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Hey, good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to Eye on the Ball here a Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. I'm Steve Rivera alongside partner Jagan Zeus. Got our guy Ryan in today. I'm already a step ahead of myself and got it right for the first hour. We get right for all two hours. Thanks Ryan. What are we gonna complain about today? Jay, Let's spin the wheel. Let's start spin the wheel, and we're gonna land on practice. We're talking about practice. What do you think about what's going on with.
Who can't who can't, who can't see? I'm shaking my head right now because this is just stupid. It's just dumb, and I I'd be curious to know where this stuff is coming from. But apparently, and we saw Justin Spears tweet about this yesterday, that the media is no longer permitted to report on what they see at practice. That only permitted to report on what they get from the press conferences. After which we all know they last about
fifteen minutes. You talk to a coach for eight minutes, and then you get a player, and that's it, meaning you and the general public, you, the season ticket holders, you, the fans. That's all you get. And apparently has something to do with some reporters talking about stuff in the media that somebody in the football program didn't like seeing in the media. There's a lots, you know, a lot of buzz on on social media about what what all that?
Right? Right? I can't ream. I think you're talking thirty seven, thirty five years ago, right, You and I did this. In fact, Gary, Gary the Charnie Durhamburger talked about this on Twitter. I'm glad I don't have to cover a team living on X and Twitter right now on social media because we we went to practice and guess what we were able to do, right about it? Outside of maybe a thing.
You couldn't You couldn't talk about plays and plays information they ran. They ran this trick play and you couldn't do that. And we understood that was true. That strategy, I really understand we couldn't talk about strategy. But if some dude got hurt and I think we were able to report that. That was the whole reason we went to practice see if anybody, if any hurt, right quarterback or whatever.
Right. Uh. And here's the thing, Okay, so it's both I think both sides are at fall. Right. So you get hurt, some somebody gets hurt, you report it. Uh, and now everybody knows, well, guess what is At some point they're gonna know, they're gonna they're gonna know, and they're gonna say, how did what's his name got hurt? It looked like he got hurt. How's he doing? Okay? Oh, you know I don't talk about injuries pretty much, right, but hey, did your eyes light to you? Did your
eyes light to you? Yeah, he's carried off in the cart exactly.
You know, you know they're not doing CPR and somebody you're gonna report they were doing CPR on somebody.
Right, Okay, give it time, go ask the question. They say they don't talk. Now when now you say he was well, he was carried off in the cart. Yeah, they can't confirm that he's hurt or not. But this is what happened.
It's ridiculous, Steve, It's ridiculous and it's I don't know. Uh, I don't. I guess I don't get the thinking. Why you think less about you out in the public is better.
Than I totally agree with.
You're trying to sell tickets, you're trying to fill up your your your your stadium, tell the arena or whatever you want us. You don't even let us tell the stories. You get to pick who we get to talk to. We don't get to pick that anymore. Now you can you can arrange to Okay, I want to do a story on X can I interview him? And they set they set that up maybe right, or it takes a week to get something like that set up. Why they don't want the media telling the stories, I don't understand.
Yeah, do you think it's Do you think it's new staff, new people. Uh, they're kind of just kind of testing the waters, treading the waters. Don't want to screw up all the above.
Yes, Steve, you know all of the above. I mean, you know, I don't know if you know. Uh, Look, Brent Brannan has been in Power Fight Football, He's coaches at UCLA and all these places. You know, are there are there some guys who maybe aren't used to the attention that's coming with all this, all the national attention, there's more, there's more award nominations today right for their players. So there's all this attention that all these players are getting.
Is it?
Is it great expectations that they don't like that they're under field, that they're under pressure from.
Well here's another istion. You talk about attention, and you talk about stories and you talk about it. We talked about this, and I know Donnie calls every now and again about this. This is kind of big boy football. It is big boy it's big boy football. So we've established that. Now, guess what they're doing. They're getting paid
to play big boy football. At what point do you kind of and we've talked about this, there's a there's a fine line of treating on my kids or treating like big boy football.
Well, it's more big boy football now than it was. And this goes in the other direction. You should be able to talk talk about these You should be able to talk to these guys.
So so you work for the Star, I work for the Citizen for a number of years. Uh, I'm just wondering how it would have flown with my managing editor who was kind of like, you know, you have to pass get this through. Well, we're going to practice, but we're not allowed to do this. I'm not sure if they would have said no, well, here's a story.
There's always a story, right, here's the story that that you know, we've talked about it before that weekend, that week that Arizona had to buy they're getting ready to play, they changed. They had been running, you know, the wishbone and the run and shoot right, yeah, and they were and they're running it in nineteen nineteen eighty. They had been running out of a wishbone formation and in an off week they just changed. They just changed the formation.
All they did was instead of a wishbone, the back who was on either the left or the right got more in a tail tailback position. So and they were calling it the eyebone. So it's basically an eye formation with another with another running back on either side on the side. And they made that change during the week. I went to practice all week. I didn't see it. Okay, I didn't see it.
