Breaking down all the xes at OHS. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty eight.
Hey, welcome back to an the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty I'm Steve Rivera. In with me today is Troy Hutcheson trying to figure out your dating issues to supposed to have your world problems, so many issues, many problems that we have. Ray who has no issues with breaking news, I wish.
This is I on the Ball breaking news on Fox Sports fourteen.
To fifty All right, starting it off with softball. They lost in the Big twelve championship game to Texas Tech, but they got the thirteen seed and we'll be hosting a regional for the first time in twenty two.
Were you surprised you follow it closely, your kind of clostly. Were you surprised who she went with on the pill?
Yeah, in terms of how Devin was pitching at the end of the season, she loaded her You are into under two stop. I think anywhere from at like zero point eight to one point two is elite. So Devin was, you know, doing well. You want to pitch your best pitchers in the biggest game.
So was anybody from here out there watch covering the game. Did they? Did she give an explanation of why she?
I think it's because I don't think she gave an explanation. But I think it's because Devin went the first two games and softball is just a different world now where you just don't see they just pitch every single game, and you're going to do that in the postseason.
So and if they had kept it close, maybe come in and keep it close.
Yeah, And to be honest, you win that game, you lose that game. Texas Tech was the twelve seeds, so you're not moving up very much, so you want to win. But in the grand scheme of things, saving your picture for the tournament was for the postseason tournament was much more important.
Let me ask a double question because if you follow it, because I haven't. The former Oklahoma pitcher who transferred to Nebraska, she still pitching.
She's still pitching. She's a very good year Nebraska. I mean as a program, eh, but her herself.
She's a great player, a great patag Oh yeah's are they I don't know if they're in I have not seen that.
I got to look at that. But Nigie Kennedy. You know Stanford went to touch Stack. Yeah, phenomenal job. One big twelve player the year probably in my opinion. But you know, when you have the when you have the best player in the country, and I think than your Kennedy is, you're you're going to be in every game, and especially when that player is on the mound, well in the circle.
Yeah okay, uh it says right here.
Nebraska is going to be playing in Benton Ruge, by the way, but regional here UH goes down on Friday, starting on Friday against Santa Clara at four thirty ESPN plus.
Are you a big weekend of softball like the good old days? I love it. It's so good.
Yeah, if you've never been to hilly Rand during a regional, the super regionals are great, but the regionals where you have every team playing, the games go late and you're it's a great atmosphere, especially now that hilly Brand is redone. It's not like back in the day when there's a little band box on top of the uh the stadium for the press box.
But it's a great facility. Tickets available, I know they had them for sale, Like I assume that they're going to be you know, probably about twenty five bucks. Yeah, don't doing that range. It's not bad. If this is not just get a hold of Troy keeping it on the diamond.
Arizona Baseball wins their home finale versus Utah and snapped the Flower Games.
Yeah, that's a weird.
That was That was rough because now I think you would have to win the Big twelve Tournament to potentially host. But TCU ranks higher than you in terms of RPI, so it is West Virginy. I think Arizona is in that fiftieth range.
What all happened?
They've done this every year since chip Tail's taken over. This is the Tail kind of what they do. When's the last time they advanced to the College World Series when Jay was there?
Yeah, kind of what they played. They went deep first or second year, right, and then.
They they have never they made it to a Super but they never made it to the college Yeah yeah, yeah, Well they have that run where they probably shouldn't have made the playoffs with chip Hail and they won the packedholl Tournament and they made it in but they poorly all season, had that run and then went out in the first time.
If that happens consistently. That must be a something. It's a something. It is what it is.
I don't I don't know how to take it other than that is every year at the at this time of the year, you're struggling and you're the coach. You've changed up assistant coaches, you've changed up players, and the same thing keeps on happening.
Okay, Yeah, it makes it tough.
They are gonna have one more series in Houston, Tahos starting on Thursday.
For you, Anglos, it's Texas told not to talk about it.
But Arizona tennis, Oh, this is a fool. I hope you've listen to.
No.
Lost to Virginia two to four in the sweet sixteen. Yeah, in their tennis tournament. Moving on to some more national.
Well, the Colton Smith went seventeen to Oh he won his Yeah, he was one of the two that win his thing. He's seventeen. Oh no, he's headed to the pros. I I do you know how this works, because I would figure that the singles people would be a long Yeah. I don't know, but he's done. I think he's done. I'm gonna be honest. I've never covered tennis. Yeah, so I wish I would have because he's fantastic. And two, I guess there it gets kind of crazy because they let music and the cheering and in.
Such an it's because it's right behind Hill and Ran. Yeah, it's such a tight little area in terms of the seating and all that, and not a lot of seating. So I'm sure if you have people routing people, you're gonna hear the front house.
Yeah, the front house is nearby.
