believe every horse is their own individual just like people.
I have heard Michael.
McCarthy say it.
I've heard them virtual briskally say it.
I've heard people that have just happened to go to the barn and see journalism and take pictures with them. How smart and kind he is and just how just aware, like he's just.
A very well minded horse.
And so the fact that he wanted to go through that whole tells me how much he wants it. And we talk about in sports, you gotta have heart, you got to be able to, you know, rise above physical limitations or bad trips, And he truly is one that has a big heart and he's gonna use every ounce of physical being that he has or heart to get through where he needs to go.
So unlike Jay when he's playing, not thinking he's in a game, the horses know that they're in a race.
Oh absolutely, those horses know it's rain they know it's game day. There's a little bit of different setup routine that goes on on race day, and those horses pick up on it pretty fast. Obviously, when you go to the paddock and you get settled and there's a big crowd around, the horses will feed off of that, and then in the post parade. It's a very different feel in the afternoons compared to the mornings.
It's why sometimes you'll hear training and say.
Well, they train really well in the morning, we needed to translate to the afternoon. These horses racing at this high level, their morning trainings are translating into the afternoon. You are seeing these horses at their top form, at their best form here in the afternoons during race time.
Okay you ready, Okay, So everybody that there's a whole gaggle of us that put some money on that four horse box that you gave us, and I think they're all listening today, plus a few others.
Word of mouth has gotten around, so here you go, oh God, this might be your last conversation with you.
All right, give us our give us our four horse exact the box.
You know, I'm gonna stick with journalism on top. I truly do believe he is still the best three year old around. I think he's extremely classy, very precocious, and he's he's taken the Connections on a ride of a lifetime. So journalism on top for me, I'm going to take Rodriguez in there as well, and then I will not count out Sovereignty, the two horse, your Kentucky Derby winner, and then you got to add Beza back in there.
You're Belmont winner for the last out of the last twenty years, thirteen of those winners have come out of the Kentucky Derby race. They have either prepped in the Kentucky Derby or running the Kentucky Derby.
So that can't be ignored.
That's that you have to include the three horses that are coming out of the Kentucky.
Derby in that box.
So I think so those are those are the four favorites as of now. He threw us a long shot last time. If we were throwing to throw in a long shot for discussion would that be?
I would? I mean, this field is it's kind of a wonky field. It's it's not just a small field. But you've got Heart of Honor who is coming over from racing in May Dawn. He ran an okay fifth in the Preakness, and you got Uncaged who ran six in the Peter Pan. I would probably take Hill Road. He's not a huge price, but he did win the Peter Pan. That is the quote unquote prep race for the Belmont. Chad Brown has been having a decent day
to day after being very quiet. So if he's gonna have a horse run well tomorrow, it's gonna be Hill Road.
He teams up with irad Orties, so.
We'll see what happens there. I mean, he ran third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile behind Citizen Bowl and Gaming and Citizen Bowls. Making his return in.
The Woody the what is it the Woody Stevens of the h Allen Jerkins. It's the hand The Woody steven is this weekend, so the Citizen Bowl will be returning in the Woody Stevens. Uh So, I mean.
Definitely Hill Rode a classy horse they had hoped to get into the Kentucky Derby. But unfortunately he just didn't have the points to get in.
So if you if your little exact hits did Jay, you might not be crudeo.
You might be cruzo in the morning. I don't know, man.
We we just watching the end of that Preakness, and and and what was the longshot's name?
The horse of finger second.
Gos was a nine horse.
There was no when I saw journalism come out of there, I thought there's no way after that that it can catch this horse.
I thought we were cashing big. And then he just came.
And that's what I mean that that is a horse with a lot of heart that that wanted that when he was the whole reason that he got in front. The jockey did not do anything that was that was all journalism.
Would you would you key journalism at the top maybe first and you know, just journalism and then a bunch of horses or what what?
What do you think.
The box up to you?
Spend his money, baby, spend his money.
You know, I would put journalism on pop. I will bet him to win personally.
That's That's what I'm gonna do.
I just I truly do believe he's the better horse. And you know, hearing Michael McCarthy saying that he's breathing a different air and he's been re energized since coming to Saratoga, I think is is huge credit to him and how how he's been going. You know, Besa is the other horse that people can't seem to stop talking about Berta Risk. He was doing an interview and uh, they were saying, you know, how do you feel about
the magic with sovereigny. He's like, can't forget Besa. And I think the key to that is Besa shipped back to Santa Anita after the Kentucky Derby and has been training at sant Anita, So everyone including numberto Michael McCarthy have gotten a first hand watch and how this cult has been working.