David Aldrid's ran and wild.
Right, and look, we we had you know, we knew what the rules were that you couldn't talk about that stuff, but I didn't see it. So I got called on the carpet, you know, after that, after that game, I got called the car like how did you miss that? You didn't how did you not report on that? And I said, I didn't see it. Yeah, I missed it
well somewhere in the media. But Henry, who was the was the SID at the time, the sports information director at the time, there was somebody had a note that I don't know if it was Greg or somebody else, said no, we told them they couldn't write about that.
I don't remember that.
And our sports and I don't know if he said it in the media or set it directly to our sports editor like, how did you know? And I he said that, and our sports editor goes, what the hell are they talking about? What do you mean you can't write about what they're doing in practice? They said, I never said that. All I'm saying is that, you know, they don't want us talking about trick play, YadA YadA. Yeah, strategy, which is fine, but we talked about injuries all the time.
But the point being that when my sports editor heard the SID say that we're not allowed to report on things we see, they flipped out. They completely flipped out. So you know the answer would be, you know, sports editors should be pissed that you can't go to practice and and you know what and if you don't want, if you don't want the media talking about that stuff.
Didn't close practice and have them available after the practice. Right, So now, Jay, I have practice is over. There's a ten minute cool enough period or whatever, and go okay, how did it go today?
Oh?
It went well, went well, everything was fine. Did anybody get hurt or did anything major happen? No? No, how do we know that? We don't.
We don't. And that's say remember Stoops practices were closed tight Yeah, I mean those are things were closed something something?
What that were you doing it there? Well not practicing?
Yeah, but it's it's I don't get the I understand. You know, you don't want people to know things about you because you know, you don't want to get somebody competitive advantage and all that stuff. But simple stuff, yeah, like like you know what they're going to know your guys not playing anyway.
So what are you what are you doing?
Right? You know?
I always bring up that Stoops. They would they thought they would have a spy chasing them on sixth Avenue looking at the practices. Let's just play if you're better than me, kicking kick my hands, if you know.
I mean, I mean and again when lut when Luke shut down the shut down, you know practices, I thought that was more about she just didn't like how much attention they were.
I'll tell you exactly why it happened. So I started in ninety one covering it, and I'm gonna give kudos to a guy why it happened. So at ninety one it was open. We'd go, we'd go to practice on the road and here he'd go to their shoot around. That it's our availability to talk to the kim him at the end if there was anything. He was reluctant in doing that, but he did it and allowed it. But when when Bruce came on the scene, I was ten years into this into the program. Bruce and I were practices,
and then Bruce became kind of Bruce. You know, Bruce was being Bruce, and he was there and a lot a lot and I was too, but it was Bruce being Bruce. And then Luke's kind of like not Anamassi, but you know, the back and forth and that let's put an end to this and I don't have to worry about this stuff. Wow. And that's why it happened. That's why it happened. I'm sure if you ask somebody gun behind the scenes, that's why it happened. But it was nothing, nothing the fairies. It was just listen this
and that's how it happened. And it continued. Sean was even more so. Sean was not available after practices on the road or otherwise he was. He was very reluctant to do that for whatever reason. But that's how Luke just got tired of it. It was just tired of it because why do these guys continue to be here when they really don't have to be here? And we were because I capped out it that Michael had my that was my office. Good practice right, good practice right.
And Bruce did it too, but he was more of being Bruce, which he was good at being Bruce. And no, no, because you know he's my competitor, he's a good friend. So that's how it kind of smiled.
You know it just again when when when you're when you've got a product to sell and that's it. You got a product to sell, but you don't want anybody to see it.
What are you doing? That's it? No, that's a great way to put it, because that's it. And the boss, you know, she's new here and I'm sure she dealt with this everywhere. You got a product you sell, but you're keeping a secret. Yeah, what do you do? I don't think you do this.
I mean but even Steve, even last year with Jed fish and the practice is being open, you still didn't get a lot of stuff.
No, no, no, I'll give you this. And maybe the right hand doesn't know what the left hand doing and we rely on them forgetting our guest guys, and we love you guys. Uh. You remember the time when I think it was Jeff or somebody in the in the room, whoever was X guy s I D saying okay, now you have to raise your hand and identify who you are for the media, and Jed went like, what the hell? So the right hand didn't know what the left hand
was doing because Jedd wasn't informat. This was gonna happen, right. How long did that last? Yeah? Not very, not very not very I know you are just I know you are. Do you even know what? Yeah?
It didn't it lasted like a week.
Right, So you don't want to say maybe they're just doing things. Because they're doing things and the people what what you don't need this to happen.
Yeah, ye, no, I yeah, I know it's uh but ste my opinion on that goes all the way back to when Luke you know, uh close practices. I didn't know, you know, the background of the story. But what I did know was that we no longer were getting the stories.
