Breaking down all the exes at all. It's Steve Leavera and Jaygin Salvas. This is I on the Ball on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Hey, welcome back to Winding the Ball Hero Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve. Jay's out today. I have our guy, Adam and Juan with breaking news and this is I on the Ball breaking news on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. We're
gonna start it off with some college football news. And we talked about a little bit earlier, but Georgia's Kirby Smart signed an extension to become the top PID head coach. Signed a two year contract, making him the highest paid coach in college football? Is he is? He? Is it more than Saban made? Because I can't remember what he made? Ten million? What does it say? Tim sa says he's the first coach to get thirteen millis well then that yeah, there's no question. Yeah, he's probably thanks Savan
for leaving. Yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah. I brought this question up to you, Adam. Do you think he is the Nick Saban? Nick Saban? It's hard, he's got to go for a while, but you know he's already won back to back. They had a. They should have probably been in the playoff last year. They only had one loss. It was in the title game for the SEC. He's a great coach. He recruits really well. They're always top too. He's got a shot.
He's already got two. Because there are similar conversations when coach K retired, who is kind of that next up? And I thought it was gonna be Jay Wright and then he goes and retired, right. I think the next guy after that with that is Bill Selph. I'm trying to think because there's too many young guys now not too many, but there's a lot of young guys coming up that they have to bide their time. But Jay Write's a good pick really early. Yeah, well now a little bit more time.
Yeah, you know. The other guy would be uh oh, come on the Tennessee coach like barn barn Vic Barnes because he's been there long long, you know he hasn't but you know he's got a lot of success, but yet not to the main main prize. It is, of course, and Buto's got it, just got like a roadblock in front of him. And it's being Izzo because he's a tough dude and and he's not finding success with the way he used to coach or currently coaches. Yeah, you know,
because he's got to loosen up a little bit. I'm not telling how about coach, right, but today's kids, I don't like that, and it's hard to adjust after you've had so much success all those years on one. So yeah, that's what happened with Aban. He had a certain way of coaching for a decade at the change and the year he's decided to change.
You're tired after well, because you said I didn't like the direction my program was going, and he realized I'm not going to be able to fix it, which makes no sense because he's a head coach, but he understood it's it's it's a big challenge. Yeah, I think I think it. I think he was getting tired. Oh yeah, yeah. And he's seventy two ish, I think, so whatever it is, I don't know how old
is seventy great coach, great March coach. You know he's got he's the magic, magic guy of March. But it's been a while, right, I mean, the next update would probably be just the Pacers way back up. They're up nine about to end the first quarter, Hope nine against milwak at home. Yeah, okay, some baseball. Julio Urias or Urius up the Dodgers. Former Dodger pitcher pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor domestic battery charge. So that was his wife or ex wife, right, I think at
the airport or something like that, right, crazy times. Yeah, yeah, he he's no longer a Dodger. No, because they just got rid of him. They don't, they don't stand for that. Yeah. Do you think do you think he'll be back in the place. He's super talented pitcher, he's one of the glasses, right Yeah, Yeah, he's not going to be back with the Dodgers. There's always gonna be a team that maybe takes a flyer on him. So I'll get you guys one. I
don't know if you've seen this local. Uh, Jayden Dolora, do you see what happened to him? Now? He ended up signing with the XFL San Antonio. Uh. I think last week Jay and I talked about it. Would he given the circumstances of his life issues? Uh? Would he would someone take a chance on him? Well, the NFL did not ye free agent or otherwise, I don't even think he was good enough to make it. Okay, but okay, I understand that. But maybe maybe uh
maybe a free agent somewhere just a latch on. But it's got character issue now for you know, for the reasons that we all know. Uh. But XFL, I guess signed him san Antonio, so he'll be able to play in that if he, of course banks the team. Good for him, I mean, he did a lot for the program of he helps helped it. He was he was a startup, and uh, probably wouldn't be where they were last year. Sure the Jetfish would not have the Washington job
if it were not for him. Yeah, although he did stick with him a little too long, Yeah, a little bit. We may have touched on this the other day, but Kentucky landed former U of A and West Virginia transfer Kirk Crisa. Yeah, not the officially. The officially said they signed him yesterday today, right right right, And he thought on that good for him. It's funny because give Jonathan given, given, one of those guys for ESPN, broke the news and then he had a bunch of highlights.
And the funny thing is Kurt looks great. Yeah, on the highlights. Yeah, yeah, everybody does, right. I was just gonna go, there, who the last time you saw highlights when the guy didn't look good? Right? Right? He looked fantastic, patching the ball, streeting the ball. I says, I don't remember that guy all the time, because that was the problem. He wasn't that guy all the time? Right?