And the fact again that he's out.
Of Pooka, he's got two half brothers that are already classic winners, I think is another big, big.
Factor to add on to it.
And the fact that he likes to stop it was it's huge.
Yeah. Okay, well, d thanks a bunch. We'll talk to you soon. I'll probably text you on Saturday tomorrow.
All right, that's good and say hey to your pop far us.
Of course he's calling me right now.
And your mom and your mom, don't forget your mom. Yeah, your mom too.
Yeah, okay, you got a guy, Thank you, d D.
It's not gonna pay very much, you know it's not. And that's the things you to figure out. Well, you got to figure out a way to he's bad, something that with some value, or maybe you just bet him to win and try and get something.
That's what I did last time. I didn't know with all that crazy. Yeah, okay, let's go come back. 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 Ludelsen 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 led them, competed against them, and inspired them. Tent chapters for his twenty
five years as Arizona's beloved coach. Lessons from Newton is an insight to how he built the program into a national powerhouse. What one email me at Steve dot Rivera ninety five at gmail dot com where.
Do you buy exercise equipment?
Arizona Health Arizona Health Arizona Health.
Of course, to feel better and look better, it makes sense to buy your fitness equipment from the people who know it better than anyone else. At Arizona Health, our goal is to help you choose the equipment you need to reach your goals. Your health and fitness deserve the best you deserve.
Arizona Health the lead madge and exercise equipment.
On twenty second just quest of Wilmot.
What's your goal a new career or career advancement?
How about transferring to a four year college.
FEMA Community College can help you make some day today and reach your goals affordably on your schedule. With over one hundred programs to choose from in financial aid available, It's time to earn the degree or certificate you need to prepare for the career you want. PIMA offers free career exploration classes so you can choose the field that's right for you. Learn how at pima dot edu. Slash Someday, Hey.
Tucson, Steve rivera heir, and I've got a tip for you. Want to be in good hands while cruising the desert or kicking back at home, then you need to call my friends at the Edmond Marcus All State Agency. These guys are the MVPs of home and auto coverage. Whether it's a fender bender or a leaky roof, they've got you covered. Don't fumble your chance to say call them today and score big on your insurance. With the Edmond
Marcus All State Agency, You're always in good hands. Visit them at twenty seven nineteen North Tampbele or call them at five two zero three two three nine three three three.
Where do you buy exercise equipment?
Arizona Health Arizona Health Arizona Health.
Of course, to feel better and look better, it makes sense to buy your fitness equipment from the people who know it better than anyone else. At Arizona Health, our goal is to help you use the equipment you need to reach your goals. Your health and fitness deserve the best you deserve. Arizona Health the lead edge an exercise equipment on twenty second.
This quest of Wilmot.
Craving Tucson's best burger, The Fourth Avenue Legend is back. Lindy's on Fourth is celebrating twenty years and Lindy himself is back behind the grill. We've got new mouthwatering burgers and great daily drink specials. Don't miss our upcoming twentieth Anniversary Summer Bash and year end celebration. So come down to Lindy's on Fourth or order online at l fourth dot com. Lindy and Tucson's Best Burger are waiting.
At Pyramid Federal Credit Union. We believe less is more. Let's pies need more money in your Pocketless hassle means more time for what matters, and less stress means more confidence in your financial future.
Pyramids a lessons More.
He is coming to your neighborhood with a new branch opening at the two sund Spectrum, the Pyramid Federal Cord at Union where less is More, federally insured at my nc UA, an Equal Opportunity Lender.
Streaming live on the iHeartRadio WAB. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Yeah.
Hold on, I'm gonna lie and welcome back to about here at Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. I'm Steve Rivera, your chickensaws, you got Ray Ray?
Yeah? How do you know what to say?
Uh, listen to me, yeah, mister Roman, listen to mister romantic. Okay, you know what he did this weekend?
Was that so d Heather?
Right, he just went to Rocky Point. Okay, and then I always said he out kicked his coverage, right, I think he got le foudred percent limit. So guess what he had to locker up in another thirty five years? Did to renew the battery?
Renewed our vows in front of the family. You know, we take this long.
Our whole family is go down to Rocky Point about thirty people and uh, I my wife and I reviewed renewed ours.
Did she know did you already have this place? Oh yeah, this is planned out.
