Thursday, February 1, Hour 2

Steve Rivera and Jacon Salads. They have their eye on the ball on Tucson Sports Stage yet Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Hey, welcome back to on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. M Steve, He's Jay. Now we have Sid with breaking news. Eye on the ball, breaking news, all right, starting off our breaking news with some recy's Senior Bowl news. Jacob Cowing was helped off the field at Senior the Senior Bowl. He was limping. We know that he was dealing with something towards the end of the

year, so I'm assuming it has to do with that. It was a lower leg injury. It has to be. Hopefully he's all right. Yeah, he had a couple of nice highlights before. Yeah, you know that were we posted on social media. But yeah, no, it's yeah, it looked like he you know, he went out, he got carted off the field. Hopefully it's nothing serious. Yep. And then Jordan Morgan seemed to have some good highlights as well as watching some of his but and Michael

Wiley's in that gap as well. Yep. Do you see Jed Do you see Jid there with n X Panics and then the Jed was there and with and with the with the in the background. Oh yeah, I did, all right. Some women's basketball here. Aria McDonald is headed to the LA Sparks former Arizona women's Wildcat that was a trade right trade trade traded to the Sparks. Uh so she's going home, right, she's from that area. Mm hmm. Moving into other Arizona women's basketball news. We mentioned it earlier,

but they are having walk on tryouts. I know they're down to about seven players right now. So students out there, who this is your chance, if if you wanted to partake and have a chance, this is right here, this is tryout. They just need bodies, right, Yeah. It's like practice has got to be hard. And you know uh yeah, I mean didn't they take what in from the track team? Yeah? Then she got hurt. Oh then she got hurt. Yeah. It's just it's it's just a stream of bad stuff. But you know, I think she

explained that today too. She had people who didn't get hurt in the practice and yeah, you know whatever. Yeah, well again, you know all you know, these players go through, you know, a pre season of conditioning and you know all these things, and you know, you get in there and start playing hard, playing every day, you know you the likelihood that you didn't get hurt can be pretty high. Moving into the men's side, Keisha Johnson was named to the Karl Malone Award nominie list. Yeah,

i'd one a ten finalists rightists, yea. And that goes along with Caleb Love being one ten finalists for Jerry West. I want to He was one of twenty for the Wooden Award. Right, all right, big stuff. Hopefully those those guys can keep them on the right right see if going tonight, I want to I want to scream outside. Okay. Talking about a s U there and talks with the NCAA for a negotiated resolution on their two

and a half year old recruiting violation. Dennistot from CBS said to expect show cause penalties for some of the former staff, including including the head coaching the Raiders. Probably he was the one who did it, but it just means he won't come back to college. Yeah, he's gonna be a he'll be Okay, they'll be making one. That's the issue with the whole thing. Get out of it. Go to run for the hill. It's the same thing with Jim Harbau. Right, they got a bunch of stuff that's going

on over at Michigan. And you know, now what, he doesn't even have to talk to him anymore if they want to come and talk to him about that. How do you feel if you're esp a the TV shows when Hurt is talking and I guess he kind of made himself look a little fluffy with the with the rock purty. Yeah, yeah, yeah, because you were you were in school when he was in school. I'm sure. Yeah. I had had a few class with Brock and played baseball at his brother.

I mean, it's the amount of the lack of recruitment from schools here before him was Yeah, what Herb said was that was just right that he recruited, but he really didn't and blah blah blah. Yeah, oh you know her her doesn't need to. He's just gonna do what he does. I know, you guys had a tennis on was it yesterday day before one of those you're asking us to remember, Yeah, yeah, sorry, yeah,

what's your name exactly? Arizona Tennis. They advanced to I don't know if you guys covered this, but they advanced to the i T a National indoor championships for the first time in school history. I think he mentioned then that, yeah, so big time. Their ranks number ten right now in the country. So for anybody out there that doesn't know where the tickets for them are, free, go go go watch them there. You got a good team, got got a lot of players coming back from last year.

So it sounds like the matches are fun too. They are yet the very spirited energy. They have double these you go doubles first and then certain as will play singles. But yeah, exciting that. I think they have the number six recruiting class as well for twenty twenty four. So yeah, a lot of energy for them, good energy, okay. And then moving into NFL, Ryan Grubb is in talks with Seattle for the offensive coordinator spot.