So some NFL news, The Steelers declined Naji Harris's fifth year option, so he would be a free agent at the end of next season if they don't choose to sign him. It's a long term deal. They did build up the offensive line during the draft. They've built up the team pretty well, so it could be a breakout here. He's had what three straight one thousand yard seasons, so but I don't even know who's the Seilers have after him, Jalen Warren. So there, they do have good backs. But
that's some news for Pitt. And then you wanted to talk about the fields. Then, oh yeah, I mean they just had talks about putting him back at punt returner kickoff returner, and I thought it's probably just for a media tension. I didn't I didn't take it that seriously. Yeah, that's a that'd be an amazing move. Amazing move. I have something from Dick why so, buddy of mine who covers college basketball, older guy. Obviously, he says the top five Power five NIL rankings from according to three,
you know that new website. Whatever, what would you say would be the number one team in basketball? And IL deals and the money they have to give this year, this year, Kansas, I'm gonna go Duke Kansas isn't even on this list. At least maybe he could be on the list, but he's Texas. Take a guess in Texas or no Texas Texas and the money they have millions, it's Texas twenty million, nineteen point nine million to give, nineteen point nine million to give. That's unbelievable, unbelievable. You're
a nineteen eighteen, twenty year old guy making whatever you're making. Of the kid from fau Davis, he's getting more than a million two at Arkansas. He's a fantastic player. If Babo was making reportedly one point eight or whatever, that's what they said, I said, come out, who came over that number? Because I saw Ballow. Yeah, I'm not sure he's one point eight. And if you're gonna give him one point eight. This kid that you just mentioned, Davis, what's his name, He's Bobby two point
four. If that's the case, I thought he could have maybe been. It's not the strongest draft class, right well, I think he was good thinking about testing it to see where he was at. But he won't be making this money in the G League for sure. No, so it's a smart move by him. Give him one more year, make this money and then see what your chances are next year, and the guy can play. He destroyed it all. They could not Yeah, they could not stop him
at all. Yeah, everyone knew where the ball is going. Yet it's still when he shot, it went in right, and it was a battle between him and and Caleb at the end game who's gonna have the ball at the end? Right? Right? Right? And he was good the year prior when they went to the final four. So consistent, consistent point guard. I think he's more of it too. He's a little tweener, but
yeah, he's great. You wanted to talk about u A baseball? Oh yeah, yeah, they played this can again Stanford Friday, Saturday and Sunday and some key Pack twelve games. Good for you if you guys want to go out and go and see them play tonight, tomorrow and Sunday as they get ready to end the season and the regular season and then they go play in the Pac twelve Tournament in the next couple of weeks. That's Stafford, right, that's here. I think it's here. Yeah. Yeah, And
then you wanted to touch on Dylan Anderson. Oh yeah, it'saw from Azy Desert Swarm. I don't know who who reported it, but I just know that Dylan Anderson did commit to Boise State. Well, I think it's a good fit. It's a it's a step down you think in terms of quality of play, but it's a good fit where he might be able to find some time. And uh, Boise State's a team when he gets to March, they're in there. They can create some magic and he can be one
of those. Yeah, they're one of the team top teams in the in the Mountain West. It seems like that's a trend where the bench players you just go to the who went their ball? Obama? Who wants the acott a kot I think and even the ball? Yeah, and then you try to run somewhere else. Yeah, Philip to Mexico right, right, So
the the Mountain West is a pretty good basketball program. Uh. I think they had like five six teams that went twenty and then they flopped the tournament, which is right, New Mexico. All these teams right and made our path San Diego show up. I gave one of the guys that covers the team. All that in New Mexico had to do is beat them, and they did. It wasn't even close. Now. But although Cleumson was better than what we thought they would be, they brought back a lot of experience
inside outside, not making it the year before. Yeah, that's the fuel. So yeah, they can I stop the front court, yeah, chaf Those guys are good guys all yeah, and all should be drafted. So he's the guy who can go inside and outside. The other guy was very
good crafty wise, Chaflin. Yeah. Yeah, and they had a lot of and then they had Gerard and they had the talent kind like they lost sure in Arizona when they played against good teams like well, I shouldn't say good teams that you didn't expect and that that wasn't where they played down right, they didn't Clemson. Everyone think they played down. Clemson was good yea. And Clemson was better that day. They were ready for it. Sure
again, you know we're playing in Arizona. Let's get up for this game. Maybe they won't get up for us, and sure enough, ye March. Given that you've lived through it for a long time, it probably wasn't a surprise to you. I hate to keep going back to this, but I definitely knew that Clemson was gonna be a challenge and that it was going to be a close game. I thought we were gonna plain. That's probably
just the fan of me, especially when they came back. They came back, I thought they were getting gonna get ready to make the run, and then they just stopped. They made the run. Then happened a lot this season where they would make a run when they're down and then settle. They settled for a one point and then we come Conversely, like the old Oregon game at the PAC twelve tournament, they had the fourteen point lead I think it was, and then they blew it in the early parts of the second
