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This is Eye on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports fourteen fifteen.
Hey, welcome back to my I on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. On Steve, he's Jane. Now we have Ryan with breaking news.
I have no idea. It's not working. All right, it's not working. I hop into it.
Start with news about former Arizona quarterback Nick Foles announces his retirement from the NFL at eleven years.
That's where he started. I'm gonna start with that.
Yeah, basketball. Oh yeah, well it's kind of his local tie.
Okay, all right, I'll give you all right, we'll get that, all right, Yes, Nick Foles retires today.
Oh you could have gotten Steve Kerr the local tie. Yeah, yeah, nick Foles better. If you would have gone in his career when he got out of college, you'd think, okay, you know he was pretty good.
Yeah, he'll probably play quarterbacks.
He lasted a long time, eleven years and super Bowl, super Bowl Champs, super Bowl MVP. More than you bargained for, right, not bargain for, but you know, more than you expected.
You know, I think he was really good here, right, Uh. And he didn't start at the beginning, right, He didn't spot at the beginning, And there came a time when you just thought, Okay, this guy, his his accuracy, his his arm, he was very slow and that was that
was sort of a Okay, he's really really slow. But he he looked like a pro quarterback that that last year, you know, that that crap game that they lost where they got two extra points blocked against a s U. That sort of sticks with me in terms of how good he could have been, his his legacy or whatever have been, and that none of that was his damn fault. But you know, right now, you know the best quarterback I think Arizona has ever had.
Yeah, I think so, dude, just in quality and and his capability, his talent, quality and cap right, you're right, Yeah, he was a leader. They've had a lot of good quarterbacks, but not like that.
I mean a game that a game that sticks out to me is that that Iowa game here right places just there were more people in this stadium than should have been allowed, right, and a lot of them were Iowa people, And that was just an incredible game. Arizona beat the hell out of him and and you look thinks said, Okay, this is a guy who's really really good and he's going to do some really good.
He was your airport guy.
He really was. He looked like and you know, and by all account's a really nice guy, right.
Right, God fearing God love.
Yeah, and uh, you know, good for him. Had a great career and made a lot of money, and uh he'll have good should have a good rest of his life. And maybe we can get him on the show someday.
Yeah, maybe we can. I was thinking about that because he he was under Stoops and I was thinking, maybe we can get ahold of Stoops, just not thinking. Then I google Stoops and he's at Kentucky, so he's too busy.
All right, go ahead.
I think they won the Super Bowl. I think he was actually the backup quarterback.
Yet we never really gotten the respect that we think, Well, he's never been.
He was never a great starter, right, he was a guy who could come in and become a starter. But you know, he got some starting jobs and never really worst in those for whatever reason reason. But it goes Steve, it goes back to when he got here, right, he couldn't beat Matt Scott out for the job until Matt Scott got so bad that they had to put him in and now and then all of a sudden, Okay, he took the job. And he I mean, he did what he did in Philadelphia, he did it here at Arizona.
Key. He kept chip Kelly pretty happy. Yeah, isn't he was a quarterback at that point. Yeah, and chip Kelly's he came in and did so many great things.
All right, Arizona sucker. They released their first preseason poll. They have Air on a sitting down tight tenth for.
In the Big twelve. In the Big twelve. Yeah, we've right with you all the time, with you talking.
Okay, Well, that's gonna be another situation. We have her tomorrow.
Yeah, we have Beckamorrows, the Arizona soccer coach, will be here at three fifteen tomorrow, so Steve will have have at it with her to talk about this this season coming up.
No question, a very smart woman of very good coach.
We're really again we keep saying we're really impressed with it the first time we talked to her. Yes, So we'll see what she's got on her mind for this for the season.
Switch over to the Olympics USA survives. They're headed to the gold medal game after taking down Serbia with the late rally. They were down seventeen at the half. They were also down fourteen start the fourth quarter. It looks like Steph Curry was he was on fire towards the end of the game. And they're going to be playing France on Saturday.
He went off for thirty six. I guess had a big, a huge shot, right, you know during during the rally. Three pointer. But I gotta go see this now. I'm gonna have to go watch like the replay tonight. I'm gonna have to watch the second half of this game to see how that happened. Uh. I was working, Steve missed it. I was getting text all kinds of text messages. Are you watching the oly the basketball game? And I'm like, no, I'm working.
What did the Serbia's guy have? He must have a good game.
And well they said Embiid did did a number on him in the second half, that Embiid didn't have a good first half, but did did a good job on him in the second half. And that had as much as anything to do with UH.
Game seventeen eleven. Yeah, but played most of the quarter with foul trouble.
Yeah. So there's a lot of compliments for Embiid Kevin Durant. Uh that keeps seeing a video of Jed Devin Booker hitting the three out of a off of an inbounce play. So just all these highlights that are out there. But it sounded like it was the hell of a game. Uh. You know, I've read through a lot of the Twitter feeds that were going on during the game, and people
were just going, this is unbelievable. I guess in the fourth quarter, if you were a gambling kind of person, you could have gotten the US at plus one ninety five in the in the fourth quarter, And there were some people who did that and because they were they were you said, a seventeen point favorite. I think that's what it was. Yeah, so they would have been plus or minus what two hundred and something on the money line going into the game. So interesting, good stuff. Odd,
we finally got to it. You're welcome.