Yeah, yeah, I guess keeping it a little local. Uh, Carter Bryant, like you, like we talked about a little bit.
Isn't gonna be uh safe? What does it? Sales?
Just says measurements, Uh, not participating in drills stuff like that.
Were you a little shocked on the measurements?
No?
What did you say? What did you say? He had?
He was listed at barefoot Again, that's different when you playing and the shoes, Uh six six six seven, not that's six eighth.
Yeah, of course, but that happens a lot. The last time I saw a guy playing in feet wasn't the pro player. So he's six seven. I'm not going to make the number like me I used to be, you know, six foot two, divorced almost a seven foot wingspan. So you know you got that, didn't you? Oh yeah, keep it going.
The lottery is I think starting right now. I think it's probably should be going on lottery, the NBA lottery.
Oh to who's gonna pick? Who's gonna pick? Isn't it a halftime a game? Or maybe five? I think it's before a game? Yeah, maybe the next game. Is there two games today? There's two year they're probably in between games.
Maybe it's the Cooper Flag Lottery, the Cooper Flag lotter.
Who's number two? I saw that list of the day and I was like, guy, no, I think it was the Rucker Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Did you see him play? I never saw himlay Ruckers wasn't good. I know they have two top ten picks.
You I thought was very good, very good, and not just in the playoffs. It was the kid from Florida, the guard who saved them all the time. The guard. Oh yeah, he was good. He's the second round and he's the second round. Guy, He's just he was fantastic. Yeah, he can get shots. Super. He was a little like Steph.
If I'm an NBA team and you don't have that top pick, the guy and you're in that range. The guy want is v j etchcam from Baylor.
I like, what what about the b Yu kid? Yeah, yeah, I don't. I feel like you too. I didn't really thought he was okay, yeah, he's got some IQ obviously basketball IQ, the Baylor MA, the Baylor kid. I didn't really notice enough to get that.
I thought his first step and when when he wants to get to the bucket, you can't stop him.
He kind of reminded me a little.
Bit of Russell Westbrook athletically and being able to finish at the RAM.
Houston had some guys very raw. Houston had some guys too. For sure they're gonna have some guys next year too. Maryland has a top ten pick. So let me let me ask you this. So I was playing over the weekend and one of my friends who reads me and who follows me said he wants he thinks Sara Zona's gonna get to the final four and with a chance
to win it. And he and I said okay, and he says, I bet you they're going to win it or get to the final four, and this coming up, and his eyes raised and he was very serious, and I'm thinking, okay, let's bet, and he says, I'll bet you a hundred bucks and I said, okay, sure of course, and he said, whatever your odds are going to give me. He said, I'm not the one bringing up this bet. Why am I going to give you odds when something you're bringing up exactly exactly? So he says, well, that
hasn't happened. I said, yeah, right, since two thousand and one exactly. Thank you for proving my point. So he says okay. Then I said, okay, I'll give you two to one that they don't get to the final four. And then let me tell you something. I want them too because it helps me with a lot of differently for sure. And he says, no, it's gotta be more. I'm thinking, you're the one that is your eyebrows again.
Going back, would you take what would you bet if you had a chance to get some odds and get to the final four.
In terms of what I think Arizona would be in terms of getting to the final four, I think they're going to be one of the top ten teams in terms of odds five to one, six to one, twelve to one. That's probably to win it. I think I think to win it.
It's going to be about that fourteen fifteen, Yeah, somewhere in the kitchen. The final four is a little different six to eight. Okay, yeah, and I would Yeah, I wasn't the one in all the enthusiastic. He said, you know, the last time I checked, you're not a casino. This is in Vegas. Yeah, yeah, yeah, right, no exactly. There was the point I said, if you want to bet it, I'm not the dude.
To do it with.
You gotta go to Vegas. Yeah, but there's but let me say there's a good chance. Yeah, how old are you? Thirty thirty? So when you were four, when you were five, that was the last.
Time they went, and they've been closed three times outside of that. And again, people have a lucky day. The ball bounces your way and you can't account for that.
And the wall they used today is not very has not been very good to Arizone. No, it hasn't.
All right, keeping it going with I on the sports book. Uh, kind of a little bit of a local thing that happened. Uh, yesterday, what do you guys think about the Ben Benedict Mathern ejection?
Yesterday?
You know, I didn't see the full play. I saw that he got ejected. He got kind of thrown down or hit down. Did they say he punched someone?
Yeah, they said it was like that. Like it was like.
No, no, right before that, like it looked like he like tried to hit like hip check him to get some space.
But yeah, they're saying it was a close. That was That was exactly it. He was just trying to separate himself from the defender and he was like a push with open it was. It was really strange because the dude overreacted. Yeah I'm not trying to be a ben homologist, but it looked like it was over I thought it was pretty weak.