We were no longer getting the personal stories that we were getting, you know, when we would interview you know, Kerr and Elliott and Anthony Cook and those guys, and we could go to their dorm room and spend an hour or two with them, you know, and learn about their lives. So then we can tell their tell their stories, uh, to the to the people who are paying money to
go see those guys play. And that's the part that that's the part that bothered me for a long time, that that they did that, and and it's and it did start with Loot, but then everybody's doing it.
Everybody's doing across the board, across the board. Well, it reminds me of last year there was who was one of the bigger stories in college football last year USC. Yeah, a reporter on the sidelines waiting for the press conference, two guys talking on the side, saying, right, what are you going to say to them? Oh? I don't know
what you're gonna say. Well, and so it was it was part of public conversation, right, And he writes about that, Well, you can't because it wasn't part of the press covers. What So then they take that with my eyes, Yes, and and the credentials removed or suspended for a week. Yeah, how much about n upoor was that?
Yeah, unbelievable. I don't know it make it makes no sense. And I don't know if if if, if there's enough of an uproarder that they'll they'll change their minds about that. But it's it's just and especially when you're Arizona football, right, and you're trying to get from forty five forty to forty five thousand game to fifty thousand a game, and now you're not gonna let the media see and tell Look, there's some people out there gonna say, good, get the
media out of there. Their pain in the ass anyways, and then the people are gonna say, you know, what I want to read the stuff. I want to know how tamac is doing in practice. I want to know how no if Afida looks in practice correct. I want to know how Jacob Money looks in practice. You know. I want to know if they're out there from how's justin flow doing right. He's the he's the big mystery out there. He's this physical specimen and we don't know. And they're not gonna let us see now or tell
We can see, but we can't talk about it. That's the that's even dumber than just saying close the practice.
Did you see Devil's advocate? No, what you gotta watch that? We be fantastic with Dustin who's out al Pacino and uh, he says the devil. Let you look, but you can't touch, you can't see, you can't feel. He goes into that thing. That's what you're seeing.
That's exactly look. It tells you again to the guys in sports information, we.
Know this is not it's not easy. It's not on you.
You're just doing what you know what you're being Uh, you know what you're being asked to do. But somebody's got to have a talk with those guys and say, relax, it's relax.
It's football. It's been they've been doing it for.
They are not nuclear secrets. Okay, relax, all right, let's take our break, quid to come back. We didn't talk about who our guests are going to be. We're gonna bring in Lamont love It mate. You know, there you go. We'll see what Lamont has to say about all.
This right on this side of the table.
Ay as a player, and he's a player. At a time when we could have that kind of a might be a very time we time to have Lamont love It on. He's the color commentator for the You have a radio football radio broadcast. And then at four fifteen we're gonna have your morales. We're gonna talk some more high school sport. Let's stick around.
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Steve Rivera and Jacin Salez they have their eye on the ball on Tucson's sports stage yet. Fox Sports fourteen fifty streaming live im the IHID Radio Lab.
Hey, welcome back to ilaball here Fox Busch FORTU fifty. I'm Sea Rivera. He's jacking off now on the phone. We have lamonton love it is Lamite.
You like how we greeted You didn't even give you a chance to breathe, right, you're on the air. Oh, I could hear you breathing, because we're in a huff here.
We're in a huff because we see that people who go to practice can't talk about practice. I feel like I feel like alan practice talk about practice, not the day exactly. How was it back in your day? Did you guys mind stuff like the media hanging out.
I remember them being able to be at practice. I remember seeing guys like Jay at practice, So I think I think that it was okay during that time.
Yeah, well we talked about this your world school, guys, and you're being able to go to practice. We just grab you after a practice. We wanted to talk to you, and we talk to you. You know, I get what all the way it's all happening. A lot of practices are closed, or if they're open, you know, you only get to talk to the people that they picked to talk to. But yeah, to me, you know, the question is, were we a painting the butt to you guys?
I didn't think so. There were certain groups, there were certain people and talent that work that tended to be but you were not one of them. And really, I think that the way we felt about it is, you know, we love the fact that someone wanted to shine a light on us as players and give us a little bit of shine, So that was not a problem. I think. You know, there's good in bad that comes with that too, you know, and sometimes people are being really critical of you.
You know, we're kids. It's sometimes it's a little tough to take, but it comes to the territory when you're you're an athlete, so it just comes.
Let's talk about something that we've been talking about. Okay, so you're you're student athlete now and you're you're doing what you do now, you're making a lot of money. How how much is fair game for being critical?
Yeah, I agree, I agree because I think that when you now they're they're basically employees and and they're here for a job, and so yeah, I mean, even though they're still kids, they're they're they're getting paid like adults. So you have to be prepared for both sides of it. I've always taken the approach that you know, you just have to keep your head down and keep working and some people are going to like what you do, but
you just can't you can't take too much. You know, you can't take it too personal no matter what you do, because it just comes to the territory.