I was sticking with the Olympics. USA Grant all the way wins the Olympic gold medal in the one ten hurdles today.
Okay, they've done really well, really well last two nights of watching those guys were fantastic. The four hundred meters.
And then I think the US woman who won the four hundred meter hurdles just she did a Katie Leadecci on them. There was nobody else in the picture in that well.
The four hundred meters men's was fantastic.
Yeah, another comeback yesterday it was I started Quincy Hall. He was yeah, gold.
He looked like he was out of gas and and he got like three steps to the from the end and uh and uh and and pulls it off. And then I don't know if you were you going to the two hundred meters today the two hundred meters, Noah Lyles says he and it says he's got COVID. He finished third. US guy finished second, and guy from Botswana won and won their first medal in that in that event in the history of their country. But ye had Lyles finished third and then afterwards said he's got COVID.
So I'm like, what are you doing? Why? Why are you running next to a guy.
He doesn't Right, I was reading the story just now, I'm thinking that's odd he would not and so odd I guess, I guess you don't tell anybody until you right, I don't know, right, I don't know.
All right, Let's switch over to football. Former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver now Atlanta Falcons wide receiver. He's going to have season ending knee surgery. He's been sent to the IR today. Who is that Rundell Moore? Oh that's former Arizona you're thinking, I guess just yeah, yeah, just one of many, one of many. They got like twenty wide receiversas anyway, let's switch over to wrestling. A little bit of news Roman, bravo Young. I had a terrible, terrible performance,
lost thirteen to three. I think that was today, Yeah, this morning, this morning, Sunny said.
High school kid Penn State, two time national champion, four time state champion, got into the Olympics to compete for Mexico. Had to go up a little bit of a wait, right, Uh? And I didn't. I didn't. I haven't seen the match called. People have texted me about it. Just said he just did not look maybe the way the way that the weight class, like the weight might the weight class might have been tough for him. Just didn't have it. Thirteen when you're losing by ten in the wrestling match, they
stopped the match. He kind of like basically got mercy ruled in that match. So I'm sure he's incredibly disappointed. And that was the first match, so he didn't even i mean, he didn't even get very far. So I'm sure that with all that work.
Well, he might have been able to do the bronze. I think according to how you're he could have been able to wrestle for the bronze had the guy he lost to advanced. The guy lost the next round.
Oh okay, so the.
Guy he lost to, so so because.
Of that, he can't advance for at least a brown. Right, that's too bad, all right, good bad for him because again i mean we talked to him, right, sure, you know how much for it?
Very impressive guy, right, really, and if this this is the worst thing that happens to come on, the guy is fantastic. It's like, what's that thing. I've said this before and a doctor called me, You're the last guy, do the last guy in the doctor's class of studying the last guy in the class, They're still going to call you a doctor?
Still a doctor, He's still an olympian, right, exactly, exactly, all right, and he can use that the experience for.
Right, right, And I think that's that was in the story. Yeah, in four years he'll be in LA possibly, Yeah, that'd be cool.
Okay, sits number to the MLB.
The White Sox finally let go their manager, Pedro Gridfall, after having a terrible season eighty nine. They were almost two days away from tying the longest losing streak since eighty eight.
They're on pace to have the worst the fewest number of wins since like the early nineteen hundred. Yeah, back when they weren't playing one hundred and sixty two games.
How does that happen? Is there no money?
Don't really know. I don't really know what happened to it to the White Sox in that regard, I don't know. I have no idea.
I think they started off pretty good and then they just started having injuries and to their key player.
Right, it was kind of like Baltimore, kind of like the Dodgers. The thing they had a big lead early, not kind of what the Dodgers and the Baltimore Warriors had this great first couple of months, right, and they kind of gut and now they're kind of holding on or doing that.
Well, I was just looking at the standing. They're only two and a half up on the on the Padres and three up on the on the Diamondbacks, and they've been comfortably in front. But they're only but seventeen games over five hundred. Down they were twenty plus games over five hundred for long time. There's something like thirty and thirty or thirty one and thirty one or something like that in their last sixty games, which is just way below average.
I think I read yesterday or the day before that they're on pace to lose like one hundred and twenty three games.
Right time by the White Hop. Yeah, yeah, they are. It's just that's bad. That's terrible. All right.
Last thing is currently right now, the preseason is officially underway. A couple of games are going on. I guess one of the biggest things coming out of the NFL right now is the new kickoff role.
Yes.
I don't know what you guys think about this new I saw it last week, did I didn't.
I didn't get it. It's not exciting.