half and they couldn't recover. I mean, and that the way that first half pain. Yeah, we had a fourteen point lead, but we did not play good either, so it was just kind of like, all right, so is ore going to turn it on or are we gonna just shut them down? Right? And Oregon on another team was pretty good with the big guy with the big guy who got hurt then came out. Yeah, I'm glad you guys know names that big guy, the white guy. That's
right, that's right, those guys. I think it's more just like respect to them. You know, you get you get the on their jerseys. There's a name on the b without question. But it was kind of the example I gave you here. Arizona has this swagger or has this confidence that's there, doesn't need to be there. It's self imposed type of thing by
the fans and by the players. Yeah, football doesn't doesn't doesn't have this because they're not that team, right, They're not that tam They're the team that you say, well, we can play Arizona and we can beat them. Arizona's a team this say is we're gonna go and we're gonna beat you. Yeah, it's the opposite. Yeah yeah, I mean I think like a decade ago now, Oregon ranked number like eight in the nation. They were ready to roll in, beat us down and go to the rose ball.
Exactly. We woke up good example because the roles were reversed and you think, oh, we're good. Well, you know, they just probably weren't. They were the Arizona basketball program. Yeah who they didn't show up to play, and we ended up perfect example, perfect example. And then you wonder how did this happen? Well, because you didn't play hard exactly, I mean, I mean it almost happened with USC this year. Yeah, they thought Arizona was this pushover team. Yeah, we have them at
home. Turns out we were better than us two overtime and one bad play call away from meeting them. Yeah, okay, anything else, guys, do you have anything? I'm not really just waiting to see how this Pacers Bucks games end and okay, hopefully Pacers move on. Okay, so let's take the break. We'll get ahold of d and then oh, somebody's trying to call it, Well, go ahead and I'll just have them call at the end of the break. Okay, let's go. The window Depot is
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fifty. Hey, welcome back to I on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. Jay is out today. I have Adam and my guy je in with me and now we all know as d D Delanas Thanchevor. How are you with fan Duel TV? How do you see your last name? Benavor? Right? Okay cool? I'm always bad with names, as you know. Hey, welcome to the show now it is not as a pro. Yeah, it's a little weird being on the other side of the phone. Yeah, no, good, good, good,
Good to have you. Obviously, it's a big weekend with the with the Derby, tomorrow's The Oaks, which if you don't know the Oaks is for the female runners on Friday and then the male runners on Saturday. So we're going to talk about that. But how's life at fan Duel TV and that's Santa Anita. Well, it's been good. Fandel's been treating me pretty well.
I've had quite a few opportunities to do some sports reporting up at San Anita, Las Aalle and Del Mars, so definitely the Southern California atmosphere as well, do some social hits and do some content for them, getting to go on the backside and show people the horses after their stakes winds and do lots of interviews. It's been a lot of fun to create the content. Yeah, no, I've seen and you posted on the X right a lot
of it and not so much on Facebook. Yeah, I repost a lot of it on x and some of it on my Instagram story, so plenty of it for be seen. We do a lot of specific content for Instagram, and it sounds like we're going to get to do some longer form stuff for YouTube. So that's all really exciting. Getting to know the jockey colony a little bit more. That's been right at my wheelhouse lately, and so It's been really fun to hear these guys and stories and how they got involved
in racing and what their kind of goals and aspirations are. Is their careers continue and some of them have been in for twenty plus years, some of them are just getting started. So sure, sure, no, you come fun, you come up with great stories. And boy do those jockeys love flirting with you. Yeah, they are all flirts. I have definitely learned that it seems to be a racetrack thing, not just a jockey thing though. True. Okay, good, good, good, and everything else is
okay. Life is good. You picked the right profession, I think. So. You know, I'm enjoying my job and what goes along with it and the sports reporting stuff that I'm getting to do. LA is still a bit of a toss up. You know. I'm not much of a California person. The traffic is killer, but the people that I get to surround myself with are unmatched. Yeah right, okay, so you ready have you been paying attention to the race for tomorrow? I'm sure you have been paying
attention. That was dumb statement. My job, I don't know, Yeah, but I wanted to say, have you been reading the form about tomorrow and you have your picked already or do you have you nailed it down to three or four? I've got it down to about three horses, I think, you know. I think weather plays a big factor in it. We've currently had a very hot, dry track that's been very very fast the last couple of days. But if weather moved in today, I think that could
change that. Church Hill dirt gets very clumpy and you can get a lot of kickback, and so horses that don't like kickback may just not run as well. Or if it's a wetter track that ends up turning to sloppy or mud later in the day like that could also pose quite a problem. Yeah, and you don't know until you know, right, because if they've never ridden or never run in the in the in the mud or in the whatever it is, you don't know. Yeah, it's it's a very untested element.