In fact, they're getting paid better than the man.
We were starving in college too. So when when I look at these guys, man comes going and eating out at the fancy restaurants on the weekends and stuff, It's like, Man, if I didn't have my wife's mom who happened to live in town, I literally would have probably starved college.
Yeah, I know, I hear you, I hear you. You know, I mean you remember these guys. I remember did a summer story on I tell you. I think it was David Aldridge and it was John Brandam was he alignment at that time, so I knew that they were around for the summer. So they say, go do a story on what these guys do in the summer and how
they make it through the summer and stuff. And they talked about that that they just didn't have any money, you know, that there were you know, four big guys, you know, in a two bedroom apartment splitting everything so that they could have money to get pizza or go to a movie or something, which often they couldn't. It was just it was tough it was a hard story to write, as I recall, really hard story.
Well, yeah, and that's what people don't appreciate. It's not just that, you know, we didn't have money, but you're also trying to be an athlete full time and there's requirements that come along with that. You know, you're trying to gain weight, you're trying to get strong, and if you can't even get the proper nutrition, it's pretty rough to do that on top of school, you know, trying to maintain maintain your grades and do all that stuff. So it's difficult. It was very difficult.
So and before we get talking about the team, and I think we were allowed to do that. We're allowed to Well, you we could talk about it to each other. It's for you. For you, you're in house, you know the call is coming from inside that room, so you're doing your job. Do you have to temper yourself a little? And then I know you do, but do you do that purposely or how do you handle that.
More specifically? I'm sorry, Well I missed the temper myself referring.
To me doing your job with the radio and being critical or not critical game days.
Absolutely, I think I think my job is to be objective. So if I see something that I think is you know, not correct or not right, it's okay to talk about it as long as you're not just bashing people. I think that there's a difference between if somebody is running an incorrect route and you say, hey, he's running an incorrect route. He's doing it consistently. You know, maybe we want to try to figure out why that is, rather than seeing the guy stinks, you know, and things and
he sucks and all that stuff. I just think that you just have to be objective because people are not stupid either. I mean, they can all see what you see too, So I think it's your job to be objective. And granted I say I see it through my blue and red goggles, but I still try to be you know, my perspective. I still try to be objective about it.
Yeah, that's good to hear lament because that's I mean, that's really what you know you and you know you and Brian. I mean I've said years for years about Brian is that he is the most you know, objective f or uh announcer you hear on anybody. I mean you you hear some of the sec announcers. You hear some of the Big ten announcers, you hear the A SU announcers, USC some pro and you go, dude, just
go sit in the seats. You're a fan, you're you know, we're trying to We want to know what's happening, not why you think that ref sucks and that it's And I've said a long that you guys do as good a job of that as as really anybody. So I just want to throw that out there. So so let's, uh, let's let's go to something that may or may I think would be near and dear to your heart. What do you talk about as much as you can? What
do you see in these running backs? Because I think that's one of the big unknowns about this team in terms of what they've got going this year. We know about team act, we know about uh THEFEEDA, we know about the guys on defense and the receivers and whatnot. What what's this running back room look like? What does it look like to you?
Uh?
In camp so far?
You know, very dynamic. I think Jacorey Cross, Jacory Krosskey Merit or Bill Merritt as they like to call him, he is He's a special player. I mean from the first time. You know, I knew what he did at New Mexico, but when I saw him in person, the thing that really stood out to me first of all is he's powerfully built. He is. I mean, he's got some of the best feat that I've seen in a long time. I mean, the way this guy can cut, stop and start get back to full speeds, it's pretty incredible.
The way he can maneuver in and out of holes and get back to full speed, and just it's really really fun to watch. He's got great hands, He's a complete back, breaks a lot of attackle breaks, a lot of tackles though too. He runs with a very physical style. So I really think it would not surprise me to see him in the NFL. And and even the coaches they feel the family that he's an NFL caliber running back. You can't necessarily say that about everybody, but he's a
he's a really good player. And then behind him, I also like the transfer from Quali Tonnley, the transfer from Santose State. I mean, just watching him in camp the two practices that I was there, he ripped off like a sixty seventy yard touchdown. I went untouched and I was like only smoked. He's a big time player, you know. And if you look at his film at San Jose State Saw you saw a lot of the same things. You know, while he wasn't even a starter, he was
constantly making big plays. And he's a physical you know, kind of a downhill player almost in the ranging like two fifteen or so, a six feet really physical back. And Kedrick Grassano another big guy. He's probably the biggest out of all of them. He's a really downhill runner, really fast, getting transferred in from old miss. Really he's also you know, I mean he's a big time player, this guy, this guy running, he's the big guy. He's kind of in the same vein as DJ from last year,
but he's also a DJ Williams. I'm sorry, he's in the same vein the DJ Walliams. Kind of a big downhill straight line runner that can really run you over and put some hurt on you. And then we're Speedy, it seems, really taking his game to another level this
year too. The thing that it's different about Speedy this year, running with a lot more patients, and he's trusting his speed, you know, so he can be patient, let a play development, then explode through there and what and his speed as apparent when you see him on the field, he's running away from people big play after big play, and they're finding better ways to use him this year. So I think it's gonna be exciting. I really like the room this year.