Well, it's not. Well, I think it actually kind of is because you know you it's like it's like one of those things where if you know a running back, you know, breaks through the line, he could be gone, right, And so, uh, what's gonna what's gonna be interesting to see is as we talked about with Bob mcmanhamon the other day, who covers the Who covers the covers the Cardinals, is that coaches have to figure out how to do this. How do you how do you you know, how do
you block it? How do you defend it? Uh, you know, they'll they'll figure some things out. But I think it's okay. You know, you got to kick the ball into this landing zone. Otherwise they get the all at the thirty five. So they're making the kickoff matter. But they're doing it in a way that guys don't get killed. So I think it's gonna be fun. It's gonna be fun to watch it. Luky. If you're a purist and you say, oh yeah, I hate this kickoff again, get over yourself. Where it's the game's changing.
If you're a purist in any sport, it's past you, right because things are changing here.
It's gonna lose your mind.
Baseball.
Can you imagine if you were let's say you you died in nineteen seventy two, right, and all of a sudden, they dropped you into twenty twenty four, and you watch college athletes getting paid. You know, kickoff rules. You can't touch the quarterback anymore, you know you you know, you hit somebody in the head, you're kicked out of the game. All these things that have changed.
You're what year you're are we coming back seventy it's a seventy two. The Raiders suck, the Cowboys suck, the Colt suck. Back in those days, then we're all pretty good.
Yeah, okay, let's go, okay, let's go seventy five. The Raiders suck.
But you know, uh, it's and and and if you if you come back from there, you look at the athlete, just look at the bodies of these athletes, totally different.
You go, what the hell has been going on over here? Right?
The speed of the quality? Yeah, yeah, why you can't compare errors because you can't.
I think the kid off roll is going to be kind of like the pitch clock.
Yeah, it's just gonna take time.
To right right, and then everybody loves it.
I love I love the pitch, I love the It's awesome. Okay, that's it. We're gonna take our break, We're gonna come back. Jeff Skurn is gonna join us. We'll find out what he's up to. I guess he's, you know, still still coaching some kids out there, so putting his mark on it. And then uh, we'll then we'll break it down all after that in the last segment. So uh, we'll be right back with jesscar.
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Breaking down all the exes at oh It's Steve Rivera Shacan Salmons. This is I on the Park on Fox Sports fourteenth fifty.
Now welcome back to my I on the ball here on Fox Sports Fortune Cookie. I'm Steve, He's Jane. Now on the phone, we have coach Jeff String. Jeff, can I tell you something?
Hey, any time you.
Sucking retirement, I hear you're coaching on the side too.
Yeah.
You know, my wife went told Greg Hanson and an interview. She said, coach has only failed at one thing in his life, retirement three times.
Right right right. We wanted to ask you how is going, but you're still coaching. We got a guy from Sierra Vista saying, now I want to listen to the interview because he coaches my son.
Yeah, I coach your kid. I have kids that come down from Phoenix. I coach quarterbacks and uh and a couple other kids who play other positions and UH and but I really enjoy it. It keeps me, keeps me doing what I'd love to do. And the time with the kids. You know, it's you know, you could say what you want about coaching or this or that, and the n IDEO and I held all the problems recruiting the parents,
the administration. You know what, in the end, if you don't love the time with the kids, and if that doesn't mean more than anything else. You're probably in the wrong deal.
Well, well, who's this more for? Jeff? Is the more for you? Or is it more for the kids? I say that jokingly, but yeah, yeah, I want to the answer to that.
That's a that's a fair question.
I think.
I think it's a it's it's it's a it's a sustainable product. It's kind of like a nurse tree. You know, you go your he Sabino Canyon and you see those beautiful suaros and and oftentimes they're they're in a sustainable relationship, a symbionic relationship, if you will, with with with the trees, and and you see four or five and growing in a cluster, and you go, that's really it. And I've always thought that that was That's that's what coaching should be.
It's never about the kid. It's never about you know, by himself. It's never about the coach. It's never about the school. It's the whole package. It's the parents, it's the coaches, administration, it's it's always everything working together. That's that's how that's how you get success. I mean, my my best trait was always my worst rate. And that's what I want everybody to go home happy, and that's not that's not possible. But when the kids go home happy, it's somehow it's okay.
So now we're in August eighth. I would assume that you'd have your team. If you were coaching, you'd have your team. Do you have the heb gbis.
Yes, yes, it's not. That part is not fun. I can't lie because everybody around me would call in and write and put messages on Facebook and they'd say, coach, I never know you to be a liar, why'd you do that?
Now?
It's not fun, it's this is very, very difficult. I'll be I'm going through I wouldn't say mental difficulties, but yeah, it's just, you know, it's what I do and I've done for fifty years, and you just don't snap and break that habit. So I did this summer. I did seven weeks of clinics for quarterbacks all over Europe, a love in different countries and that was a lot of fun.
And then I came back and I put together my you know, the kids that wanted I call it Jill Eye clean ups, and we do some work on the field with the quarterbacks and I see a lot of them you know, on Sunday morning, because they still practice on Saturdays and I don't want to distract from their school. But you know that that just gives me a little bit. Plus, you know, I'm planning and I'm doing a lot of different particularly in my charity in Mexico. What you guys know about.