I originally when I saw he got ejected because we had the volume off and it's mothers say, I was like, oh, let's turn on the volume. I he just got abjected. He must have said something. I thought maybe he said something to the ref so like he punched him, and we didn't really see the replay. They didn't really show it again. And it was not a punch. It was more like a get away from me, get away from me.
Yeah.
I think it shows how soft the NBA is now and how it's gotten over the years.
Yeah, so I got a text from my crafty uh on field. On Field correspondent Javier A. Loewe said that she wanted to give Madix the experience of playing in a big game, and she thought everyone could have done better in the game for sure.
I mean they didn't score. Yeah, so you got to score to win a game. But I just feel that when you're in a game like that, and if you're shooting for that Big Twelve title and you're going against arguably the best player in the country, maybe after giving up the first run, you needed to be quicker making a change. But again, you could say rusher for the postseason, Yeah, and I can.
Agree with that.
Also, in that game, Donovan Mitchell reaggravated ankle injury, so he's gonna be if he for an elimination game back in Cleveland, that's gonna be tough.
You know, they're done. Yeah, even if he was out, I think they're pretty much because.
I mean there's like three guys that are banged up apart from him anyways, So yeah.
I think it's just another outside of Draymond Green getting suspended to help Lebron win the title, I think it's another Cleveland story of really sad sports moments.
Yeah for sure.
Following up with the games tonight Minnesota and Golden State.
That's what time five seven.
And the Celtics and the Knicks are at four to thirty by a tip off.
Nick's about to take a three one lead. Oh we bet that? Okay, I gonna remember a conversation. No, you're you're just betting all over the place. No, No, twenty bucks is twenty bucks. I don't remember betting you with the Golden State, Worris. But if you said so, we did, we did, We can we can review the No, no, no, I still like my chances. Okay, Steph's coming back. Okay, wrap that baby up, Okay, wrap that baby up.
Knock know what over here? All right, close out with this one, but yeah, we gotta go. Diamondbacks are calling up their top prospect and they have oh yeah, series against the job.
I would know who he is, right, yeah, Jordan Laller, one of the better shortstop prospects in basebably believe number five overall.
What are you gonna do with their roster?
Well, Lalla will be that guy that kind of fills in every now and then short He can play some third, play some second. He will not start today, He'll start tomorrow. Perdomo will get the off day. But Perdomo has been one of the better shortstops in baseball. So just adds more depth and adds a little punch that they need on the roster right now, he's gotta be like twenty one.
Maybe be twenty one and making that money and being who you are and pox you know, dangerous. Yeah, no, exactly a lot of them live in the Scots. Exactly what I asked you, Brendan says, what would your self tell you now? Then you would have told your eighteen year old self, Yeah, go to class, go to class, save money and don't you don't need to spend it on that. Yeah.
Anyways, big series against the Giants, Uh, three game series.
Excited for that one. I know it was tough, man, but.
Yeah, maybe they won't punt the last scheme like they did this previous series against the Dodgers.
Man A right, I think with that one. Goo, Yeah, we gotta go. We have no guests on the other side, so we're not worried about We're not any concerned about being late or whatever. Okay, cool, we'll take some calls. Yep now.
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This is I on the Ball with Steve Ravera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Subscribe now to the podcast on the iHeartRadio app just search.
I on the Ball. Hey, welcome back to my on the Ball hero Fox Sports fourteen fifty on Steve Rivera. Your Troy which is sim from goysycats dot com and got Ray. Here is one of my guys on the board. If you always want to call five to two oh four one six seventy four forty. We have no guests at this time for this hour, so we'll just shoot the breeze about what's going on. You wanted to bring two other things up? Do Michael Jordan thing.
Oh yeah, Michael Jordan joining NBC NBC's NBA coverage as a special contributor.
Yeah, yeah, it's it's a cool thing. I think. I don't think he's going to be that great because he's not that great on radio or TV. But you got Michael Jordan, miael Jordan. Yeah.
And when NBC was at its height in terms of NBA broadcastings out Michael Jordan.
Yeah, yeah, and then those The other one was the other one. Rich Eisen is going back to ESPN.
Which is very surprising to me, especially with how like he he kind of became one of the faces of NFL network, the draft coverage and just all his shows that he's done.
And I heard him on the on the show Thursday Friday when I was off going to Phoenix, and because he does a podcast, I think, and his wife and other others were on it, and it was it was kind of a cool show, I guess, But you know, all these guys are coming in. What's old is new again? I'm gonna make it when I'm seventy.
Well, remember ESPN did that like what was it six seven years ago where they got oh guy from Seattle, I can't remember his name. I used to do ESPN. He was the Seattle guy. They had Kenny, Kenny Maine. Okay, they brought back, he brought in Keith Olberman at him for like, yeah, a year, and then they got rid of them and they.