If you can't tell, you didn't even talk about a guy from last year who I thought was on the custom of being one of the m vps was Coleman, who who they needed to open up Alfina and Teammac right, the passing games is helped by them, So that's pretty encouraging from the kids in New Mexico if this group can help help those two become more dynamic.
Oh yeah, And I really think also the way that they run the ball this year, it's a lot different. They're you know, without giving away too much, they're their their style of running is way more downhill and they and they're they're not afraid to push the issue and run the ball, whereas last year I felt like the run was almost a compliment to the passing game. I don't really think that they really used to, you know,
try to dominate with the run game. But I really think this team has the ability with the way that they play, and you'll see it. Like I say, I don't want to give away lots, but we'll see that they can really get after you in the run game. And I really I like what I've seen so far. So I mean, we've only seen it against them, so we've got to see it against somebody else. But I like what I've seen.
So we we've talked a little bit about you know, is there's an underrated overrated There's been some stuff about them. Where do you think they are kind of on the radar? You know, there's a lot of expectations. I know here, but you know, going to this new conference, media and the big tuff really doesn't know Arizona think I picked to finish fifth, fifth in the league. There's some people are saying they're going to be good, some people saying, we don't even know. What do you think about all
of that? What do you think Arizona kind of sits in that landscape?
I think it's it's fair to not say that they're going to win the league right away because you really don't know what you have. You know, there's some proven commodities on the team, and I mean we all know Noah team Mac and guys like that and Jonas Savina and Manu who got some great players on the team. But it's a new staff nevertheless, and so you've still got to account for that. Now. I can tell you with what I've seen with my eyes, I was taking the approach going into it that I wanted to see
what they looked like offensively before I said anything. And I also wanted to see, you know, what changes they were making on the defensive side of the ball, how that works. And I could say from a defensive standpoint, they are. They were really aggressive and they're going to
cause problems for teams defensively. I can say that was I feel like with a with a measure of confidence that they're going to cost teams problems on the defensive side of the ball just with what they're doing schematically and in the way that they are attacking. It's good.
It's really good. And on the offensive side, I've been pleasantly surprised because I really didn't know what I was going to see from the offense because they were they're changes, you know, they that felt like they had a good thing going offensively last year. So they've They've done a good job of melding what they did a little bit of last year with some new stuff. And I have seen some more explosive plays out of this offense than
I saw it last year, which is pretty neat. So I think that, you know, I really think that they've they've found a nice balance with the offense. So I feel I feel pretty confident about what I'm seeing. I'm not ready to say unnike these guys a chance. I want to see how it looks to get somebody else. But you know, it's been competitive, it's been back and forth, and that's what I like to see, you know, in practices.
So how long have you been in the in the job you've had at the radio.
Hello, I'm approaching twenty twenty one or twenty two years, Come on.
Twelve or something. Come on, man. The reason I asked, though, is this year there's a lot of anticipation. But I think we talked about it being maybe a little tempered in other places, Like Jay said, what do you think because one of the things we talked about a lot. At least Jade knows this Arizona plays really well. One year, ten wins whatever, and the next year's a bust. What do you how do you look at this optimistically compared to the previous twenty one years.
Well, it's hard to not be optimistic when you've got guys like, you know, Noah Fafita and Jonas vavna Is. He's a surefire NFL player. I mean, some people think t Max is one of the best receivers in the country. When you've got skilled players like they have, and it's and they've got some pretty good players on both sides of the ball. And I mean I've I've watched these guys, you know, compete, and I've watched last I feel like I you know, I trust my eyes and what I'm
seeing and I feel really good about it. The only thing that concerns me more than anything is is you know what the depth is going to be like. And that's always an issue, particularly with programs such as such as Arizona. You know, usually when you're going to places like you know, Ohio State and you know, places like that, they just stockpile four and five star players and they're just waiting for the next guy to, you know, just
to come up. We're not We're not that, so, you know, like we always need a little bit of luck with injuries and things of that nature. And we've got to make sure that, you know, we're we're spot on in terms of like our conditioning and things like that. And I really feel like they found something with these with their strength and conditioning staff. So I think they're doing a lot of everything. You know, they're doing the right
things to get themselves in position. But you still have to have a measure of luck in this game, because, I mean football, injuries are part of the game of football, and so you know, you have to figure out a way to overcome that.
Well, speaking of speaking of that, so we as well know you know, you're one injury away from you know, a season just collapsing on you. And I hate to talk about those things, but tell us about the backup quarterbacks. You know, what happens if nor Fafida goes down or is having a bad year or whatever. Who's back there? And who have you been impressed by anybody?