Well, one more question before because we want to get to that. But but did you ever I mean, with the way things have have changed in sports all the way down to the high school level, where you know, the kids even at that level are talking about how much money can I make? And you know that all the issues with parents and stuff like that, were you ever getting tired of that? Did that you know? Or was it just you just accepted as part of doing what you were doing?
Well, I survived this long and coaching, and I emphasized the word survived because sometimes it really felt like that because of these changes. And I've always prided myself on being the guy that doesn't matter your your Your age is not age doesn't make you old, you know, you know, getting getting set in your ways and not not accepting inevitable change and not wanting to roll with the times or use technology or whatever it is you know, I've really wanted to be that guy that was not necessarily
out in front of it. But I could roll with it. You know, I've always got my go go back to things. And yeah, there was there's some it's gotten a lot more difficult, and let's face it, what it's done is it made it very very difficult on the upper levels of football for any team in Tucson to win because if these kids are going to up and go wherever they want, you got over five million people in Phoenix
and they're going to go to fifteen schools. You know, you've got less than a million people in Tucson and they're going to go to seven or eight schools. They're going to Magnet to those things. And guess what, you know, that's six million is a tough five million. Whatever it is up there, that's a tough number to be and particularly with now people offering deals and and they're legal in some states, and al's and high schools and recruiting
has been done for a long time. I mean, you know kind of what's happening, and we're getting Tucson kids that are going up to Phoenix to play and at a much better level of football, and I just like the kids are coming down from Phoenix sometimes to have me coach them, and it's this is what parents are willing to do. You turn on the Olympics and you watch and you listen to those people and they talk about the sacrifices that their family made so they can get their chance to make it to the top. And
that's really part of the package. And I think as a coach you kind of had the role with that, but it really didn't make it really easy when you really liked the model that I did before, where you developed kids, that has now gone out the window. College coaches do not coach kids anymore. They recruit and they build what they have into a team. And that's a fine art and to itself, don't get me wrong, but it's not the same as it used to be where
you got the kids and you made them. The Dictomy model doesn't exist anymore.
It really doesn't.
And that's the shame funny you say that because I have to agree with you, because now it's about management and all that. Do you think this may be a dumb question. You may have already answered it you saying goodbye in however, you said goodbye was just the right time, because I don't I can't remember how old you are, but you know you've done this before. But do you really feel this is the right time now because of all the stuff.
You know, I don't think that that's a great question, by the way, thank you. I don't. I don't see the world that way. There's there's there's I'm getting phone calls now, there's opportunities. I don't know if I'm done or not done. You know, each each opportunity is a new world unto its own, and I take it that way. And I've never been into absolutes. There's never the best of anything. There's never the worst of anything. You know,
things in general, that they're there. I got to look at each opportunity as as it is to my family, to my wife, uh, to my grandkids, you know. And I've got a very supportive family. And if something good comes along, you know, I'm gonna look at it. I just don't like making the same mistakes over. I did that once in Europe, you know, I went down to Rio Rico to help out. It was a great experience. I'm so glad I did that. I can't tell you
how much I learned about a different culture. How much I'm I feel attached to some of those families and kids still, by the way, and I'm really glad I got that opportunity. But you know, I did what I could do down there, and and you know, it's just like anything else, I want a new challenge, but I got to be supported in that, and it's got to be something that makes sense at this point in my life and with what I want to do, because frankly, I mean, you know, I'm out. I'm working three or
four different jobs right now. As a consultant, I do expert witness testimony in courts. I'm doing these clinics, you know, really around the country. I'm I'm working as a consultant for for for organizations, trying to go do business in Europe because I'm there a lot, and I find a way to stay busy. But having a team, not having a team, that that that that dichotomy there, It really
is meaningful to me. And I'm trying to adjust to not having my own team, and that's that's that's really hard, it really is.
Would you ever think about not having your own team but like an assistant.
You know, again, that thing stands on its own. It depends upon who and where and stuff like that. You know, I would have gone to work for a guy like Dick Tomy or my buddy Dirk Cutter, who's now retired from the NFL. You know that there are people like that. I had Gary Barnett when he was at Northwestern. We had that opportunity, and you know we you know, I went up there and in Michigan State when John L. Smith was that coach and I'm sitting in his office.
He's looking at me at eight degrees outside. The snow is literally blowing sideways. My wife was from Michigan. I'm from Ohio. I'm looking out the window. He says, you're not coming on you. I said, I can't do this. So each opportunity there would have been a lot of money, and who knows what it would have launched. That was fifteen seventeen years ago. Who knows what that would have launched in my career. But you know, you take each opportunity to comes, and you got to look at your family.
And it's not a decision just for me. But my wife's very supportive and she knows I may not be done, but we're trying to build a life with with without me having a team. It's hard. It is hard.
So let's let's move on to what your net us project or you've done this before obviously with the kids in Mexico. What gives you the idea to do this? And you continued to do it well.