As we just mentioned, a lot of guys are going to be looking at the NFL when they get the chance, and this is could be another. And the deal with Grub is that he was the he was the offensive coordinator under Killendbor at Washington went with debor Well like two weeks ago, yeah, three weeks, two weeks ago to be the offensive coordinator at Alabama. And now there's already worded that he may leave Alabama and go back to Seattle and coach in the NFL. Did you are you going to have Bonix on your

thing? No? No, no, So just real quick, and this is what I talk about with basketball, But Bonnicks, I thought the back of a quarterback. College quarterback did well, had his team doing very well. I think he's a very good one. So he goes up to college, the troyouts this weekend on whatever the senior at so, I guess he

had a bad day yesterday, yesterday. Yeah. So so just you could have a great four years or two years or whatever and people think, oh, he's gonna make a lot of money, and he probably still will. But then you have a bad day there you kind of get shown who you are. It's like here, or it's like when you go to the combine and all of a sudden you're Chris Henry exactly and you're off. You're off the charts physically to my point. To my point is you see kids and

kids at the podium reading their stat lines. Oh, I scored twenty nine, I scored thirty, blah blah blah against whomever. It means nothing, Like we were saying, if you can play you can play. It doesn't matter how many points you score, Right, it's if you can, if you're good enough. If Nixon is good enough, kiss what he'll play. I mean, how many how many guys have get gotten picked in various drafts

over just what they look like when they walk in the door. Right, We're talking yesterday lunch my buddies, we were talking about Elijah rushing and and and one of the guys said, look, I saw him play at some point. He didn't look like all that to me. And I said, well, all he has to look like is that he can play that. He's got the physical characteristics of an edge rusher, long arms, big feet, big tall guy, can get his hands up. You can throw people

around. When you're playing in high school, there isn't anybody who can challenge you. Right, you're gonna throw guys around. You can look great, but then you get to play with guys who are just like you, and how good are you? So coaches tend to look at the guy and say, Okay, he's got all the physical attributes that I want, Like a quarterback who's six foot three and might not be any good versus the quarterback like

no Fafit who's five nine, five ten and might be really good. They look at your physical attributes, and if you've got the physical attributes, they're going to give you a try party. He's not average. Even today, they're still criticizing him, criticizing me. All you want, I got my team into the super Bowl in this and I got a lot of money in

my pocket. Yeah, and he may win a super Bowl, you know, against arguably one of the top quarterbacks ever, you know, in the NFL, and people are gonna say, we he's still not that good. Well, yes, he is there there for a reason. He's there for no people just like DeAndre, including your Russian example, he's a guy who really kind of just moved lollygagged because he could. Yeah, and he continues to law the gag because that's who he is. Right when you have the

guys, the opposite guys that who were at the TJ. McConnell, they have no choice, right t J. McConnell, who goes in there, he doesn't have the physical attributes, but works his ass off and get and stays in the NBA for ten years. Hi, you're on the air and I on the ball. Ah, Right, this is Brian Gettle calling in for Oh hey Brian, Hey Brian, Hey, you're about seven eight minutes too early, is it? Okay? I wasn't sure how early you want

to be a dial in? Okay? No, dial in at eighteen after the hour eighteen, yes, right at eighteen, and we'll get you after the break, okay, thanks Brian. Yeah, but we need to be door, Brian. We need to be able to screen our calls. We

know that doesn't get on there. It's alcoholic. But those are examples that happened all the time, right, even Brock, his younger brother, who was a year younger than me. A lot of people thought he was gonna be better than Brock just because you know, he's bigger, mare athetic, he's but he's now he was. He committed to San Jose State. Actually

now with Brendan leaving, he's going to Nevada now. Yeah, so yeah, I mean a lot of people looked at his physical attribute arm and yeah, I don't get it because you want a quarterback, quarterback specifically to do the job. Well. Again, it's that whole conversation about game managers, right, people say, well, he's a game manager if not right, as if it's a cutdown, right, it's a criticism. Well, he's a game manager. Well, if he's managing the game and they're winning the

games he's managing, then why wouldn't you want a game manager? No, exactly want to win, you know, is Lamar Jackson's not game manager. And look where he's been nowhere, nowhere. But he can't you know, he can't get to a super Bowl. Well, it was like to I joke with you all the time with Richron when you have the quarterbacks, I like to store quarterbacks and the kid familiash. You could throw it a mile, yeah, but there's no receivers on then a mile there's there's the receiver

fifteen miles of fifteen yards and he can't hit it. Yeah, yeah he could. He could throw a toll Maine, but that's not where your receiver is standing. Right. And then and then he takes bj Danker and goes goes to a bowl game with him. Just give me a winner, Just give me a win, winners win, right exactly exactly what else you go?