I think Cole Tannebaum's done a nice job. I feel like, you know, I've seen him last year anyway, and and he's he's a smart guy. He seems to be a steadying force back there, and he throws the ball better than, you know, than I expected, and so I think it's probably it's going to be between him, and it's also going to be between you know, the Braiden dormant, between him and Braiden, and Braiden's done some nice things in camp as well, so I think that's that's where the
battle is at. How much confidence do I have in him? You know that I don't know. I haven't seen him in game type of situation, so I can just go by, you know, the talent that I see, and they both have got talent, so that's not in question. I think the issue is, you know, what does it look like when someone's firing live live MSU. So that's that's that's what it comes down to. So we'll see. I mean, all they can do is try to skrimmage these guys and give him as much reps as possible and you know,
take them through all the mental aspects of it. But at the end of the day, you're preparing for a starter and you're trying to get a backup ready with lim it wraps. So it's just how it goes.
Well, the Moon thanks for joining us. We appreciate it.
Well, we'll see, we'll see you out there on the field if they let us.
Yeah, nonsense going on, So hopefully you can get back out there. Yeah, I hate to see.
That, thanks so much. Uh, we're gonna just be jerks about this, aren't we.
Well, the thing is, we're not thinking about this. We don't even go to them.
I mean right, it's no sweat off us right now.
We're not defending anybody, including ourselves, you know what.
We're standing up for guys like Justin and David Kelly and Putting, all those guys that go out there all the time.
As Justin said on his and his Twitter, he's gonna do the best job he can and and we we we know that right, and we'll find out stuff about what's going on.
It's just silly. It's just to me, it's silly, that's what it is. It's it's it's like you guys.
You can't have if you're putting, if you don't need your meat.
You know what, let's go a lot on that. We'll be right back.
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Extremely Live, I Mean Iard Radio.
Wow.
This is I on the Ball with Steve Bavera and Jacobzalez on Fox Sports fourteenth fidy.
Hey, welcome back to I the Ball Hero Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Barba, you're Jiginsalez. We have fifteen minutes in this segment. If you want to call us, give us a call five two oh four one six seventy four.
We'd like to hear from here, you know, getting through what we were talking about with Lamont, I think the running back thing is, you know, we talked about Fafee, and we talk about team app we talk about Jacob Mont and those guys on defense. I think what's going to really determine what this season goes like is what happens
with the running backs. And if you know, I know, people say, well, that guy played in New Mexico and that guy played at San Jose State, but that guy's also a year older, a year more mature, both from a physical standpoint a mental standpoint. They're excited as all hell to come and play at Arizona as opposed to
being in the Mountain West Conference. You're going to get their best and if they're that physically talented and just that you know they have the physical capabilities, I think it's going to be go a long way toward figuring out what this team is going to do this.
No, I totally agree with you that running game was gonna should be fun, should be nice. Like I said Coleman to me, and I said a few times last year right that he was, in my mind one of the key players.
If not, he's he's the guy that really got six yards of going in in that in that second half of the six.
Yards a game you beat out and that gives you some room and third down, second down to do some stuff. So yeah, no, if they can duplicate that or keep close to that, that's that's great.
And all you hear about this kid from New Mexico, j Cory Krosskey merrit is that he's a beast and you know we you know, and when when Lamont, when Lamont, who's the running back, says, I love his feet and what he can do in.
A long time. You didn't see that A long.
Time, I mean twenty one years been doing I.
Thought he said like ten or twelve.
I still I still have a picture of Uh. It was it was reporting day, you know, when he came in as a freshman.
What year was this, I don't remember.
It was for the eight eight season. God, I think eighty eight season eighty nine, I can't remember, but you know, one of the two years that I covered, and uh and and all all the players, you know, the new recruits were gonna be a Michale and so we went over to Michale they were and I just remember walking up and yeah, he and a couple of other guys from the LA area who knew each other, were just sitting in the seats, you know, at McHale, and I just went up and started talking to him and thinking,
these guys are children, Oh yeah, you know, and and these guys were in high schoo last year they were going to their homecoming dance. Now they're here to play, you know, play football. You're talking them was a very highly recruited guy.
Yeah. And his brother yeah yeah brother.
Yeah, and and and and uh but anyways, it just good. I get that vision. I think he's been doing this twenty one, twenty one years. It's crazy. But anyways, when Lamont says, you know, I like what this these guys do, I'm like, you know, there might be something there that's gonna that that's gonna make a difference for Arizona when this season gets going.
One of the things that you said you didn't want to talk about it, and I don't either, but we're to talk about it anyway.
Uh.
Injuries, right, obviously we remember when Scooby got hurt that kind of do you a few.
Things and and and and got a concussion and the whole bit. It killed that whole season.
And what sport do they play? Football? Guess what happened, and things happened, and not to not to jinx or whatever, but things do happen. So we'll see what happens, see how they can avoid avoid that. And then you know, look, look, JJ McCarthy, what was a freshman first rounder. You expect him and then all of.