Realized, okay, yeah, yeah, because Kenny Maine does the who does the U of a stuff? The chili, the tasting thing, the basketball time.
Oh no, no, that he retired. That was Gras or something like that. But grass Yeah, yeah, yeah, Well, I mean growing up in the early two thousands, that's kind of where you had the nineties ESPN two early two thousands ESPN, where you had all these well known faces and well known people Stuart's, Scott van Palp and all that. Damn Patrick. Now it's kind of like who hosts CS Nobody knows that.
Yeah, no, No, they had a local girl here for a while. Brewer, Yeah, who's you know? Was there for a couple of coffee like a year? Or so, and then don't cray for her because she's married to what's his name, Frank Kaminski. Frank, Yeah, you have a you have a favorite player, Yeah, one of them that's not a UCLA guy. Yeah, or Darren or Darren Williams. Yeah, de Williams from Illinois. Yeah. Again, if you want to call,
please do five two four one four forty. If you listen to our Bret Brennan time, that was a good fun time. Don't forget to listen to the podcast later tonight when it goes up. If you missed it, it was a lot of fun, you know.
Looking if we could go back to softball real quick, looking at the regional how many times are they not just softball? They did it for baseball, They've done it for other sports. How many times are they going to continue to send will Miss the Tucson Yeah, like this is I don't ole Miss has come to Tucson for soft Did.
You watch it yesterday the drawings? No? No, I kept up with it, but didn't watch it. A good question. I don't. I don't know whether they have grand canyon.
Right, You kind of want to make that you usually have a grand canyon or California, a smaller California team, Santa Clara. But it seems like Old Miss whenever.
Yeah, erizone supposing some baseball, softball whatever Ole Miss is there in doubt. Send him to Tucson. Yeah. No, they played Friday. It's four thirty. Yeah, Friday against Saturday. Yeah, that'd be fun place to go. I'm not sure what I want to do next week.
Did you see the when I forget what what school it was, but when the team that got put up against Oklahoma, like they just automatically, like I saw that on that Yeah, it was like so funny that.
Was I think, wasn't that Bradley I think it was or Boston.
You're excited, You're excited to be in and.
Then oh yeah yeah, well in another interesting is well again with all the conference alignment and all that, it's not really surprising, but seven of the eight at large bids that's gonna go to Super Regionals SEC.
Where's UCLA are they? They're nine? They didn't give them one. They didn't give them one.
And what's funny is Oregon was a top ten team all year long. They give them a sixteen seed. Well, really because of the conference schedule the Big ten as as a conference isn't very good outside of Oregon, Ucla, Washington, and Michigan sometimes more in Western But it's not what the SEC is. It's not what the what the PAC twelve used to be. So they went from ten to sixteen and they're gonna have to play the number one seed if they advance.
So how many packed twelve teams old PAC twelve teams?
Yeah, Washington, Arizona, the Stanford, Ucla, Oregon. And I want to say that's it. I might be missing one there, but yeah, you know, I'm looking at you and you're saying all these things.
Let me ask you. Let me ask you something. If you if Arizona were to play Duke again, which they're not, would you go back to Duke and watch it again? Yeah? Why at Duke? Yeah?
Loved it? What part the stadium was incredible? North Caro? I I loved North Carolina. I thought it was a beautiful.
Yeah. I want to eat up bo Jangles again. That.
Yeah, that's a knock on bo Jingles. I'm not having boat Jangles ever again. In salmonella, bois anything like that. It was terrible.
You so you were the impressed with Duke yeah, yeah, I was.
I wouldn't go back to Kansas because it was it was just underwhelming.
It was I've been there five times and to me, it's just a game. So to me, I felt, I know what you're talking about Kansas, it's fog and everybody, but it's not what you think. And to me, Duke wasn't either. Outside of that, I would not go back because if you were if you were, if you were older and you went to Stanford when Mike Montgomery was running against Arizona, that was fantastic. It was better. To me, it's better than Duke. But Duke might have been made
for TV situation and you had the Cameron crazy. Yeah, we have a I'll get to that point. You're on the air and nine the ball. Who's this?
That's Rick?
Rick? What's up?
Dallas? Dallas Mavericks got the number one pick in the NBA draft.
Well they did, so they went through it. Just now, Dallas.
They had a one point eight percent chance of.
Getting That's like you win in a pooker game with me. I'll give your time to get off the chair.
Yeah we're you know, we're on the air.
It's because really so one point they got the title, so well, that'll give them hope. I have a top five.
Do you know the listener was van Antonio was second pick, seventy six ers or the third pick, and Charlotte was the fourth and I forget who is number five? Okay, okay, anyway, that's you heard the first year of the ABC.