I got asked to do it at one time. I had a friend and she was down there trying to do this, and she was looking at some of the projects. She saw, you know what I was doing, you know, raising money for schools like Santa Rita and you know which you were traditionally have not and everything I did to raise money to build the program at Team of College frankly, and you know. And she approached me a long time ago and she said, would you take this on?
And I said that's some spare time And I said, sure, why not. I'll go out and raise a few group and go down there. And it was nice. It was so rewarding. I cannot begin to tell you the respect that these people have, I mean, the discipline these kids have.
I did a thing or to last Christmas and I bought, you know, raise several thousand dollars and with the help with some business people in town here went out and got you know, a bunch of toys at a real cheap price, and filled up my van and filled up you know, a trailer and took that stuff down there. And I had five hundred kids that got brand new, you know, unused toys that they've never gotten in their lives.
And we were an hour late getting there and they were still lined up in the streets and discipline, and it was I tell you what it was, really it was really a special experience to get with these kids. Now I'm doing a boxing group and these kids. It really these kids they would be on the streets and being recruited by the cartels and gangs and doing nothing. And and I've always believed that getting kids involved in sports keeps them engaged in something positive, both physically and mentally,
and it keeps them off the streets. And that's what my work is all about.
Yeah, it makes sense. Let's explain to the to the listeners what you exactly you do, maybe what you need and how they can and get help for you.
Well, you know, I encourage people you reach reach out to me on social media if they've got any interest in helping. But what I do is I go down there and I have four groups really that I support and a few other small ones things, but but basically, I've got a softball team of all battered women that's kind of like a counseling group that we put together. And they have nothing, and they're in the barrio with practice on streets with sewage running down the middle of it.
You know, I've got I've got kids on a soccer team and I've been to their their you call it homes, but it's shacks and it's no running water, and it's and it's and they have nothing, and they play on dirt. And as you know, Paul Saicala, you know, he went down with me several times and filmed it so people could see it, and it's still on my Facebook page and and it's just And I've got a baseball team that I work with. And now I got these kids
in boxing, and these are real part scrabble kids. I mean, these are kids, and it's boys and girls, and they start them real young, and they have no equipment. They've got the city built them a place to go to, but then didn't fund any of the stuff. So I need shoes, you know, boxing shoes, I need bags, I need I need tape, I need boxing gloves, I need head gear, I need soccer cleats, I need shin guards,
I need shoes, I need uniforms. I need baseball bats and gloves and catchers, equipment and AND's and gently used stuff is just as good to me as cash. And of course I need money to go down there, because I got to pay some people, because they leave their jobs to come and help me. And so I've always had this thing. I don't want people doing anything for free. I don't want, you know, particularly working people down there that don't have. So I put this whole thing together
and it's working. And I've got a field down there named after me, and I come to town and these kids all turn out and they sing. Some guy wrote a song for me, and Paul was already filled in the whole thing. It's just I can't tell you how rewarding it is. Obviously you could hear in the excitement of my force. I'm going to be heading down a week from tomorrow again, and we're setting up a big deal for October, and I'm just trying to get some stuff.
And these kids have so those hard working coaches down there can deal with more more students, and you can't. There's so many kids that want to join, but they don't have any money, they don't have any equipment. And I step in there and try and fill that.
Boy, but where specifically are you doing this?
Yeah? Mostly, and I work creata, but we're trying to expand a little bit. We've done just a little bit of work in amor Ceo. I'm working with Paul Sicala now to try and set something up and see dadures across the line, I work with an American football team and across the line in the Galla Sonora, And so I tried to spread it out a little bit. And and again, you know, it's funny because the kids I coach, some of them don't have any money to pay for
the lessons. And I don't I tell you, I tell him, don't not come, don't ever not show up because you don't have the money. And and at some point I'm trying I'm working on starting the foundation here so that kids can can get coached. Because really, what's what you see happening on the nil and all that level is now trickled down into the lower levels and a lot of kids they wanted, they have the interest, they have it.
But but coaches don't teach anymore. That they put together the team, they organize, they do travel, they do all that stuff. But the building foundation now so much of it is done privately. I don't know that that's a good thing. But this is something that Jurgen Klintzman, the guy that coached USA soccer, the German national coach for years, he was something he talked about what we call the inverted pyramid. And I had a chance through Nike to
work with him several times. And this is this guy's really a genius and really understood the failure of men's soccer, not women's soccer, because they saw and did it right, that's the failure of men's soccer, uh in the United States, and how it's built through the private programs so that only those that could afford the lessons and the coaching privately kind of like volleyball and stuff like that, you know, and only those that could afford it, you know, they're
the only ones that get to get the advanced training. And I just never thought that was right. I just never thought that was the way to go.
Well, coach, well, we appreciate your time. Good luck. I reach out to you on social right and Facebook and otherwise because you're out there and they can help you.