A sudden said in one practice or one game, uh preseason game, and he's gone.
He's gone here.
Yeah. But then again, on the other hand, you know, if Arizona you've had quarterbacks get hurt and you've gotten yourself into a better situation. Happened when colil Take, uh you know, got hurt when cli Take came in, and then when when Noel came in last year. Although it's hard, it's hard to think that there's anybody and you know in the quarterback room better than Fefeeda right now.
Right because you know why the players play.
Harder for him. Lamon's gonna kick your But no, we talked about love it.
I love it.
N He's gonna beat you up.
We keep I didn't bring that up again because he's laughing me. But hey, four out of five, Dennis, tell me, I'm okay with the four or five to tell you agree with me. After a while, you finally agreed with me.
Yeah. I think you know a friend of mine who he was talking more on on you know, high school sports.
Uh did you ask him?
He just said, he just said, the players know who should be playing and when those guys are playing, they play harder. Yes, yes, the players know, yes, yeah, you know. The players know who the starting point guard should be. The players know who the starting quarterback should be. The players know you know who the who the starting pitcher or the shortstop should be. And then when those guys get in the game, they feel they feel better, right,
they feel obligated is a good word. But they also feel like their team is better and it gives them more bouncing their step or whatever gives them some momentum.
You use, you use your word, I'll use mine. But yes, I mean people lamar will not to be. But you guys know it's true. It's true because I've seen it too many times.
You know, I think you wanted to kick your butt.
The thing about it is it also works the other way. If if someone if a coach, I'll see a coach, because it has to be a coach plays the wrong people or designates the captain the wrong person that's captain. That's a bad thing.
It effect. It affects things like the locker room, It affects the huddle. Yes, you know, this guy might might not die for a ball that he might have dove for if it was somebody else, those kinds of things.
Present believe that, right, Okay, no, no.
And that's why you think, you know, when you hear these guys talk about how much you know they love each other and all this kind of stuff, and you go, that's hochy. Well it's not hokey if they believe it.
Sure, and they love each other more when they're winning, right, and they don't like each other more.
But but on the on the flip side that though, when they aren't losing, and if they feel like they're all on the same page and all in it together, yeah, you know it, it helps them get through those things.
Well, let me visit four or five years ago. Four years ago, I guess now, someone, do you think do you think that they were playing hard that year?
Nobody was walking through a wall for him?
And okay, no one was walking through the wall. And I know that we didn't talk about it because we haven't. And Tucson, this media stuff, it's Tucson. Everyone loves everybody, right, everybody loves the games. You're reporting a team, you like, they're not gonna say they gave up on the coach. No they're not, they're not. But guess what you see.
They gave up. I gave up on the right. Everybody gave up on that, damn coach.
But you're not gonna say it, you're not gonna write it. But you know that, you know you know what I'm saying. I know what you're saying, because there's no point you know what you know and you know what you see?
Yeah, no, and we and we knew what that yeah, And you know, I remember, towards the end of the time, I was hoping, against hope that you know, that players would just come together, come together and say, in spite screw and spite up. Right, Look, Okay, this guy's you know, he's screwing this up and he's messing up our season, but we're all still in this and let's you know, I just kept hoping that that would happen. But it must have been so bad that they just didn't even want.
To be you know, you brought that up. I don't know. Mondays Friday, we talked about having Ricky Honey on the show that day, Right, And that's rushing to the game, me rushing the game, You're rushing home to watch it and thinking everybody hoping against right and then by the time you turn the TV on, you're down whatever you're down.
By well, they were down with two touchdowns in fifty six seconds or something like that.
Yeah, are you thinking, how bad is this gonna get?
Is this gonna get? They got and it kept getting where we couldn't even imagine how bad it was gonna get.
No, if someone would have said that the score to you ten to one on twenty no, no, no way, keep your money.
Yeah, no chance, no chance at all. But yeah no, so yeah, so anyways, but and that's kind of why I was asking the question about the quarterbacks, is that you know, okay, who's back there? But I mean I think if I recall, Dorman was a pretty pretty hig rating quarterback, and and so these guys, they got guys, and so we'll see what.
Then he fits your airport team type of thing. Well, you know, tall guy.
He's a good looking tall okay, but Steve, you know, again, that depends on what kind. I mean, he's a completely different player from he's a foot than it. You know, so what you know, what, what do they do different with him that they that they don't do with vice versa? Or do they just do the same thing and that, and that they kind of fit that.
Way well, right, and they probably are totally different players. Look at Dolaura, who was more of a gunslinger type of I'll get you out of this mess type of quarterback, when Faffieda was more of a let's do this with a process, right, you know. And and I'm sure that had something to do with the players because they were thinking, what's what's he doing now, what's the Laura doing now?
Trying to do this and do that and do too much when it was all they needed was something just to move him down the field.