This is a very pun and my sister who who has thirty years, they did this. So we did a double thing and uh had had a great time. It was like a wedding there. We hired some we had a small madiachi to play some songs for us, and got had a catered dinner and and.
Then drank a lot. Just you remember what happened.
Yeah, yeah, we yeah, we drank a bit, but it was fun and right on the beach, had a great time and uh, and it was a cool event for our families.
I'm gonna ask you this because I ask everybody whenever they come into like an anniversary at the restaurant, what's the secret?
What's the secret? God, there's a serious question.
The secret is secrets.
No, No, you know, you know it's it's it's it's being flexible, right, and and sometimes you sometimes you give, sometimes you get and and you know, not always feeling like things got to be your way.
And and that's really it. I think.
I think I'm a very flexible person when it comes to our to our marriage. You know, my wife might someday say look, I want to do this, and I'll say okay, But then I get one down the road and it's not a tit for tech kind of thing. It's just like, okay, you know, we'll do this and and not and not being grumpy about it or whatever.
And to me, that's that's the secret.
And then do the dishes two or three times a week, the times a week, cut the grass and uh, you know, and and here's the here's one for me and this I don't know if this for everybody's measured, but this is for our marriage.
Is listen.
I listened to my wife when it came to making decisions about the kids, how to raise them, you know, things to do, would not do.
She's way more school.
You know, she reads, she talks to people, she talks to other moms, and it's like trust that she's always.
Trying to do the right thing and in our in our particular case. Now, I know there's some.
Moms out there you can't you can't trust, but you know, she's a smart woman. First of yeah, our kids are, so you have to question that our kids.
Are great kids in large part because of her. I agree. I had a little too much of my dad in me.
And my dad was, you know, very strict, disciplinarian, the guy who you know, and I didn't. We didn't raise our kids like I got raised, and that was a big deal.
He's accurate, I think. And then good kids. Yeah, and you turn on you turn out good kids.
And then you watch them and you know, my son is a dad now and you see him and I see him and his wife have the same kind of relationship or the way of doing things as we did.
She's the one who knows all the things right.
Let's not do this, you know, And he's like okay, you know, but you know, on the other hand, you know, he's got his thing too, and it's not like.
He it's not like we're not didn't participate in raising our kids. We did.
But it's kind of like listen because sometimes somebody's got a better idea than you got.
And that asked me about my success. I'm single because I could do whatever the damn thing I want.
I can do pretty much anything. I can do anything I want. I just don't. Sometimes you're happy, Yeah you're happy. Oh, it's great.
You want to live another happy in thirty years.
Yeah, here's ray. Go get yourself on the they they made. They make your day. And sometimes I'm not. You know, sometimes it's hard, but most of the time, at least in my case, it has not been. You know, I'll give you one to my wedding boughs from from this. And I told my wife, I said, every day, whether it's a good day or a bad day, is a better day because of her. Right, if it's a bad day, it's not as bad, and if it's a good day can be a great day.
That that's kind of was the message of my vowst write like that all the time.
Because nobody will read that.
Somebody read that good stuff? Was that good?
Though?
Yeah?
Good?
And I said that and she got tears in her eyes and it was cool and did you mean that?
But I did?
I really did, because I feel, you know, I think about I think about my bad days, and I think about God, how much worse would have been?
Would it have been if she wasn't there? Right?
And so and so it's it's it's it's a it's an actual true statement.
She's probably kept them out of trouble.
Yeah, yeah, and and and the good days are even better. I had a good day yesterday, all right. I had a good day. I went to on the heels of going to Rocky Point. Okay, I don't get my blood drawn for my my my my four times a year, but and it can't my my my my a one ce my bloodshedgar is the best it's been in years. I hit the mark that I've been trying to hit
for several years. I had a good day. And it was a better day because she was there, and she was like, she was really happy about it, right, and so it was a great day.
Well they did that. Welcome to Delilah. I hate that lady she bothered.
Me, welcome to we're not taking any calls or the lady sleepless in Seattle, right, the lady doctor doctor Fieldstone. Anyways, So that that that there we go. There we went off the rails there. But that that, you know, that was what I said to her on this summer.
This summer, I'm just talking about whatever, and I truly mean that. I truly meant all of that.
You know, I said some other stuff, but that was the main, the main point of my vows to her.
Well, then I begged her to stick with me. Well, remember this is number two, so it is true. It is cleared after one. Yeah, for Reaither, they're gonna be a rematch, okay, Apollo Creep, what do you predict?