This was interesting. Mark Andrews actually help help the lady with the medical emergency on a fight from Baltimore to Phoenix, he's a Ravens player, right, yep, the tight end yet but what what did what was the situation to say what her medical emergency was. I don't remember what the emergency was, but he suggested that they check her her uh sugar levels because I believe that he actually has experienced with diabeta. Yeah, okay, so he uh

he gave a hand there, and I thought it was interesting. The fight was to Phoenix, so yeah, okay, sorry, well that was that was that one? Okay, okay, you saw that Quinn the Quinn got the job at the Commanders. Dan Quinn. Oh yeah, Dan Quinn, the Cowboys defensive coordinator. I was mentioning that next okay, sorry, moving moving in the division. So that's interesting. Yeah, but that also means that Bill Belichick will not be coaching in the NFL this year for the first

time in like one hundred and twenty years. Or yeah, what do you guys, what do you guys think? I haven't heard any There is very If you're an organization that wants to do things your way, right, and you're the owner or the GM and you say we do the things this way, I don't know that you'd want to bring in a guy who says, well, we're going to do them my way. Yeah, why would you

do that unless you agree with the way he does that? Yeah, But you know it's like, you know, I mean, we were having fun with the conversation about what do you you ask Bill belichicking a job interview? Right? You know, So, I guess I'm not surprised. Yeah, I guess most franchises now kind of when it comes to the front office, they let the front office. It's very rare now that that the head coaches kind of in there. Yeah. So yeah, I don't know. Shot.

So I got a text us now from a friend and the listener party does not have a lot of money in his pocket. Refresh. He's the lowest starting quarterback salary rookie contract. Still he's got a lot of money. He will though. He's got a lot of money more than me. Well he just got you see, he just got an endorsement deal with Toyota to Yoda. Yeah, Toyota, Yeah, Toyota deal. So give me that. That's that's a lot of money. Yeah. And I mean whenever this is up, I mean he's gonna get it. I have to get some

money. Yeah, they're gonna have to now we're gonna have to go. So how old are we? How old old? Old? And how much is money? Yeah? How much is a lot of money? Yeah, exactly speaking of a lot of money. Don't know if you saw, but the Baltimore Orioles got sold, got got valued at one point seventy five billion dollars and the buyer group that is about to buy them includes cal Ripke. Okay, yeah, and that's that's doesn't seem like a whole lot of money

because there don't the Dodgers like five billions or denvers five billion. The Orioles aren't even in the ballpark. Yeah, no, coun intended, I get it, I get them. That doesn't seem like that's not even half that's a lot of money, which was the one. But what if the Orioles, I mean, the Orioles are kind of I'm surprised they're worth a billion seven and that that's probably just that's probably because the playoff last year. Yeah.

Yeah, so speaking from a Dodger, just just the fact that the you know, I mean, any any you know, major league franchise like that is going to be in the billions. I mean, maybe not the Oakland a's but you know most of them. Denver went for five I think last yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's a that's it's a lot of well I have I have a point zero zero zero zero percent. All

right, Okay, we're out of time. As you heard Brian Gettle from Exact Sciences, we would put through their their product, Colal Guard is the sponsor of the Cold Guard Classic coming up in March. We're going to talk to him just about the tournament, their sponsorship and the types of things that that they're doing with the tournament. So stick around for Brian Gettle and we'll talk some golf. We'll be right back. Last, don't just last.

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evaluation today. Steve Rivera and Jaken Salez they have their eye on the Ball on Tucson's Sports Stage Jet Fox Sports fourteen fifty streaming live IM the iHeartRadio. Wapp Hey, welcome back to Eye on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. He's Jakinsos. Now on the phone, we

have Brian Gettle from the COOLO Guard Classic Exact Sciences. Exact Sciences. You're with the Exact Sciences, right, Brian, that's correct, with the title sponsor, and it's been here since the very beginning of the tournament, so it's been very exciting to see the growth over seven years. So I think you're based in Wisconsin, but are you in town now? Because they had

a press conference exactly. He Actually, I had just finished playing the course literally fifteen minutes ago, so it was fun to get a sneak peak of a turn routing here at La Polova. How did it feel, Oh, it's beautiful. It's just absolutely stunning. The courses in fantastic shape and it's going to be really exciting to see the champions Tour here at our new home.