Yeah, and if anybody does call, if they can't do that, if anybody calls the station and they're sincere, please feel free to pass along my number. I give you that permission because I just have to rely on our Tucson community like I've done for years. Tucson's been so good to me. It's my home since nineteen eighty four. That's a long time now. And I've had a chance to leave and go other places, but it's always Tucson. That that's always TWUSN. That's home.
You know.
We enjoy your reclaimer. If you have one so you can relax a little.
Thanks.
Thanks again.
No, I do not, and I don't want one, because I got to get out and I had about five hours of yard work today. I went hiking in the Canon and yeh, I'm trying to stay busy.
Good good and you see who you are.
Thanks coach, Thanks a lot for having me.
Guys, Thank you.
Jeff, he's like the energizer, but well you know what.
He he almost went all Bill Walton on us for a little bit they're talking about the cactus.
Did one question? Thanks Jeff, Thanks Jeff. Okay, let's take a break and come back.
All right.
If you're an Arizona men's basketball fan, you know it's been successful for nearly forty years. Now take a look back at the Loudolsen era. In my new book, Lessons from Loot, it was a labor of love through the eyes of twenty five former players, coaches and friends to give insight to the coach and the man who led them, competed against them, and inspired them. Twenty five chapters for his twenty five years as Arizona's beloved coach. Lessons from Luton is an insight to how he built the program
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Net streaming live. I mean, iHeartRadio. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports fourteenth Big Day.
Even in the commercial, Steve, you're Jay, You Ryan, you know where you're at. I need to tell you. But Scaron texted me, even even in commercial he's still too trying to talk. This is the texting. I had two people from France right to me saying they love the interview and that's first, all right, that's cool people. Then I heart I heart app works.
It does work. It does work. You can find us there, I Heeart, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, but you can listen to us live on on the iHeart app or obviously on your radio fourteen fifty am. But you can also get the podcast on Apple Podcasts and on Spotify. And we'll put that up tonight. Who usually get it gets up there every night, but every once in a while I.
Slip and uh, you know, you have a pizza tacoko.
I slack a little and and miss it. But it's usually up within about an hour or so of the end of the show.
And you won't be here tomorrow.
I'm not here tomorrow.
I'm with my guest. Is gonna be Dave Silver Yep, So all right, cool.
He's he's always a lot of fun. Yeah, a lot of history with him.
You got to use my defibrillators with him. He's got to get his excitement level up. Oh, he's very very calm and cool and colick.
He is. He is that. But again, guy who's been here a really long time, came here, stayed here, and then recently retired. So called it to day. But yeah, I'm running off to San Diego tomorrow. I got to go help my daughter find an apartment there. Uh, she's she's gonna be working for the San Diego State Athletic Department. Very exciting for her. So you know, we keep keep running interns out here out there, Steven, they keep getting jobs.
And stuff, right, you know, that's what we're supposed to do.
That's what we're supposed to do.
But don't get our jobs until we leave, exactly right, exactly you can wait. Anybody want to call. We have fourteen minutes five to oh for one six seventy four forty.
Talk about.
That.
He's not going to. He's not going to, but he's now he's saying he's not going to compete anymore with inlays. He's not he's not going to run the relayser or anything anything like that.
Well, he but he's not allowed to because you have to, don't you think?
Right some requirements. They said he was diagnosed with a two days ago. So I guess I don't know what the protocol is.
Any protocol and where would you have caught it had you not been with other athletes?
Right? Right?
You know there's a lot of things going on in that athlete U dorm.
I know a lot of stuff. They complain about the food, right, Uh, not only the well, they're.
Kicking people out too from doing crazy things, which is not a shock. You have you have young people doing crazy things. I'm shocked. You have old people doing crazy things.
I'm shocked. But you know, there's always issues like that around there. But I don't know, you know, it's uh, it's wrapping up. So I think they're done on you said on Saturday. Yes, this weekend, Saturday. So I've had fun watching it.
Yeah, it's been good. It's been different for me because it's delayed, right obviously, when I was in Australia, I think it's Australia. I did a show with the country station ninety nine point five with those guys became FM, which is one of our stations. No, no, no, No, ninety nine point five is no, it's not worse. We're ninety two point nine.
No what the country station for this group.
Yeah, yeah, but I did one for ninety nine point five back in the day and the time difference for like twelve hours, so I was like up late to get them up six in the morning, and it was kind of weird because they hadn't seen it yet and I was telling all live stuff and it was a lot of fun. But now you know when the delay is that long. Although I did see something live yesterday.
Or too stuff live. Yeah, certain in the morning and if you're up in the morning, stuff is on and you can catch live stuff. Well that the basketball game was shown live that started at noon our time, which is eight o'clock their time, So right right.
I didn't watch. I didn't because I didn't search for channels. I was too busy. But I watched the volleyball USA and Brazil. That was fantastic. Yeah, and there's you know one that USA came back and went won it. It was pretty exciting.
So I'm they're in the knockout? Is where are they?
Think they're in the finals. I think the women's indoor, Yeah, women's, yeah, I think it's the finals. I think it's the finals. Could be the semis.
