Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Hey, welcome back to Why on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve RIVERA be with me today is Dave silver.
Machine is one?
That was fun though, That was fun.
That was great. You know, I don't think I've ever interviewed him or really had a chance to meet him. You obviously have. Yeah, that was very cool. Yeah, I mean that's a legend. My my children are listening around the country on the iHeart apps. Wow, Dad, that's pretty cool.
Yeah.
Yeah, he was good. He's always good, funny guy him. And you know Bill, No, Bill is fantastic, is your brother?
Yeah?
Do you ever read You probably don't read my books. You don't have time. So so in the in the Dukie By Towel story, okay, do you think do you think Luke came up did no effort?
No?
Well, first of all, do you think Luke came up with it?
Now, he's not.
He's not that mean, he's not that funny. He's not he's got a dry sense of humor. But so it was Bill. Bill's the one, because Bill's the funny guy. And and then that's well, okay, that's how Luke picked up on it right.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's interesting, you know, with people in Tucson know about the whole Rito Park situation where it looks like there's not going to be a racing for a while if ever, and now they're looking at you know, going out to Morana or someplace or somewhere else that's going to take a lot of effort. I mean that was that was where this guy got his start. And every time you watch them on any race, you know, there seems to be like there's at least for me, I'm thinking, well,
you know that's the Tucson guy. Well, no gallous guy.
To your point, and you asked me, could he be involved the there's a lot of power because they have the the teaching that the US industry would. They have a lot of kind of powerful lumps who might be able to kind of save it. I just don't know if they have enough power to do it or a care to do it.
Yeah. Well, I mean, you know him and Todd Pletcher, especially those two. You know, again, every time Triple Crown races in particular, or some of the big ones, the Beagers Cup and stuff, when you when you see their names, you instantly think about their ties Tucson. So you know, it's good to have that relationship, right.
Okay, now one you're on the you're on the hook here for your second to last breaking news. Oh yeah, we're gonna do it.
We're gonna do it. Yea, yeah, all right, this is on the.
Ball breaking news on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Happy Thursday to everyone out there, yours truly me hit the Lindo, getdy two shoes. Uh, gonna try to not get emotional in the next two weeks.
You're like that, you know, you get a little too too the anxious do I well, you your last two months of school was like, holy crap. But the world is gonna end.
Well because it was first off, first off, it was a little bit dicey towards the end. But to break the news, We're gonna start off with some Arizona athletics as I usually do.
H going to.
The track and field area for Wildcats Jesse Alvina, Rinaldo Rodriguez and Zach Landa has have punched their tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, happening uh in Eugene from the eleventh and through the fourteenth of June.
Again Eugene, one of those places.
What's going on? Everyone's going up there? So yeah, well, I mean obviously they got the greatest track college track and maybe one of the best tracks in the country.
Yeah what you would think.
I was there that day. We talked with Ken Go Yeah, used to write for the Oregonian. Yeah. So yeah, so these are just the regionals, right, this is just the West So.
Well, you know what it does too, is it gives Fred Harvey, you know, kind of a continued until he finally retires.
Yeah.
Being A finished with the personal best and finished fifth overall. Rodriguez finished tenth in the long jump, and Landa won the shot put with a throw of a twenty point zero six.
Good for them. Okay, oh wait, so I was wrong. So the championships are going to be in Eugene, right, Whatever they did here this week got them to you. They were in college station.
Okay, I misread that it was announced today for the some of the Arizona football games. The non conference schedule has been announced as far as game times and what channels they'll be on. Week one against Hawaii will be a seven point thirty on TNT Sports, the first Big twelve football game.
On T and T cool. Cool, And they're all going to be night games.
Ye seven o'clock against we Were State ESPN, plus six o'clock on a Friday against Kansas State on Fox.
And the only time you can actually watch a game in Tucson in September is a night game.
Yep. Yeah.
In fact, it's interesting because last year they played Kansas State on a Friday in Manhattan, Kansas, so they're kind of doing the same thing. And these are not conference games. I was just going to stay part of the non conference schedule that they put together a few years ago before the both teams wound up in the Big Twelve. So it'll be interesting to see them against them. They should have won that game, and I think, if I remember, they've had a pretty good chance to win that game.
So maybe they get a better chance at home to.
Some college softball. We got a couple of games already played today. Texas beat number three Florida three zero, three homers, three homers, and then Oklahoma rallied uh and they won four to three against Tennessee.
Yeah, didn't you say we when we got here? You were talking about that.
All happened while I was in the car so yeah, basically, I mean Oklahoma was in trouble.
They won.
How many championships have they won in the last five I think years five straight, six or seven I think eight total? Yeah, so yeah, they win at home, you know, in their in their home area. Again, they're they're pretty dominant with the fans and stuff, so good for them.
Yeah.
So it'll be a Red River showdown and then uh, the next game for Oklahoma and Texas Tennessee Florida looking to win and stay alive. Yeah, Mississippi place Texas tick today right now, it's in delay always.
Uh, it's been pretty pretty stormy there, so well we DAVI has covered the event. I've covered it about three or four times. Delays were common because tornadoes and and and showers.
I think the delayed games and the delayed moments were more memorable than some of the actual games because you sit there for hours and some basically they leave the lights on. It'd be like ten o'clock and then well, you know, we'll start this thing at eleven. You know, there was a couple of moments like that.
Right, I guess a couple years ago they finally decided to make it more equitable, like like the men. If it's not going to be played, they'll move it over and continue the tournament you know later. Yeah, but for you, yeah, we remember, it was just sit it out and wait, sit it out and wait.