And we could not be more appreciative of our hosts here at the Western Lapolo and Resort and Spot they've just been amazing and getting ready and it feels it feels very real. Now we're just a little over a month away. So for those of us who are here and play golf and we've been playing this course for years, which which two nines are going to be part of

the tournament. So that's what's really exciting about it. Yeah, and for the listeners who may not be familiar, there are three to nine here at La Paloma, and for the tournament, they're actually going to pull from all three. Oh, you'll get a little bit of a flavor of each one. It finishes up with so Hill nine, which just has a stunning view that comes right up by the clubhouse. That'll be eighteenth Pole, which is just going to be a really majestic finishing hole. But it's really creative how

they did it. It's going to be I think, really an impressive It's just such an impressive layout and I think the pros will really like it a good Well. I know he's from Wisconsin, so I'm sure you already bought a house given the weather. Yeah, this is what it's like. You know, you say that, but I remember last year the pro am day on Wednesday, we had about four inches of snow and I was thinking to myself, this is what I tried to get away from. Well you should

have seen it. I went back when we had the match play and it snowed on the day of a match playing. You know, Ricky Fowler and all those guys out there in the parking lot and having a snowball fight. So it's happened before the snowman by the driving range. Yeah. So so just tell us a little bit about you know, what does colon guard and exact sciences? You know, what's the benefit of being a sponsor of an event like this? Why do you do it? Well, I mean really,

it began a few reasons. Number one, Jerry Kelly, our ambassador, joined the Champions Tour in twenty seventeen when he turned fifty. He has a very close personal relationship with our CEO, Kevin Conroy, and Jerry also had a very dear friend, Raba and Rna who was an NCAA Hockey Championship champion at the University of Wisconsin who was diagnosed with corrective cancer and died.

But actually before he was fifty, played in the pro am in this event just four years ago, and so Jerry is very passionate, so he started wearing the colguard hat that first year, and then as we were looking to really grow that relationship with the tour, there was an opportunity here where this

event was looking for a title sponsor. There is, as you both know, amazing tradition of professional golf here in Tucson, and the Conquistadors are an absolutely incredible partner and it's just been a fantastic fit to be able to spread awareness of color equal cancer and the importance of getting screen. So you how

do you how do you use that? In what way does does a colon guard slash you know, exact sciences you know, you thro you know, aside from obviously you know, the week of the you know, the tournament and all that comes with it, but throughout the year, but what do you do with that? So it's a great question, and we're really trying

to get more involved in the community. And one example is something that we announced today here at media day is we want to address, uh, you know, as much as we can to help this community in Tucson, and we are partnering with the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona this year and anybody who donates a canned good or five dollars can get in on Saturday, the

second round on March ninth, at no charge. We'll be announcing drop off sites around the community here in the coming days, but if you go to could guard classic dot com those will all be listed. Otherwise, you can show up on that Saturday, bring you a can of suit but can you know any kind of non perishable food item or five dollars and you can get in for free. So let me ask you. You've been around for a long time now, I think five years the number you said, Brian,

do you know how much of an impact you've had? And let me give you an example, maybe a bad example, but you have a number of people our age kind of going through the gates. Probably you are encouraging us to take the tests. Maybe letters or messages to you guys said hey, I'm glad you let me know this, or I did it at the event and this is what came of it. Yeah. Well, I mean I'll

give you a great example. Scott Cardwell, a gentleman who lives here in Tucson, who was out here today for media Day, had just turned fifty a few years ago, had come out to Colguard Classic the year prior and it was the first time he had heard about col of Guard And then, you know, he turned fifty a few months later and his doctor asked him about getting screened and he didn't want to do a colonoscopy, so instead he did a coal of Guard and it helped detect in early stage cancer. And

we've built a great relationship with Scott and his story is so important. He had no symptoms and that's why it is so important for people to know. And the screening age now is forty five, So if you're forty five years or older, and you should talk to your healthcare provider and make sure you get screened because there are options that you can do that can fit within your lifestyle and after a talk with your doctor, figure out what's appropriate for you.