There are certain tracks for prep races that are very telling, oaklawn and fairgrounds being too that it does get very rainy and can get very sloppy there. And so that's a very big test in my mind. If they don't mind running at those tracks in those conditions, they're going to do just fine on Derby Day, no matter what the conditions are. Okay, So for let's go to the Oaks for tomorrow. I think the post is probably about
three thirty our time. About that time, it looks like it's going to be about two fifty one eastern, so it may drift a little bit closer to three o'clock with how much time they put in between races, and they just you know, the glory of the horses walking up to the gate. So you said what you said five? Did you said two fifty one? That's too fifty one pacificissive? Okay? You said eastern ticking? How could that be? Okay? Yeah, so three o'clock right before the show.
So I'll have to get a ticket if you give me the winner for tomorrow. So what do you have? So Torpedo Anna is coming out of a win in the Grade two Fantasy. She ran a mile on the sixteenth. There was a fast track that day at Oakland. She was one that was making her three year old debut and she did it so impressively, so professionally, So many people were high on her that day. She was the favorite
at about five to two and she beat a pretty impressive field. It was a decent size, so I think she's one that is going to be fairly forwardly placed. Could be sitting off of it a little bit, but she pulls the five holes, so she's got a lot of flexibility, and Brian Harmande's unier has a lot of flexibility of where he wants her place. He's got Lemon Muffin to the outside, who did not run great in the fantasy.
She was actually at the back of the pack almost the entire way, and he's got regulatory risk to his inside who tends to be a little bit more forwardly placed. So Brian Hernandez could definitely use regulatory risks more as a blocker to help get her better position going into that first turn. Okay, so you have torpedo and then who's who's Who's got who's the Kenny McPeak is the is the trainer? Okay, yeah, the Peak is the trainer of
that one. Okay, what's the who's your second horse? I think Terifa for Brad Cox is another really good one to look at. She's one that has run on a floppy track as well as a fast track. She's run at that mile of sixteenth she's looking for her fourth straight victory. So my dad's always said right along, the winners know how to win. So I mean she is the morning my favorite. Currently at about seven to two, she's coming out of the fairground oak. She was a another one that's sat
a stocking trip. That was a much smaller field that day with only about six horses. But she's one that can show speed or sick. She tends to be just off of it though. That seems to be more of her race. Well, that sounds like a good race that I would like to get with Terifa t r if A. Yes, right, okay, No, that's a good one if they'd like to sit and rally. I like
those type of horses. Okay. Well, and she's got slavy and proud aboard and that jockey trainer combos hitting at about thirty three percent anywhere from twenty nine to thirty three percent, so it's a really good combos. So it's hard to go against that. Okay, okay, And then reach your third horse. You know, the third horse that I've been going back and forth on is just Fyi or uh where's my ring? So just Fyi as your two year old champion. She won the Breeders Cup Juvenile Phillies. She was
supposed to make her return in the stair Ground. I'm sorry not to sparaguns the Florida Oaks and she and the Gulfstream most and she unfortunately just wasn't able to come back to you to having a fever. So she made her first start back as a three year old and the Grade one Ashland at Keemless, which was just April fifth, so it wasn't that long ago, so this is coming on a pretty short turnaround. She ran second that day, so
she's now three for four lifetime. She put out a bullet work two works back, which means she was the fastest horse at that distance at that track on that day, so she worked five furlongs in fifty nine second fifty nine point four seconds. Wouldn't you say a go ahead, go ahead? I just say, wouldn't you say when you're handicapping this race and the Derby that it's more the Oaks is more of a chalky race compared to the Derby.