Thank you for the breaking news. All right, brother, thank you man, thank you. You know what, They're probably excited for Cooper Flag, but I bet you they'd rather have Luca. Oh yeah, oh I would. Cooper's good, but you know what Luca is. You're talking about a rookie compared to a guy that's gotten you to it. But according else, he's overweight and can't play well. You may look like a Pillsbury do boy, but lo the move. Yeah, I don't care how big he is. Five is the Jazz,
by the way, is the Jazz? See and the Spurs.
I think they had two shots of the number one pick because they've got Atlanta's picked too, so they I thought for sure the Spurs were going to get a pair of flag with with Wemby, and that's how they would get the Spurs back to NBA. I'm a conspiracy theorist when it comes to NBA Draft lottery. Just running that out there.
Okay, what were we talking about before softball top all you know, we're talking about Duke. I'm sorry, Yeah, but you were saying one team that did make it was a s U. Did not make it? They did? Or did they made it? Yeah? They made it to the LA Regional.
Wow.
They had a bad year too, So you forgot about a SU. My bad.
But going back to that Duke thing, the thing was Stanford in terms of it being a great environment, which it always looked that way when I was same with Washington State when Tony Bennett was there, it seemed like a crazy environment at times when it came into town.
I don't yeah, I don't remember that. I don't remember that. Some of the best places were Michigan State. When they was under in Michigan State, that was crazy. The scariest place I've ever been to. And I wasn't even playing No l s U crazy crazy, yes, because they were saying some crazy stuff, not so nicely. It was crazy. Uh.
And there was when we got there to ask you twice. Uh. Warry Smith kid, the father of the one who's playing now for Houston, I think it is, and uh Stroll Miles Swift kick the crap out of Arizona one time, and then another time Ricky Anderson was suspended from the team so he no, no, that was another and I didn't cover that team back then, but yeah, so they
hasn't been kind of Arizona. But so there's been places with Stanford to me and then Oregon Oregon at court it is because you never knew if that place was going to fall apart during the game. Well and Stanford, the court used to shake shake and it was packed and it was crazy. See it's like the Robinson I remember the Robinson shot a three quarter court with Tiger Woods was there and they beat Arizona and they say with Andre and Sole.
But the problem with that is outside of that era, that's that crowd.
Went, oh, yeah, I know, it's it's it won't ever happen again. No, you're right, you're right, and Duke is Duke and it has that mistake. But it was cool. It was cool because we could leave our seats. It was it was so close to the students.
And yeah, well Kansas, I mean again, it is Kansas. It is fog Allen. I get that. I get it all duked and pumping crowd noise like Kansas did. Kansas is pumping?
Were they Okay, I don't remember doing that.
Because you're far up. You know what you said? All they had the media on the far corner. Oh no, no, yeah, no we were not if you're in the far corner and the and the home media is up there now too, they're not on the course. I gus here here do you even worse? Like imagine being like you can touch the ceiling. Yeah, that's how you were at Kansas. That's Stanford, and I think U c l a. You're up top right,
but okay, the crowd's good. But then you can hear the crowd noise being pumped in You're like this, yeah, you don't mean pumping noise.
And it was visually look good, impressive for sure, But Duke is obviously made for TV. And when you get nine thousand people in a room, of course it's gonna look good. With the students.
And another thing is and I hope Tommy if he is listening, I know, probably probably not listening, but schedule North Carolina.
I would like to go see. I was there. I was there for that game North Carolina in ninety eight ish. I've heard that Smiles was an assistant coach when they did the home and home work.
North Carolina played like mid conference during the AFC week Arizona times.
It was one of the Loot's the worst defeats. Yeah, two thousand and eight, thousand and seven, But I heard.
That that same is kind of underwhelming, but I still want to say it was. And then Rough Arena obviously is another one.
Oh yeah, I'd never been there. One of the biggest twos was Virginia. They had just opened the building and Loot was married to Christina at the time and she was a grad from Virginia. Yeah, that was crazy because it was the first game there and there was Chase budingers year and Marcus Williams.
The one I think about watching as a kid, and I'm sure you're there at that game was Arizona at wake for It was Sliam Styler. I think that was an overtime game in the nineties hundreds. No, No, they didn't they lost, They lost, didn't go that was the That was the n I game. Oh, I thought it was New York.
No played.
They had Chris Chris he was the number two overall recruit in terms of point guard and Mustafa was the number one.
But it was, it was, and I teach him. Okay, I just remember remember that game though, will I think that has a guy named Williams from Wake Force was fantastic too. But we had Chris Paul versus Mustafa, which which you know I'm trying. I was trying to get him on. He said he's gonna come on the show at some point. But yeah, those are the good old days. It unreal college basketball back then. Yeah, guess what's coming back?