Hey, have you seen sort of an impact, you know with it among the golfers? You know? Are you finding out that golfers who have become aware of this are are doing this as well, So something that's evolved. This will be the fourth year we've done this and it's really unique on

the Champions Tour and it's amazing how much the pros have embraced. It is every pro in the field and for the fans to come out, we'll see it plays in honor of a different Polling cancer patient survivor or in memory of somebody who has passed, and they've really embraced it, and in many cases now they get to meet the honoree that they play for. We have more than two hundred and thirty patient survivors and loved ones planning to come out this

year from more than twenty eight states. It's really created a movement among the correct with cancer community as a place for people to be together to celebrate survivorship and an extraordinary how much this community and the PGA tour have embraced it. Well. The funny thing about it, and it's funny for us because we're

of that age. We are of that age where the old men's radio show and we have a lot of no I'm usually not serious serious the old that radio show, and we have a lot of old men listening to us. I mean, this is this hits a wheelhouse man. Yeah. And what I would just say is, you know, a lot of this is something

There's no doubt this is a topic. A lot of people don't want to talk about, right, and it's it's something that a lot of people, if you know, if they don't have symptoms, they don't see the need to do it. But you know, this has become deeply personal for me. I've gotten to know many patients and survivors through this work now the last seven years and have sadly had to say goodbye to some of them. And you know, if it's something that whether it's your pride or you're fearful,

think about somebody else in your life and don't do it for you. Think about your your spouse, your son, your daughter, your mom, your dad, and get screened for them. And the peace of mind that provides if it comes out all clear, is worth it for sure in the long run. Okay, So well, let's talk a little bit about the golf

itself. You may you know the venue has changed. You're you're at La Paloma, which you know has been around for a while, and you know, like Tucson, Nashville just one of those courses that kind of everybody around here or if you've golfed at all, is familiar with. You know, what can we expect to see out there? Is there any changes to the golf course that we need to know about. And I guess my question is going to be, how are fans going to walk this golf course expect I

mean it is. It could not be more different than you know, our old home at Omni Tusun National. But it's it's exciting. I mean, this is true desert golf. But to your point, no doubt about it. It does present some challenges from a fan perspective in terms of walking the course, but we really have and this is a testament to the Tucson Conquistadors and the team here at La Paloma, we have great plans to really concentrate

the majority of the fans between old fifteen through eighteen. On number fifteen, for example, we'll have an area known as Survivor Central where all coloroctal cancer patient survivors and loved ones will have an area where they can all watch together. And then there's going to be big buildouts on sixteen, seventeen eighteen. So for the fans that you know, recognize that it's going to be maybe

intimidating to walk the full course. Uh, there's going to be some great viewing areas on the on the signature holds here as on the finishing moles here, you know, and we're better to be than on the golf course there, right, absolutely right, And okay, this is me. The snakes aren't out yet, are they. I didn't see any today, and if I had, I might have I might have stepped away from working on the tournament. It's just you know, local knowledge, that's all. That's all

I know. So so you know, you're a little over a month away from the from the tournament. Uh, you know events that are coming up that people should pay attention to that they can participate in. What kinds of things are we going to be seeing, you know, headed into the tournament. Well, tonight, fans who are going to be at the University of

Arizona basketball game, be on the lookout. During one of the timeouts, there will be a putting competition where you can put across the floor into what looks kind of like a cool guard box with a little hole at the bottom. So we'll be there to help promote the tournament, which we're really excited about. And it's great to see the university here really got on board with

what we're doing. And then, you know what I would really say, in the next few weeks you know, whether you're a golf fan or not, it's really exciting that we've partnered with the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona here and would love to see the community rally around and really address you know, food insecurity for those who who struggle to put food on the table every night. And it would be awesome to see this community really rally around this

cause over the next four or five weeks. Yeah, no, and you'll see the crowds have always been good, Yeah, very consistent and it's a

great time, a great time to walk the course or see golf. Well, that's great, and yeah, we're really excited to be able to do more in the community and we really want to, you know, now that we've been here six seven years, you know, find ways to to what you had talked you know, asked me about earlier, to be more embedded in the community year round and really have our presence felt here because this city has really embraced us and we we want to return the favor. And that

Saturday is going to be nice to bring food to the thing. But you know, talk about the band too, because that's not going to be on site. That's going to be a releet a park. Yeah, the concert, correct, and that'll be on Friday night this year he has the Midland is the headliner for the concert on that Friday night. So you know, that's also just a great opportunity to attract you know, whether you're a golf fan or not. The concert's become a big part of what turn the weekend

is all about and just kind of adds to the celebratory atmosphere. So that's just another way for this community to get connected to the couldgard classic awesome? Awesome? Well, before we let you go, Steve and I just have one request for next year if you can, if you can make the media Day golf event a little earlier in the day so we can go play before the show. That's it, all right, all right, I'll talk to