Yeah, and he did. I mean he was Look, you know, it's fafia guy who's gonna, you know, be launching the ball down the field, you know, four or five, six times a game. No, but that's not what he does. He is an accurate passer who just's going to move the ball down the field.
So let me ask you this, because I asked you this about your corporate world, not about your journalists world, because I've been i haven't been a boss, and I'm not don't like being a boss. So you have this guy or two. I'm sure you've had a guy, the gunslinger, the guy who hit a home run. And did you ever have to temper him or you just let him hit the home runs knowing that he's going to strike out a lot.
I my as a relations to sports, I'm a you know, let's let's not strike out all the time. Let's not trade all the strikeouts for a homer, right, I like, I like a consistent and then probably more, you know, I guess on the business side, do I like somebody who can consistently do a good job? Yeah, not who's spectacular here but screws it up over here.
That's that You've you've had those, right?
Yeah?
Sure?
So?
And how have you handled h I fired him? So the home run? You didn't need the home run, now, you just needed the single.
I need somebody who could hit singles and doubles all day every day.
Yeah.
Yeah, And and and the guy who you know would do an incredible job on and saying annual report, but crapped all over the place over here. No, I didn't. I didn't. I didn't like that.
I think I think if you give managers ten managers, that nine of them would take that. Yeah, you know, just yeah, because you know, because.
There's a place for the home run here, right, but but you know, but sometimes you need a single or even a walk, you know, or you need to just get stick your stick your leg out there and get hit by a pitch.
Not Ryan's because he's too thid get a bruise me too back in the day. Yeah, No, it's different qualities of leadership one and to the players, you have to know the players you have.
Right, you do you do? And again, Steve, you know, we got a day close. Every day we get a little closer, and I'm just I really want to you what this is gonna look like. I almost can't wait to see what this is gonna look like. We're still a couple of weeks away.
Yeah, you know what I'm looking forward to if I hope it. Do we get desire at some point because I would like to ask you just philosophy in terms of the tickets we had Jr. Was a JR called yesterday about the not whole gang? I mean, just her to say no, that's not possible. Why and what would be the wheelhouse number to get more fans in there?
You know, you have your your your blue blood people who buy tickets like you and the high pricers who go into sands and go into the But what would be the what would be the you know, the the ticket price that would get it full? Is it a twenty dollars ticket? Is it twenty five dollars ticket? Is it?
You know, we struggled with you know, I had to do a lot of that at the Sugar Skulls. You know, we struggled with with, you know, setting ticket prices. You know what what what what dollar value ticket do you need to have?
Okay, So and you're in tu soon right, Tucson summer blah blah blah. So what was your biggest thing and you were new? I think what was your biggest obstacle? We got we gotta co.
Hey, you're on the air and eye on the ball, fellas.
I had to call in again today about a minute.
Got about a minute, Jim.
Oh, it only take ten seconds to tell you that your team blew another saved today.
You don't think I was watching?
I was, and I figured he was. I was.
That guy's thirty eight years old. These pitched for eleven teams, and the doctors have him in a high level of world.
Yeah against the first place team. I know, I know, I know, I wanted to smack Dave Roberts in the back of the head.
Who's the pitcher? Thank you?
Jim uh was Iton Hudson is well, okay, what are we doing? Thank you?
Jam home run hitters go. We talked. We taught kids to hit the ball hard up the middle and accept whatever it does.
Right.
We did.
Let the let the bat.
Head determine the flight of the ball. Don't try to swing at an angle or you know any of that.
Babe.
Ye, well guess thank you, jem I appreciate it.
What do they teach them now? Bad angle?
Yeah, bad launch angle.
Launch angle, all that stuff. What was it going? So we're talking when we get to desert the price range price Yeah.
I mean, look, I know that there's a lot of fans who are fans because they started in the k not hoole section. They're they're out there. You know, it was five it was I think for us it was five bucks for the entire season. Well, you pay five dollars, you'd get a you'd get a pass a card and that's how you got into those games.
You swipe it or something.
No, there was no swiping. You just walked into the you walked to the k not hole gate and you showed him your I D Card and you and they let you in.
They let anybody like that.
Oh yeah, it was nineteen seventy four.
Okay, it's like Disneyland, just kind of you have an eat ticket, a seat ticket and ticket.
I was. I was fifteen years old, fifty years ago, Steve. You got to remember that.
Time. Jimmy was a coach.
See for us, it was a challenge because we we'd get into the knothole section and immediately start plotting how we were going to get out of the nthole section and go sit up in the regular seats. Because they had monitors to keep a bunch of you had to ask to go to the bathroom. Oh really, yeah, there were monitors, you know, not the bleachers because they were those short bleachers and to say I need to go to the restroom and say okay, So we'd go and
then we'd go one by one. Then we wouldn't come back.
Let's get out of check check for his car to the little check for his car commercial, come back and get some breaking news from you.
All right, we'll be right back