Not necessarily. The last favorite that won was in twenty twenty one, which was malab that so we've had two prices or second or third price pick horses come in in the last couple of years, so I wouldn't say this race has been super chucky. Just FYI is currently going off at about nine to two on the morning line, and I expect her to come down a little bit from that, just with her Accolades's backclass, being the two year old
champion. There's a part of me that really thought she needed that race to just kind of from a conditioning standpoint, to get back into things and just remember how to do racing because she had had such a long time off. Right, Well, okay, what's what's uh? Torpedo Ann going off then to Anna is about five to one on the morning line. I mean, you've got some prices in there. I suspect that Torpedo Anna will come down to probably about seven to two. I think she'll come down considerably based on
just her last race alone. Okay, and what about Terifa Terrefa, I think could come down a little bit as well. But I don't really see a son of them dropping below two to one. Okay, So there'll be a decent, decent ticket, you know, not a bad price, yes, okay, not about ticket for you before you gave me, So I might do that, so many with that. Okay, let's go to the derby because we still want to talk to you about something else before we close
up the day. Okay, what's the derby? So the derby this year is it's the year of the Bays. And if you don't know what a bay horse is, they are a brown colored horse with a black mane and blacktail and black legs. So there's only one gray horse. So some people have a thing where you only bet the grays, like all in on the gray. Well, there's only one gray horse. His name is West Saratoga this year. He is not my pick, but he can be your pick if you would like him to be. No, I may be gray,
but I'm not going with a grit. Okay, sir, leone is my top pick in this year's derby. I just I cannot get over his form. He's continued to improve. He's a big horse and he's still figuring things out. Chad Brown put out a quote earlier that said they don't plan on changing this horse's riding style at all because he's such a deep closer. He can sit twelve lengths off of the leaders and make a five furlong move. So five eights of a mile before he passes the leader. But he doesn't
have a problem passing horses he's running the slop. He just he's overcome adversity so many times. Him drawing the two hole is not a super big red flag in my mind. However, the last horse that won the Kentucky Derby from the two hole was affirmed in nineteen seventy eight, so it's been a while. Yeah, yeah, okay, But he's a very smart horse.
He's very can be much closer to the pace that he needs to be, like he did in the Risen Star when he won, rather than the Bluegrass where he was so far out and he overcame a fourteen withdraw that day and not wanting to load in the gate. So there's a part of me that goes, this horse just lets to run and he's going to get it done no matter what happened. I love that pick because it is my pick. I've looked at the form a few times already, especially today. I liked
here at leone. He's a nose away from being undefeated, and I just hope he doesn't get stuck in traffic where you'll make it more difficult for him. To nail him down the stretch. That is a big concern with being stuck on the inside is he's going to get stuck on the rail and not be able to kind of weave around. He doesn't seem to be a horse tho that's afraid to go round other horses or weave around. Tyler gaffleone has piloted him extremely well in his last several races to be able to get him
through traffic and get him around. So ideally the two hole if he just sits a little bit out of the gate and just waits for everyone to go past so he can get the outside track that you want. Okay, I like it. I like it. What's number two? Number two probably going to be Casting Freedom. He's another one that comes out of the Louisianader if that's the Great two. He was the winner in there. It was a fast track that day. He went a mile in three sixteenth he won by
a length. A couple of the other horses that are in this field were in that race, So I think that shows that he's proving whereas others might not be as improving as much as he is. Again, a horse that's run on a fast track, a floppy track, it doesn't really seem to phase him. He's another deep closer. So these catching Freedom and Sierra Leone could be coming fast and hard at the same time. So looking for the two in the four cloth could be kind of interesting if it gets money,
because you may not see him. Okay, third horse, all right, let's see here the third horse. I think you have to throw Fierceness's hat into the ring. Like it's just it's so hard to ignore the one hundred and ten buyer speed figure that he put up in the Florida Grade one Derby. He won by thirteen and a half length. Like, that field, while it was nine horses, was not a super deep field. Those horses
were not to the caliber that he's running against today. My only concern with him is you never know who's going to show up, what Fierceness is going to show up on that day. He's shown that he can can't overcome adversity if he gets bumped in the start, if he gets bumped in the race, or just if something goes wrong or doesn't go his way, he doesn't run to the top level that we know that he can run at. Again, a two year old champion that came back in the Holy Bowl and just
didn't really perform to the level that they thought he was going to. Now, maybe he needed that race in the Holy Bowl to be able to get to where he is in the Florida Derby. The work that he had before the Florida Derby was given an A rating by the Workers Report, which is unheard of. He got an A minus going in on his last work going into the Derby this past week, so he's obviously working very well. He's
coming into his three year old form in top form. It's just a matter of does he break on top because if he gets to the league, he's going to run away from these other horses because he's simply that much faster. But he's a much slimmer built horse compared to Sierra Leone. Like Fierceness is very delicately built. He's built for speed. Sierre Leone is very muscular through his shoulders. He literally kicks out one of his front legs because he's just
grinding away so hard at the dirt. They're built very differently, so they run very differently, the Fierceness being all speed. Todd Pletcher, the Trainer Hall of famer Johnny Blaska is a board like it's hard not to put him in with that top selection, as he will go off as the morning line favorite at five to two. Yeah, okay, no, I like that pick two. Yeah, I agree with you. How can you not keep fierceness out of your ticket? And then maybe number fourth or fourth fourth spot?