my people. I'll see what I can do. Well, and well, maybe a second request, even though we like to see it, could you not bring the snow this time? Exactly? I don't see how that was our fault. I've been promised that now that we're going to be in the March, that it's going to be seventy five and sunny all three days this year. Well, when the weather goes bad here, we always find somebody to blame it on, and it's usually somebody from outside of fair enough people,

you know, Wisconsin people in this town. They're not very you know, well, they're not fan favorites giving the basketball situation exactly. Thank you, Brian, Brian, thanks a whole bunch, man, appreciate it. Oh, it was a pleasure. Great to talk to youle. Thank you so much for having me on. Thank you, bru Brian from Color Guard, Classic exec Sense. Hey, you know it's fun. Okay. The

tip we we failed to mention. The tournament is March eighth, eight to ten, uh, Friday, Saturday Sunday, a little later because it's been in February, right, right, so it's a little later in the year. So two point two million dollar per three hundred and thirty thousand dollars to the winner. Seven eight players and it's no cut. So all seven gay players play all three. Yeah, and they usually have some you know guys that we we recognize, oh yeah, guys from from our day. Right.

But uh, you know, I was always a good field for the tournament. I think probably would be even better now in March, where you know, further into the season. So all right, let's take our break. We're gonna come back. Take your calls five two zero, four one, six seventy four forty heading into the cow game tonight at six thirty, got a head right out of right out of the out of the studio. So come on back. 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 little 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 Loot is an insight to how he built the program into

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teamsecurity dot net. Strea Live on the iHeartRadio. Wow. This is High on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jacob Salez Flox Sports fourteen fifteen. Hey, welcome back to the ball. Hero Fuck Sports fourteen fifteen. I'm Steve. He's Jay said with us, we have fifteen minutes. We'll keep an eye on the phones. We promised so we won't quote unquote forget to look at the phone, to look at the phones. So it was a good conversation with Brian. Yeah, I thought that was good. Look, I'm

you know, growing up here. You know, I remember the first time I ever went to a went back when with the Tucson Open. You know, I went with my dad. I was a kid. Dean Martin was the celebrity host of that sixties sixties probably late sixties. You know. One time I went with guy to two old guys who were on my paper route

and they took me to the tournament with them. It was here Johnny Miller wanted, so you know, if you're from here, you've been paying attention or seeing you know, the professional golf here, uh, you know, forever, and it's just it's just been a great part of what, you know, what we do. So okay, so let me ask you, just because it popped in my head. Uh, what is Tucson known for? What are you a native from? Sports? An? Okay, Weather number one, We number one. We'll got a call. Okay, let's

take this call. Hi, you're on the air and I on the ball. Hey, guys, what's up is this? Hey Vick, what's going on? Vig? Hey? I just wanted to kind of change courses and talk about the DA thing with with Maya. Okay, Okay, obviously we you know, we don't know the insights or whatever, and we don't know Maya. But you know what, guys, I know my kids played for

good coaches and bad coaches. They once played for a guy, coach Price is His son was Dennis Price out of Crenshaw and this guy was an f bombing Randy's death, and and at the time my kids were like, I don't want to come back to this guy. But fast forward, they're thirty years old now and that coach is one of the most important people in their lives and how toxic could have d have been. I mean, did Steve beat him? Did the f mom? Did she run him to dead?

What? What is toxic? J Steve? You know, and that and that that's in the eye of the beholder, right because when you talk like you know, I interviewed Steve Alford a long time ago when he when he had just finished in Indiana, because when Bobby Knight was coming to play here, and you know, he talked about how hard it was to play for Bobby Knight, but yet how much he loved Bobby Knight, you know. And when you think of toxic guys, you know, you think of a

guy like Bobby Knight, who is just god, you know. But still you talk to a lot of his players, maybe not all of them, but a lot of them, and they, as you say, you know your experience, you know, they love the guy because they feel like, Okay, I know it was hard, but I learned a lot and everything that happened to me there was meaningful to me. Well, I think it's like being a parent, like you said, Victim, when when I'm not this guy, but when you have a tough dad, he's tough on you.

He's on top of you and you say, God, I hate this man. I hate this man. But as you get older, you respect you and you appreciate what he did for you. So it's hard to go and you've got He came back started the year knowing the team was shorthanded. So she not only met I mean, did she not have someone in her

life to say, hey, tough this out this year. Yeah, whether it's tough or not, tough en out and then do what you're gonna do after the field, Because I know that was what if my kids had come from when they were in Texas and said, hey, Ad I'm quitting. I'm like, all, hell no, No, You're going to tough this out. At the end of the year. You make a decision, you're making a distance on your Yeah, let me change the gears on you. So Friday, Friday, mister VIC, mister happy, unhappy, happy big.