That basketball? Because Tommy's Tommy's Tommy's scheduling, like Luke did. Yes, let's pay the best and see where we're at and see how good we have to be.
Not only that, and another element to that is Sean went through that one and done era of a lot of players leading even players that probably shouldn't like a Grant Jarrett. You know, second round draft chance coming out well, but now with nil was being able to get money, they're not going to leave for a second round pick now, so now you're going to see more players state.
But then you have the portal that mixes it all up to sure sure because somebody else could pay you more than what you're gonna get here.
But at least you're seeing more veterans college basketball now.
No, I applaud Tommy for doing that because it's going to be like the good old days. You know. Unfortunately I don't travel with the team as much as I used to, but it's good to watch for you guys who enjoyed the season. That and you have the Big Twelve conference that feels did you did you go to the Big Twelve? No, that's the thing. I think that's another thing that we miss Vegas obviously right for that and in this you know, I'll pay my own dime
to go to that. I I'm gonna have to get there, but I'm sure that's still that'll be fun because it's so good in Florida. Yeah, to the Big Twelve championships. Oh okay, yeah, yeah, you know, because it's good, not just Arizona playing other games. The other games, it's great basketball. Yeah, just move to Vegas. Tucson just was kind of depressed the whole time because can get to Kansas.
I know.
I think I'm just saying Dallas would be I would be fine with Dallas would be sweet. I think SECAs in Nashville, So you can't do Nashville, but something more in the middle. Lively, Yeah, no, but that place is to me, it's too cold, not too too cold.
And then Lively, I think they have their charm and they've done and people in Kansas Vegas hell with that. We got what we got here.
Yeah, that's nice, that's nice. Is cold and okay, you had that fan fast stuff. Yeah, a lot of them got canceled because it got too cold.
So cold, that's the issue. That's the issue. But you go for the basketball show, stay, stay in the hotel and you go to the basketball I'm just saying, you know, give it. Let's get some life. Let's get some life. Well, we went to do great, we went to do and what do we either bar barbecue and we didn't do what we didn't do? We went to the hotel. Yeah, went to the place, went to the game and came home. You stayed an extra day.
I stayxtra day and yeah, but no, I I tried a couple other things that were good, and then bo Jangles I ate was suggested right before I got a.
Mexican placed the night before something we ate something that was a Mexican place. I think we went to a barbecue place and then that fast food.
No, we went to a fast food the chuck box or whatever, I can't remember. Something something but something simple. And they had everything you could imagine on their menu. Like they had I forget what it's called. It's very well known, but they like, you had it's something there, something like that, something like that. It's like a Hamburger thing, but burgers. They had hot dogs, they had pizza, they had wings, they had ribs, they had barbecue, had everything.
Their menu was like a mile long.
It was.
It was a good trip. I wouldn't do it again.
Yeah, and I would do that again. But what I really want to do is the Vegas trip obviously for Florida.
Oh yeah yeah, and then they definitely have Arizona, U C.
L A.
And the Into don't. I don't know. I'll get to that. That's when that is like ten days after that. Oh really, yeah, no, it's same month. Yeah.
I don't saving my pennies now Vegas than l A. I have a friend that lives in LA so I can stay with a friend not worry about the hotel and that helps.
Yeah, that helps. Yeah, I've seen too many UCLA games to worry about CRONA. Yeah, well, it's funny you bring that up.
I kind of want to ask Tommy next time we have a press conference, is you've scheduled all these home and homes, which is great? Was you did you want to make U c l A a home and home series? Because I bet he did. Oh, I'm sure you did. I'm sure it was more of the UCLA's side. That's that we're not doing home and home.
Yeah, I'm sure we did, but it's it's what's needed because Arizona UCLA is needed. You know, it's one of the top five rivalries rivalries in college basketball, right, whether anybody believes that or not. Yeah, okay, what time is it? 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
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Streaming live on the iHeartRadio wile. This is Eye on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Hey, welcome back to Learning the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera, your Troy hutch Sen. You're ray because maybe get a call too. My guy here, mister Springer, Richard is giving me grief. Tired of our conversations. How about journalists get off your long Richard, don't come into my house and tell me you had a cook call in. Well, no, he'll then he'll pop off screen that call, Richards calling it. So you were talking about the question that the top places you.
Yeah, top three places you'd like seeing a game or want to see.
Again, just basketball or any sport. Yeah, let's keep it College of Basketball. Yeah yeah. So my my top one again is Matt Court because it was crazy, crazy good. Organ was good at the time when when Arizona played there a lot with Ernie Kent, and then two would be Stanford, not even a question Stanford, and then third we were talking about l s U how crazy that was and it just scary Michigan State, Yukon. Arizona lost there with that goldending call for Richie Bolstaos called the
Lauren Woods. But you know Vegas, Vegas Championship Games of the PAC twelve. Crazy good. They're great, crazy good, whether it's MGM or T mobile. When they played Ucla, you were there, right two you two three years ago?