Yeah. So while all these gold medal games coming up, so the the the the men's gold medal game is on Saturday. I think I saw it as a twelve thirty two song time and the women's gold medal game right there in the gold medal game? Are they? Are they?
Not?
Which one?
The women?
I don't the beach women basketball? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, that's Saturday. I think it's Saturday. I think it's also Saturday. I think, so it's later this week.
Yeah.
Uh and they got they did, they've done well yeah.
Yeah. And then there women's soccer. That's that's got to be coming up pretty quick. Yeah, that semifinals a couple of days ago, so you know, we'll see what what's going on over there. But it's it's it's been fun. I think I paid more attention to it this year than I thought I would because things have been interesting, right, The basketball has been interesting, and you I know, you know, I know people say, well you should you shoul kill him, you shoul kill him, you shoul kill him. No one.
It's more fun when you don't, you know, I don't you love the drama. But two the other countries are just gotten good.
And France and now France with the and other guys.
So it's funny. I was listening to a Bartley was on Charles Barkley was on the Dan Patrick Show, and he was asking about this game and he said, they better watch out, you know, they better watch out for Serbia. He said, because he goes you know, and he's been in an Olympics right, and he said, look, you know, as bad as it as us beat him in the in the in the pool game, they didn't really care. All they wanted to do was get into the knockout round.
And then that's when the game mattered. Serbia is going to come out to play, and they've got good players out for Serbia. You know, if they go out there and and you know, screw around, they're gonna lose. And it looks like they were screwing around and they were gonna lose, but then they got their stuff together in time to come back and win. So women's basketball semifinals tomorrow.
Finals tomorrow, I thought they were.
They were to the finals, okay, so obviously not Australia. They're taking on what's on the other on the other side, France and Belgium.
Okay, So it's tomorrow and then Saturday probably final games, two games, all right?
And then so did you look up soccer yet? See, because when I think that's.
Tomorrow, so the eleventh is going to be the final Runs Runs medal game and the gold medal game for basketball.
That's Sunday. Sunday.
Yeah, that's time I checked.
I haven't written a check in a while so I forget.
And and then and and soccer is coming up, right, Yeah yeah, yeah that's the finals I think for sure.
With Rodman's daughter in the.
Yeah, that's right, she's really good.
Yeah yeah, you know it was really good. This one shocked you. Uh is uh his and and she's a Georgetown is u Ben and Davison's daughter, the oldest fantastic soccer player, got that same athletic ability most of them do just kind of like, you know, run like Gazelle's well you know, yeah, because he's he was talented.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he was incredible physical ability. Yeah, that guy. You know, we didn't get those genes, Steve.
Yeah, good, looks man, you can't have it all, at least me at least me can't have it all. Man, would be fair to everybody.
My son gets upsetting me sometimes for not having you know, professional athletes.
My parents, my sons too. Yeah, I guess you know.
My dad, my dad was not an athlete at all, and not at all. He was a he he did rodeo, right, he was a bull right really?
Yeahs that ain't easy, yeah, the tough way to make a living.
Yeah, but that you know, we were all bo legged.
Oh yeah, is that why? No, let me tell you something, because you guys do walk alike your brother's walk like, yes, do so you guys, it's all it's a learned trait, you know, Like my son, the youngest, walks like me and talks like me. Old this talks like to me a little bit. He's the good looking one in the family. But but right are you guys? You guys didn't wake up just like that. It's a learned thing.
I think we did.
It's a learned thing. No, you know, because your your son, you you kind of learned because he wants to be like you, you're his dad. There's a lot of that. There's a lot of that. I'm sure that there is. That's to me, it's too often that happens, Like my youngest walks like me, and like it just doesn't happen, you know. It's an environment type of thing. Yeah, because your gate, watch your gate, watch your son's gate, and I say it, it's insane.
People have said that a bunch, like if they're walking behind us, like when walking from our tailgate park, they say, they say, you look at legs and you can tell who the brothers are in this family. Right, and then my sisters at the same one.
So I'm sure that your dad was walking and then your sons. The son's kind of emulated him. Yeah.
Yeah, So I got some news about the women's soccer. It's going to be Saturday at eleven am Eastern time.
Okay, eight o'clock in the morning. That's the finals. That's the go yeah against Brazil. Brazil. Okay, I think I need that. All right. They take their soccer seriously down there in Brazil. Oh yeah, yeah, they do just a little bit, all right. Okay, so all right, so they all well again, that's called all the gold medal all the gold medal games coming up over the weekend. I'll be a my recliner.
You're the retirement with the recliner.
Yeah, I got I got it for Sunday football, which is nice.
Yeah, which is nice. Just with a clicker. Yeah, okay, anybody call anybody else want to call? Please do Part four forty.
Got about five minutes, five, five, four and six four forty. So what are you gonna without me tomorrow? Steve? Say that again, What are you gonna do without me tomorrow?
The party? Bring your cake. We didn't have a cake for your birthday. I had none by non non diabetic cake.
I'm glad you didn't. Actually, we had a Caro cake in my house last night.