He was on the LEDs Thursday, you know how to get him off that Friday Friday comes, Oh, I'm gonna be new guy. Friday's you know here, please God. And then Saturday, I don't hear from him. Oh, all of a sudden, mister happy guy, Arizona's playing well. He disappears. Is that true, Vic? Yeah, but it was just because I was so happy. I was running around the house whooping and hollering. I think my away was going to kick out. I was yelling loud. How are you? How are you as a fan as far as

that goes? And by that, I mean, you know, how hard do you take the losses? And how high do you get with the wins? And do you ever try and kind of level out? I do. I'm pretty level headed. I do love, like I tell you, this football season, I got super close to this team. It was almost I think I told you almost like that you know, the Alliott Courtiers when you kind of felt you knew the guys, got close to them. And this football team, I'm man. I went to every game and and bought a

bunch of T shirts and the whole bit. And uh so I when they lost that one game, das see, I was ready to meet Harry care But now you're back, now you're back. Yeah, I love so. But but uh I'll tell you if you know, as an older age or whatever, and my kids have hung up the cleats and stuff, I enjoy it. I enjoyed going to the games. I enjoy rooting and and hollering stuff. And it's a big part of my life. And and I love them. But by the way, I never forget what you uh, what

you look like? You know what you post selfies with players every other day. Well see that's that's it is a big part of my life. Those Stanford girls. I'll play with my cousin that I'll be got to know him and got to be friends with him actually, and and like brook to meet she uh, he came out and she came running dick and hugged me and it was cool. It was a big part of the part of my life. Alyssa the girl that's a un l V. After my girl hung up

to Cleet, that's who I kind of latched onto. And now I have some cousins that play ball here in Arizona, and I have latched on for them and put all their games and I love it. It is a big part of my life. Okay, Okay, well we'll see I think you'll be okay tonight and Sunday. No guarantees, no guarantees, wait till the

found trip and then I got a I'll pray for you too. Okay, thanks, thank you is good He's like John, John to John, just enough, John, why don't you want to watch the game, because I mean, everything's gonna be fine, everything relaxed, I know, you know, And I tell you, I said, I I'm pretty level headed on basketball, but not so much of football. But I mean, I know i'm but I'm I know, I'm more level headed than most of the people around me. They lose their mind football, Yeah, they lose their mind.

How because how could you not be because of all the torture you guys have been through. We've been through a lot of torch, so you would expect it to be torturous. It is torturous, and you still I've told you. I mean, I feel like the sun shines a little better on the day after a win, and it's a little gloomier on the day after loss. But not you know, I'm not getting ready to jump off a

cliff or anything like that, like I know some other people are. We're lucky that there's one story houses in Tucson, a lot of them, you know. But and and in fact, I tend to find myself talking to a lot of people off the ledge, you know, and just think,

relax, it'll be fine. Next week. And this last season was easy because they were They just kept winning, you know, and even even the game that they lost, now, you know, even the Mississippi State game, right, I come out of that game thinking five turnovers and you look and you and you got it overtime. That was actually pretty good. Just don't do those don't just don't do that again. The USC game, you thought, yes, they went up seventeen, nothing, you were like,

dang, you know, they should have won the game. And then they did. We still thought they took you USC to the mat. And then you know, the Washington game. You know, again, they were in it till the very end. So there wasn't a game that you thought, this is awful. Not one game last year did you go to the end of the game and go, man, that really sucked. So very true, very true, And so it was it was easy to be an Arizona football fane. This may be a dumb question. Okay, so you did

well this year. You have a lot of the guys back, a lot of them are left, obviously, But does the taste that you guys have give you a little a sense of of not entitlement, but but now say, hey, we're we're pretty good. We shouldn't lose more next year.