Well they I think they played, didn't They played Ucla and back to back.
Yeah, it was it was crazy.
I mean you had that last second shot by UCLA guard wide open?
Yeah, who was that guy? I can't remember the wide open shot and missed it? Missed it and Arizona like, oh my god, well what's the name? Who was who hit the shot? Ben?
Was it?
Ben?
Uh?
To kind of tie it to keep it close, and they eventually wanted.
Oh I'm talking about the year for Caleb's first year.
Oh they won. No, I'm talking about this is a couple of two three years ago when when Ben that was a good one too. It was a yeah, they've all had been good.
Anytime you get Arizona U c l A in Vegas, pack roll tournament, unbelievable.
Vegas, Arizona for the most part, getting drunk afterward, debauchery, the New York New York Central Bar becomes yeah, you'll be no question. You remember ten Commandments showed and when Moses came down with the tablets and they're all partying. I know of the well, is there a show called the No No Commandments You come back with the tabs? And he saw everybody partying and having that was the York York Bar. It was like, it's like, holy crap. It was crazy. And you go, oh, I didn't know
you're here. Oh you're here. Oh yeah, that's that Friday and Saturday nights. Oh yeah yeah yeah.
No for me, I mean again, my list is shorter because I haven't been doing this as long, but uh, Duke would be number one easily. I would say Vegas the pack whole tournament easily number two. And you know, I guess I'm gonna have to throw Kansas on there as of right as of right now, but again, not a long time doing it, and I'm not going to put uh well was far in it because that's very underwhelming.
No, that's not well. What about what about well Phoenix even Phoenix, apt America West or what are they call it?
All talking sick or whatever? Yeah, where the Sun's place?
That was? It's yeah, because it's it's uh no no, And that's why it was almost shouldn't have the Red Blue game out there because it's not enough interest honest, they put it in a smaller, smaller ovenue.
Yeah, but then what's what's the point at that point? Yeah, No, I want to try to get out to the pit. That's yeah, it's great.
It's good because New Mexico fans are crazy because they hate Arizona. Uh And I've been to a few of those for that game and Loot would never to go back, but I think Tommy could go back.
You know which one I would love to do, but we're probably never going to see it is Arizona Gonzaga's Yeah, that will never happen. They again, First of all, they're missing a game. They were supposed to reschedule that game and it never got done. Second of all, it's not like you're facing each other in the tournament. You guys are really close friends. It's a one offer, and the college basketball season is crazy. You're gonna have a lot of other opportunities. Just do it and get it done.
Do you want to do it now in a non conference meaningless game, or do you want to do it in the tournament for the first time.
That's what's going to happen. It's going to happen. It's going to happen. Some point. Yeah, yeah, I don't know if you will be around by that time, but we'll see. We're always who will be here? Yeah, but will you be?
The kennel is supposed to be a very intense place.
I'm just trying to go down the road. Uh Stanford blah blah blah. Col is horrible. Uh U c l A two U c l A two? When When when? Because you see, I only drew where Arizona games? Arizona. We got a call. Hello, you're on the air and one on the mall. Who's this.
Nico?
What's up? Nico? Hey?
First up?
Man, that was a great interview for Brennan.
Oh, thank you? You know what did you like? Tell me what you liked about it? Because I know what I liked about it.
Man.
I just like that I gotta kind of know the gay exactly, exactly exactly and then not just last year.
It's like, yeah, he's a great guy, but I'm like, I don't know if he's a good guy.
And the way he spoke today to us, at least it made you feel that, didn't it.
Yeah, when he wanted to do the barbecue thing, that was pretty good.
Here.
Did you hear what he just did we cut him off. We cut it off in time.
Oh well, I heard him say something about an ass.
No, he said that. He said it was it was good though, it was good job, it was good. No, thanks Nic, because I agree with you. I mean just kind of showed that he was just a dude.
I mean, he went a lot more fans over.
He just did that, Toy said. Toy said that exact same thing when he got.
Off here, especially especially I think post game or just weekly press conferences, just being a little bit more laid back and not I don't want to say worrisome, but you know, your first year head coach had a major program after going from San Jose State. I think you're tippoing around some stuff and you just got to relax be who.
You are exactly.
Man and my second poet, man careble Man.
Okay, I think we might have had to buzz you. I'm not sure if that's a good word, but I.
Got to get it under control.
Man. Yeah, like ulous, Well, you know what, you know what, I don't know if that's it's not unpossible, but it's not possible because they're so damn good. I mean the problem is is that the PAC twelve is gone.