Pain, don't want one?
Okay, So we're gonna have We're gonna have Bruce Pasco four fifteen for seventeen. If you guys, I wist you can call us if you want to hear our SAPs stuff. Here we kill with with looking forward to this weekend, It's should.
Be about four o'clock, So be ready. Yeah, you gotta be bad. Yeah, I'm teeing off at nine o'clock. Get you ready, trick it before you go. I'll be home by two o'clock.
Yeah, okay, so be sloppy, so all that it should be a good day.
Well, actually, I do want to get home and bet at least one or two of the other the pre races.
You know, it's always fun to do.
That because because they have they have uh you know, the guys that make some predictions and stuff like that on the broadcast.
So I kind of listen to those guys. Maybe throw a couple of bucks down. Hello, you're on there nine of the ball. Who's this big? What's the word kruli?
I know, Well, I want to want to know if Jay's cru first thing, you know.
The time I was I was on Tuesday, but I wasn't at the time.
He's been reading John Wooden poems and.
Success vic. There's a sight of me that you guys don't see all the time.
I guess because uh, I want you to say that when Noah throws his first touchdown this year and I say it's a good day, I can't wait to see.
It, man, I can't wait completely. You completely know you had me at Hello.
I'm gonna go to the bar tonight, Little Mexico. Here I come with Jay's words.
Yeah, that'll that'll help you.
You be just like and then they'll laugh me out of there. And they're gonna laugh me out of there in a second where those words.
I don't go to those places anymore.
VI great show.
You guys. Talk to you too, all right, Dick, Yeah, I just drink it home.
Well you there, because he's the one texted me this morning really disappointed about the baseball team.
Well that was disappointing to see for sure. You know, I was really disappointed in Crampkowski. He just looked awful. I mean literally, he was Every pitch that he threw was up and they were and they were crushing him.
You know, I'm like, fix that.
And I don't know if it was a I'm to the point where I thought, is there is there let many different about the mound or what was it?
Let me let me let me ask you this up.
If they lose ten to five tomorrow or whatever, d eight to two or whatever it is.
How do you measure this team or this season.
I think it's still really good. You know, they got to the you know, they got to a super regional. The they won a regional on the road, right, So you know, you got to give him credit for that.
How would you it's okay, so you this ship for some sall has been over. How would you look at the softball season? You can have a little more expectation from myself from this because because of what the past.
Yes, but the past hasn't been that great. It hasn't been that great. But you like it.
You keep thinking, you know, they're they're they're making progress, they're going to move. Then they were kind of in the end, they were kind of static, right, they didn't. I mean, they got to a regional, but you know that was it.
Yeah, but sometimes they run up against a better team, and I think Mississippi may have been the better team.
Yeah. I don't know.
People are very distraught about what's going on right now, and with softball, with softball, with you know, all the transfers of the situation, how it ended.
I don't know.
I'm not there, and I don't I don't know Caitlin from and you know, we talked to her a few times, but I don't know.
And I think it's just more difficult than what people think.
It's way difficult, and and and and and the money issue that's that that's come up. I mean, look at look at what Texas Tech. You know, they're in the they're in the championship game because they went and paid million a million dollars for a picture. Now, I hope that whoever gave her that million dollars if they win the national championship, that it was that they that it's worth well worth it to them.
Well, it wouldn't be to me what she's back for. One hundred million. Yeah million.
Yeah, So you know, but you know they're gonna lose players, Steve and there.
You know, we probably I'm sure we haven't.
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, no, we had, Jenny Dalton said she I think she put sometimes we don't know things right.
Maybe there are a few that needed to leave.
But you know, you when you're Arizona and you don't have the money to keep them, you lose your best players every year and you get players to replace them, and and and then not on like football, right, they can't you know, they can't seem to find the ace pitcher because that ace pitcher is going to get money from somewhere else.
Well, you know, and it's tough.
It's it's a at a at a sport like softball, or even baseball. I think that's a bigger factor than say football and basketball, because in basketball, Arizona can compete, right, they can get players, and they can pay players, and I think in football to a degree, not to an Alabama and Ohio State degree, but enough to keep them
to where they're Arizona softball. When when you've got a program like Texas Tech handing a million dollars to somebody, or the money that Oklahoma players are getting you, it's hard for you to keep your players.
Yeah, okay, well that's that we got to go. Yeah, yeah, okay,