Yeah, I know exactly what you're saying. And this is this is a more nerve racking season coming up because you're good last season, because because you've got some expectations and you think Arizona never meets expectations in a situation like this. So I mean, you know, will I as a fan be nervous

for the New Mexico and any of you games? No, But then you got to go to Kansas State, right, and it's like, God, if they lose to Kansas State now, which they probably should because Tannas State is really good, and you're on the road, you go, God, you know if they if they lose to Kansas State and then they got Utah, you know at Utah after that, you go, God, they could be two and two and zero and one in the league when you thought, you know, this is a ten win season getting ready to happen, and

so you're nervous about that as a fan. You know that, God, you really hope they beat Kansas State so that they feel good about themselves going to Utah, which is gonna be very hard game to win. Cam Rising is going to be back and Utah is probably gonna be favored to win the league now because you know, whereas Arizona might have been favored had Jed Fish

not left and some other players. Now you're thinking Utah is going to be the favorite and you're gonna go you don't even get a chance to break into the Big twelve. All of a sudden, you're playing likely, you know, possibly the conference champion in the first game at their place, and you're going where Arizona. Arizona never wins that game. Yeah, well, you'll be fine. I'd say optimism is probably the biggest part of it. You

have to be optimistic, right. Optimism is really hard for an Arizona football fan. It's very hard. It's it's nerve racking for an Arizona football fan because when you're used to losing and you lose, it's like, okay, we were supposed to lose. But when you start winning and then you lose, you go, what the hell? Yeah, I'd say Arizona fans,

be optimistic, but be realistic, realistic the wisdom on this kids. For me, I'm putting, if it sleeking out, if Arizona comes out gets eight wins, okay, that's a good that's you can build off that. Bran Brennan can build off that. But see, yeah, Arizona fan wants yeah exactly because they had ten wins this last season. They want ten exactly. They have to realize that this this conference. In fact, I think

they expect yeah wins. They don't expect you to that's there. And that's the scary part about being an Arizona fan is that anytime this has come up, it's gone. It's headed in the wrong direction. The very next season, well that's what we're used to. How much grief would Brennan receive if it doesn't go well early in this town and it's not even a football town, right, It's going to depend It's going to depend on how his guys

play. If a Feita and and and and McMillan aren't very good next year for whatever reason, which I don't know why, they wouldn't be right, But if all of a sudden, you feel like like we felt when Kevin Sumlan and and and no no Mazzoni, you know, put the brakes on on clout tape. Okay, you're gonna think, okay, wait a minute, what's Brent Brandan doing that? Forfeita and Team AC aren't as good as

they were last year. That's what people are gonna be looking for. But yet, if those guys go off and continue to do, you know, take a next step of what they did this year, people will be fine with it. And if they lose some games but look good doing it, it's gonna be like, Okay, you know, they lost some other guys and it's hard, it's a different league. YadA, yeada, YadA. If they go six and six, fans, we're not gonna be have to

Well that would be kind of difficult. Yeah, that would be kind of difficult because you know, the schedule came out on Tuesday Wednesday and everybody's talking, oh, this is not that tough of a schedule. Well you just wait, you just exactly what do you know about those schools right outside of the rip of who they are? This isn't like going to cal or going to Stanford. When you go on the road in the Big Twelve. They they love their football and basketball. So for both foot both of those sports,

going on the road is not going to be easy. Sure, sure, I think I'm on the surface. You think, okay, they can win that one and win that one. But you don't know and the right weather too, going to say you go and just state or something and it's a little snowy. We haven't, I mean, Arizona hasn't dealt with that before, like realistic, it's not up yet. But what do you think the over under number will be for air Zona? Seven seven seven and a

half seven seven, seven and seven and a half. I would go over. I would go over. I would go over on seven, you go over seven and a half. Yeah, if it's over eight and a half, yeah, yeah, I wouldn't do that. Yeah, I was likeaing. They've got odds to win the national championship? What is it? Totally five thousand two and for the first time, right Aero Wilson's guilty. But the on the Heisman, yeah, Hesan, it has Heisman odds, but

they're twenty which Washington twenty first? Which Washington seven thousand, two thousand and seven thousand. Yeah wow, that's close. Yeah yeah. Out the Utah is at six thousand. Utah is the highest rated, uh it has the best odds of in the in the big twelve. Utah and then Kansas State at seven thousand, Arizona at eight thousand and then you get to Oklahoma State at fifteen thousand. Yeah, should be a competitive conference. We'll see. It's gonna be fun. It's gonna be fun. I think it's gonna be

fun for us. Yeah, as journalists or whatever we are, just because it's different. Even home games I believe will feel better. So yeah, good for fans, Yeah, it should be cool. Well, they're they're, they're, they're fans are coming. We need to know because they because they do. All Right, we're out of here, man, We're headed over to McHale for the uh CAL game. So we'll be back tomorrow to

talk about all of that. So be sure to come back with us tomorrow and follow follow the podcast, give it a listen tonight if you don't, if you missed the beginning part of this show, so see you tomorrow