Plenty of cake to have, Yeah, there was, there's lots of Yeah, then you're gonna enjoy it this weekend.
Nice car I saw the dinner. It was very cool.
Yeah, you doctor, I hope your doctor doesn't listen to this.
It's not what I told you to. My doctor was fine, man, he gave me.
He gave me a good That was not the okay to do whatever? Are you doing pretty well? Okay? That means I can cheat a little.
You try to gain those pounds and then lose them.
Just in time.
Yeah, yeah, well of one, I can say I lost the ten. Well, get back to where you were.
Then you found him, You found it in your ass.
You can't say ass on the ring.
We just did twice.
I know you did. So just remind everybody back to morrow. So we'll be joining us tomorrow. If you want to hear some Arizona soccer stuff like this is her fourth season.
Yes already, Yes, this goes by.
Real fast, really fast, but her fourth year here, not in the new league, right, we're gonna be dealing without talking about having that conversation with all the coaches at some point coming up, Uh, women's volleyball. It starts later in the month, but we'll have it. We'll have the head coach from the volleyball team will join us at some point and then uh.
Yeah, we'll do people ye stuff.
Hey, we've got to call her, save us from ourselves.
Hi, you're on the air and eye on the ball, Thank guys and change.
What's up?
Well, yeah, I'm wondering if your Dodgers are gonna go down in a ball of flames or not.
Well, I'm not as comfortable as I was, Jim, But you know what, I've resigned myself to the fact that I don't think they're you know, they're not gonna get to the World Series. You know, they're they just they just don't have enough stuff. And then they're gonna start getting guys back here quick. Max Munsey is starting a rehab thing this week, and you know, they got some guys coming back. But I don't they're not I don't They're good, but I just don't feel all that good about them.
Well, it turns out that the National League West is a pretty strong division. Yeah, the Padres is playing really good baseball right now, and so are the diamond back Yeah.
Well, the Diamondbacks are like when fourteen n out of the last sixteen or something like that. But they get to run up against the Phillies starting tonight, so we'll see how they do there.
Yeah, so we've got they're going two and a half, three games back something like that.
The Philly the Padre two and a half, Diamondbacks are three. So it's bunched up more than it was. Again the Diamondback, I mean, the Dodgers are like five hundred over the last sixty games or something like that.
So there, Yeah, you know what, Dres, The Dodgers still have the same problem we've had for the last five years. They do not have a closer, right.
It's stunning to me. It's stunning to me.
It is then you spent all of that money on anything, but.
Yep, yep, yeah. I don't even know what to tell you, Jim. I mean, everything everybody says to about the Dodgers to me, I just have to take it right now. I got I got Bill over here on your listener, Bill sending me text messages during the show and all kinds of stuff. So you know, I just hey, it is what it is. I am going to get to see him. I'm going up there in a couple of weeks, so it'll be fun.
Well, I'm not giving you a hard time. I'm just sort of trying to point out the facts.
Well it's yeah, it is, and they are the facts, That's what I'm saying.
Jim, you sound like me. What's up with that?
Well, that's that's been the case longer than you know.
Well, you're calling me grow up. You look at the mirror. That's two of us now, like.
Well, you grumpy and and what is it that have you blaming me for something? I had no idea about it?
I think did he didn't he not say I was grumpy?
I think I called you grumpy on the call that Jim, Joe, Jim, I don't know. Check the fact, check the tape.
Check the tape. All right, Jem, thanks much, man, thanks for saving us for two and a half. We can't we can't take any calls anymore because we have a minu and a half. Yeah, so, so, uh so see you Monday.
Right, I will be back on Monday. Monday, and you can't keep getting knee deep into the basketball stuff. We're going to keep trying to go around the big Big twelve and get some more media people in here. Who should we get next?
Well, I want to well, we'll get in New Mexico guy in a couple of weeks ago when the game comes out the week of so I don't know, we can see. We don't even have to day.
We've talked to Kansas, We've now talked to Texas, Tech Talk Colorado. The Utah guy doesn't give us the time of day, never talked to me, forget him.
He's so we get a TV. We'll get a TV.
We'll get a TV guy or one of the one of the fan sites. Who else is Arizona have on their schedule? They don't, They don't play Oklahoma State, they don't play Iowa State. B Yu. We can get somebody from up there, b YU. That's the game that Oh, we can.
Just wait for the for the week so the play. But it'll be fun, it's gonna be exciting.
Yeah, as we can get close to where we're getting, we're getting much closer to it, which is very cool.
So all right, okay, well thanks everybody.
Okay, once again, Becka Morrows the Arizona soccer coach, will be joining Steve and Uh and guest host Dave Silver. I'm out here, headed to San Diego for the weekend, and I will be back on Monday. We'll be back here with Henry's on Monday, right, Henry, Steve and Dave Silver.
Yeah, all right, once tomorrow. You said Monday.
Oh yeah, no, Wan tomorrow. That's right, Henry. I get those guys confused, me too. All right, Uh, we'll be back tomorrow. See