You know, this fourth one is a little bit of a home chair for me. The eighteen stronghold for Phil to Motto, it's the lone California horse that's going and representing this year. He won the Santa a Nita Derby. He beat a baffort horse Imagination by notes he's been running with the top baffort horses out here on the West Coast night those windstock like those are horses
that you can't ignore in the running lines. He ran in a mile and eighth so he's making a bigger step up to that mile and a quarter distance, but he is he's only continuing to improve. Bil to Motto explained it as a light bulb went off for the Sunland Derby, where all of a sudden something clicked and he just ran on. This is a horse after watching his works when he works with a horse, they give him a target to
run at. He doesn't necessarily want to run past the horse, but he will grind away next to that horse and keep running with him until he gets nose in front. So his victories are not by huge margins, but he's an absolute trier and he's got a big, big heart. This is also fill to Moatto's first Kentucky Derby that he's got a starter in. So it's very bittersweet as I've gotten no bill in his family and to see how excited
they are for this opportunity with him, Antonio phrase through the board. Antonio is an absolutely great guy. He came over here from Dubai this past summer. He won a couple of races at Churchill today, like he is trucking along and I really do hope to see Stronghold run really well. He is now in the cursed step and teen hole, so I don't think that he wins, but I do think he is a solid move on and under your winner in the exotics. Okay, No, I like you. I like
how you explained it. Okay, we know that Baffort doesn't have anything in this race. How do you think mouth would do? I think he'd be top two. I think Mouth would absolutely be up there. He is a top performer. He's a big horse againje Hernandez, after his win in the Arkansas Derby, described him as an aggressive horse. If he gets too close to horses running side to side, he gets almost too aggressive and tries too hard and so then you're having to hold it back. So rather than that
in a race, it works to have some space between horses. And he's a tactical horse where he doesn't have to be the front horse with everyone behind him. He can see a horse and just kind of run at them as long as he's got room to go around them. So I think Mouth would absolutely stack up in here. And that great one Arkansas Derby win was outstanding, like it was definitely top quality and Backwards known for going to Oakland and
pulling out those kind of those kind of wins. He did the same thing with American Pharaoh about nine years ago when American Pharaoh went on to win the triple Crown and the what was it like a thirty seven year deficit of a triple crown winner right right? And then I think he'll be my pregnus winner as well. And I think He's very much going to be the Preakna's favorite, no doubt. It sounds like Moose and both imagination are going to go to the prenet right, okay. And lastly, I want to stir your
juice's currs. Going to Kentucky KERKKRISA. Yeah, you know, not my wildcat team. So that's all that counts, you know, U of a Wildcat versus UK Wildcat a little different. I'm sure the UK people are excited to have him. We've always said he's a polarizing player. We've always said some people are really excited about him, some people not much. I made myself very clear where I stood a couple of years ago. I maintain where I stand there. I think he's an okay player, but I think he's
more trouble than he's worth. Okay, thank you D, good luck, thank you, and we'll see how we do on Saturday. You got it right, be well, thank you, Nike D. That's D. I like her picks. Very smart girl, now woman, she can call a girl. One of my favorite interns. That's what you have to stripe for. Guys, I'm just joking. Let's go break. 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 Ludolsen 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 Lut is an insight to how he built the program into a national powerhouse. Want one Email me at Steve dot RIVERA ninety five at gmail dot com. Hi, this
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now to the podcast on the iHeartRadio app Just Surgery. I on the Ball. Hey, welcome back to my I'm the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve. Jay's out today, got Adam and Juan with me. Got a caller, How you doing? I'm doing well, my grand How were you fine? Thank you? Thanks for calling back. What's going on right here yet? Well? I was at a conference today in Jay Dobbins was our keynote speaker, and he talked about a couple of things about
he originally went to Arkansas's freshman year and then came back to Arizona. One of the things she said that sort of me was your guests or your co host there we're talking about Arizona. We're the only basketball it's sort of the only go in town. So everybody runs around telling him how great they are and how good they do this, and how good they do that. But
he was talking about lou Holtz had talked about him. The emphasis of playing college sports seemed to be a little bit different in the back then, and Lou Holtz was at Arkansas at the time. But you have to look at the SEC, the Big twelve, you know, the Big Ten, and the emphasis was a lot different back and that's the same with basketball, the emphasis with the Kansas, so the North Carolinas, the Michigan, the Michigan States, the emphasis is different. And I think because Tucson is such a