Yeah, and the major powers in the PAC twelve Arizona, Ucla are no longer together. Yeah, softball specifically, and you look at the SEC, Well they just added Oklahoma and Texas, who are amazing teams in amazing history. Okay, maybe a South Carolina shouldn't be an eight seed, maybe a Tennessee shouldn't have been a seventh seed this year, but in general, yeah.
They're by far the best softball conference. It's not even close. So Nico, did you feel that way in basketball too?
Eh? I don't know, as I don't really care as much about basketball stuf though.
Oh well, okay, no, because they were good in softball in basketball too, obviously they took all those spots.
Now the Big twelve, I think, well, SEC won the title, but I think over the course of Big twelve, secs one Big twelve did a better job. But first stoppall, Yeah, I think back in the day when you had the Pack ten and really in its heyday with Washington, Stanford, Oregon, Arizona, A s U always being really relevant and really good, and yet you would see those SEC schools get the top eight seeds. That was ridiculous And I think now it's just a hard argument not to argue for anybody.
But then because they have all the teams, they hit them up.
Nico has your life doing? Okay, I haven't heard from you.
It's all right, man.
I had to kick my girlfriend to say you still love I guess not.
Well, she wanted me to get rid of the dog.
I read.
You're gonna hit the bricks before that dog.
That sounds like a country sound on its way. That's right, that's right. Thanks, thanks for calling it dogs dogs before girls take the dog. We got. It's a good time. We got five minutes, more minutes. Okay, call anybody calls once once anybody wants to call, please do five two o four one six seventy four four zero seventy four four zero.
You know what, I was surprised just looking at the I saw some predictions in terms of the lottery setting and where guys are going to stack up. The big man from Duke Men's Big yeah, top ten, big yeah. In today's game, well, the guard, yes, yes, the guard yes, ippol.
Oh. We got another. Hello, you're on the air and I on the ball. Who's this Hey? It's team money t money. Good to hear from you, Hey, that that call from Nico.
Might have been the greatest call to sports radio of all time.
I've never heard a.
Call in that way that was outstanding. But hey, I just wanna I'm kind of confused.
I heard I was looking through the stations landing on you guys and it says there was a wreck on lock Canada.
Oh yeah, yeah, it might have been us. Because I heard something like that last week. I'm thinking, oh god, they need to start telling these people.
Where Google Maps does the same thing. It's lock CANDAA drives Lanata people.
Well, team Money, have you been on a Chola lately?
Yeah?
No, I mean I've drivened on Ajo, but yeah, yeah no, I hear you on that because it's funny when when you say it. When they said thank you Verda.
Hey, hey Nick, I just want to say, hey, nic go keep your head up man, and.
Yeah thanks man, thanks to money. Wait wait wait wait wait, oh okay, cool. Thanks. I was asking me if you've been telling the places that to see a game or not. Yeah, plenty of time for that. Where your career, you got another twenty five years left, hopefully hold on. If the business has twenty five four years left, it it Hey, I is coming, man, Yeah, I was coming. They try to do that games, just throw the information and just tell you.
I think they've done that with a couple of ESPN right, says spy ESPN machine that wrote that.
Well, it's just like I feel like the because I remember someone asked me this when I was like working the other day. They said, how do you feel about like AI, like you know, because they get over, yeah, taken over, And I'm like, well, it's just not definitive enough.
It's not going to have like a real take. It's going to be like this is what you can think, and this is what you can think, but it will never give you a full take. You know what.
I'm going to sound like the crazy uncle with the like you know, the on everybody saw Terminated to right and Terminator movies, Right, don't temp fate don't.
That's all I'm saying. Yeah, I know you need some opinion, you need some style in the stories. Yeah, there's humor and a human element that you Yeah, that's what you say today because it affects you that way. But when it comes to money and people like that, things like that, they'll go with you. But you know what, one quick call. Hello, you're on, got a quick call, thank you. Hello right there, Yes, are going good, good, We only got like ninety seconds. Okay.
Places I like to watch, you know, great places to see back in the day when the U A Wildcats basketball, Yes, even at home.
Oh yeah, back in the day. Yeah. Compared to back then, this is nothing. Even when I go.
When the fans you know, even back because I'm a lot older. If you would have been around to watch the fans during the snow early snowed in years, they were they were crazy too, Oh okay, because they had some really good teams and had great players. Sure, and you know to me, that's I mean. Nowadays it's it's more so it's so commercialized to go to any places. It's just not much fun to you know, to go to stuff.
No, you hit it on the head with the commercial because that's the issue they have to worry. That's that's the thing they have to conquer now. And I have to figure out how to fix that. But we got to go, Brian, Thanks for the call, this last second call question it Hey. Thanks thanks to everybody for listening. Thanks for the calls. If you didn't listen to Brendan's stuff get into the podcast. It was a lot of fun and he was kind of relaxed. He was cool. Thanks everybody,