small community and he's young men, they have enough distractions being young. But the fact is then they're being told how great they are, and then all of a sudden adversity hits and they realize, oh, maybe I'm not as great as I thought I was, and so that gets in their heads too. So it's a combination of different things that Arizona Athletics, particularly the basketball team has faced. The combination of their youth and then them being the only
real dance in town. They get a lot more praise heap on them than they would say playing at Kansas or Texas or wherever else in the country. Particularly. I don't disagree with you at all. In fact, although your Kansas thing is no different than because they do it even more. That's a smaller, smaller college town than Tucson is. And they're good, but they
suffer the same fate of playing sometimes lesson they're able to history. Yeah, but the flip side is they're playing a lot bigger and better competition over the course of say five six and Arizona. So it's a different, different mindset altogether. And you have to look at the history of Kansas all the way back to Will Chamberlain. I mean you talked about the expectations are so much greater back at Kansas than they were in Arizona, even with Luke here.
Yeah, yeah, no question, apples and apples, there's no doubt about that. But your point, your point is made because Tucson is that is their protein. And how could you not think that your stuff doesn't stink right when people tell you it doesn't stink right? But back there they tell you all the time your stuff does stinks, And so they don't take the compliments
as for granted. Is maybe here in Tucson is because they hear a lot more of it here than they do, say, playing someplace else, because the coaching staffs are a lot more emphatic about the competitions out more emphatic, right, and the courseill over, like I say, five or ten years,
it's a different scenario. Well, let me ask you this. I'll last let me ask you before you leave, and I'll ask one and the kids here, you know, the young man, because they're going to the Big twelve, do you think that'll change because they are going to find some hard knocks. Yes, absolutely, I think it's going to be great for Arizona, particularly the basketball team. I think that all of a sudden they're going to realize, okay, they may get all the love they're going to
get here in Tucson. But they're going to get all the antagonism they handle in the Big twelve, and you get a lot of good teams in the Big twelve. Don't be and you can't And there was nothing wrong with the Oregon or the this last year. But the consistency of play in the Big twelve is at a higher rate than the Pac twelve. Good points, Rick, good points. I like it. Yep, thanks so much for calling.
Thanks buddy. Yeah, it's funny because you guys are shaking your heads green right, Yeah, no, I one thousand percent agree with that. You're gonna get Houston, you're gonna get Kansas, You're gonna get all these teams, right, gonna you're gonna be You're gonna say, Okay, we're good, and then go there and says, oh maybe we're not that good.
You know, we need to get better. Right. Well, I think it's gonna be important not only for our programs to just the Big toeve, but our fan base because, like we said earlier, there's gonna be more loss. There's gonna be more the loss. Sure, sure, well those are quality losses. Yeah, no question. In fact, I kind of and I've known this for a while it was gonna play Indiana in Vegas two season before last, so and and everybody says, you know, it's
McHale North that day. It was not Michale North. It was Indiana West. Yeah it was. It was maybe two to one in terms of fans. And you're thinking Indiana travels because they love their program. And when they're introducing the team, and I've said this on the show before, they went through like a minute or two of things they've accomplish us through the years, right, And Arizona's was and they won the national title in ninety seven. They ten pack, twelve titles, Let's play the game, you know it
was, it was. The resume was not as long, and you realize, Okay, the fans take no, you're good. And Indiana's could be considered a blue blood with Bobby and I they sleep, breathe back as recently they're not having been, but they are right, they are historically sure, right, And I'm thinking people need to kind of like realize this. You sometimes your stuff does stink and we just need to get better. Yeah, that's gonna happen with Yeah, which is gonna benefit there, Okay, because
reality sometimes helps. No, most of the time. It helps actually absolutely, Yeah, Okay, good call, thanks Rick. Uh. And that's that's the perspective that you people kind of need to know. You know, he talked about Kansas, but Kansas blue blood and a smaller town to live in. Uh. And they are the stuff, and they too suffer what Arizona has stuffer because they've lost games that they should have never lost in the
tournament. Yep. Historically, Yeah, they get a lot of from what I see, they get a lot of calls that benefit them, especially this this past tournament. Remember the block, Yeah that was clean. Yeah, we were there at the game. And then they get by Zaga the next game. Yeah, but yeah, they were they did have and they weren't that good this year. They were they were missing McCullers, their best. I guess he's their best and Dickenson is very good too. They're gonna be
good. They're gonna begin next year. When was last to me say they're not gonna be looks like there was people ask the time, how good deserves are gonna be. I can't remember them saying they're not gonna be any good. Right, They're gonna be competitive, that's for sure, and they're gonna be fun to watch. I think Kansas is final four. Ask team next year, what do you think? I think anyone that comes out of the Big twelve can be a Final four contender. In Texas Tech a couple of
years ago exactly, they clean the other transfer nas. Yeah, and they got Dickinson coming back. And I don't think he's that good for college good. He's called college good. Yeah. And that's this five foot ten guys saying this, this is nuts. Shouldn't happen. I was middle school good, right, but a good center if but it does A twelve year old yeah, for what I was going up against right right? We got about four minutes. Anybody want to call in? Please do uh set us straight
if you feel you need to. I'm fine with that. Five to two, four, one, six, seventy four forty end of the week. This is Are you coming in next week? I'll be uh thank tomorrow okay? Oh yeah, Friday's your day? Yeah? Are you coming back to I don't know because Jay Jay, who knows if Jay's gonna be well enough to come in or not. He sounded didn't sound that great, didn't you? Yeah? So I could be for Jay Okay and you're kind of learning the rope still for sure. Okay, cool, cool again one more time
for for four minutes five four seventy four forty. I'd love to hear from you, uh and see what we get through to today. It feels like a Friday to me, but it's uh, it's gonna be. It's ony Thursday. I'm looking forward to the races this weekend, one of my favorite days. Thanks for d for helping you guys. Don't you guys are into racing right or I always watch? Yeah, Samy Night spoke about it. A lot of Sammi's into it. I liked your picks because they look a
lot like mine. Uh. And then when Ilse say anything else of baseball tonight softball, you said, yeah, they're gonna be uh. Are they in Stanford? Yeah, Oh, it's that next weekend. Next week they started. I think it's Thursday, Thursday through Sunday, AC twelve tournaments softball. Oh okay, that's when they started the tournament at Stanford. I believe it's at at Stanford. And see how they do maybe get to the tournament
in uh at the world, you know the world. So it's gonna be a lot of people forget you have a second all time in softball championships. Yeah, I believe they have that too. Has been a while, it's seven too. Does it seem well, seventeen years you guys were just kids, little kids. Does it seem like a long time ago. I'm asking for a friend, you know, asking for a Yeah. Yeah, it's
been a while. So when people say Arizonta hasn't been to the Final four since two thousand and one, come on, one, you probably were not even you were not even born, that was it. So everyone's saying, oh, it's just like yesterda. No it's not. No, it's not. It's been a while, and there's been a couple of years that I've seen where we thought we could go, of course, and probably not realistically until since the Wisconsin days. Yeah, no, it hasn't felt that way
since the Wisconsin game games. What do you think the most under or disappointing u of a team that you've watched has been O, that's tough. I definitely thought that Tommy's first year they could have gone farther. I think we just with and Mather and and all. I think I think that was a solid, solid group that was kind of simwhere to what football has They had a brotherhood with a new code. But they did run into a pretty good
Houston team. Sometimes sometimes the other team is better and that and that team went to the final four. Yeah, right, and Arizona just didn't know what hit him? What about what about the Buffalo team? I don't know how old you were then saying with Ayton Trier and h o Alkins, I didn't believe in that team. I believe more in marketing team. Yeah the year before, Yeah, yeah, I believe I thought that team. That's
a good point. That's a good point because the team that we talked about with with marketing and not marketing, Ayton Trier, that was kind of like a that was like a year very much. So you don't know, and I said this earlier. You knew that they didn't like each other. There was one ball. Three dudes that wanted the ball because they wanted a pool that could play in the league, and only one of them could play in the league, and that was Ayton. You know, Trier had a couple
of coffee, made some money. I thought he was a good score. But yeah, the ball dominant guy, ball dominant guy. And then the league guess what. That's the last thing you didn't want to be because it's to share the league, share the ball league. Hit it on the head. Yeah, that's why the Timberwolves are in the second round. Mm hmm yeah, no, no, And they gotta they gotta star a couple of star players to play well together. Okay, guys, thanks a bunch.
I'll see you tomorrow, both of you. Probably maybe J will be ready for for a visit. It's been two days. We'll see. He didn't sound good today, but good luck and we'll see everyone tomorrow.