Yeah, but it was very stormy. I mean May in Oklahoma. You know, hopefully there's no tornadoes, but there's usually some pretty good thunders. So we had to sit through a couple of them.
I remember the sounding and they well, one day it was so it was stormy. We took the day after Dud and myself and somebody else, maybe it was Jemino. We went or somebody like that went golfing for the days. I'm gonna die here. What are we doing? What do you swear? Golf club? Right?
Lightning? Crazy is this?
But we didn't pay much for the for THELF. I don't care nobody else out here right exactly. The guys are crazy.
What are they doing? Arison?
They don't know any better.
Yeah.
I once Old Miss and Texas Tech take place, they finished that game, it will be Old Pac twelve, but new Big ten show down between the Oregon Ducks and the UCLA Bruins. Winners face the winners, losers place face the losers yeah.
I'll bet you. I'll bet you whatever you want that Texas Tech beats Mississippi. Well, that picture is on. That's why she's unbelievable. Yeah, and there's got there. They have a four of them. The Tennessee picture that lost today. Fantastic. She's throwing seventy eight miles per hour, right, and she had to beat the Who I think is fantastic is Jeordie Geordie Ball. Last week I couldn't stop not watching.
It was fantastic. So this is the time here I actually stopped watching start watching these girls play.
I think most people said, yes, yeah, the NBA Warriors abandoned. Uh Pozemski had left surgery, had left Fort Surgery on Tuesday. But you should be ready for the start of training camp. Maybe somebody to keep any on if there's any future injuries with him sticking in the NBA. The Thunder beat the Timberwolves. Not only beat they, they killed the Timberwolves ended their season, winning the series four to one in Game five ninety four.
They're off to the NBA Finals.
I still Indiana, that's serious with them. I think it's gonna be a very good one. I don't know if this canna be watched very much, but it's gonna be pretty good.
Serious. I mean, yeah, the ratings won't be great, but you know, that's all that's left, you know, if you're gonna watch, that's all we got. And it's really I think this has been a great example this last you know, a couple weeks or so of really the changing of the guard of just looking young players. You know, Sga is fantastic, Halliburton is great, and even even Mathern had a chance to play, and McConnelly, so they're both they're
both contributing. But it really is just kind of seems like Page is turning to a new generation of players. So you know, us sold guys, we're gonna have to just kind of run with it.
Well here's the thing. I mean, you look at the rosters and the people on the floor. You think, where did he come from? Where did he come from? Who's he? You see it more and more I didn't see him playing in college. Well it's because they're barely there.
Yeah, yeah, you know, or they're not even they're coming, you know, from overseas and and and making a mark joke kitch people like that. But yeah, it's definitely. You know, it's great to see Lebron hanging on and staff and people like that, but you know their time is going to come here in the next few years.
And Dave, you and I you know we will still be around. We won't gave time will honestly come and these guys going to come back.
From Louisville and take over, Take your show over. I had them all Part two, the sequel.
It's to be like show Girls. The guy if he falls down and somebody has to replace her on this is all yours when I'm done.
All right, sounds good, but you have to get me for Chilians a house. Like you said, it will more than likely be the Indiana Pacers. But so while they play the game Game five happening at five o'clock by when the show ends, Pacers nicks Indiana leaves leads three one.
Yeah you think that will win tonight?
I think they should. They should.
I mean, the teams that are down three to one have like basically no chance.
Yeah, you know, and the nixt So the next.
Thing I want to just can go on back to Indiana.
Again, right, Yeah, that's the whole thing.
I was shocked. I mean, I thought the Timberwolves would put up more of a fight. Last when I saw the first quarter and they're down, like, what was it like twenty six to nine or something like that in the first quarter, is like, I don't care a point per minute. Yeah, that's not how you win.
No, just Deeve's favorite sport the hockey. Yeah, hockey League?
What do they do?
What's that got a big game tonight? Tell me he's gonna tell you Panthers.
Well, yesterday the Panthers beat the Hurricanes and a gentleman sweep, winning that four to one. They're off just Stanley Cup Final. Tonight you have the Edmonton Oilers facing the Dallas Stars Edmonton Leeds three to one. They're also looking for a win sweep.
And there.
Was that four to one is a gentleman's sweep and there's there's a lot of buzz with.
When you talk about hockey.
Thank you. Is this going to be a rematch?
No?
Wait, am I getting my years ago? The Panthers are are coming back. I think they were there last last season. Uh, but the Oilers, it's been a while and they're looking to do it for Old Canada. The National Football Foundation announced an adjustment to their eligibility criteria, making it possible that uh, the late former head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Mike Leach, as a possible college Football Hall of Famer.
Go ahead, go ahead, No, I mean they're talking about their winning percentages, so it's going to go up to fifty nine point five percent or point five nine five. So Leach was at fifty nine point six, so he would be eligible in the Texas Tech Wazoo Mississippi State. And then there's a couple others that are kind of
on the list right up right around him. Last Miles Jackie, Ryl Rich rud Ri Trod is right there at five ninety six, which would be interesting since he's kind of ways, you know, he's just kind of what taking over again at West Virginia.
He could he could go below, he could mess it up.
Yeah.
Yeah, Well that's the thing with Dick Tommy, because I know the guys the you know, Jay's brother and people with the National Football Foundation Southern Arizona, they've been trying to petition this very thing because Dick was around that percentage, right and then he went to San Jose and that kind of messed up the numbers.
Yeah, he's at five point fifty seven.
I thought, but if you you have his back, did you you googled the checks? And because he didn't have a great time or you know, successful percentage, why that screwed it up? I think they were trying to do something. I try to get him on the phone or haven't call us, but I haven't heard back yet. Who Rick Gonzalez that I know their own vacation to talk about what they were trying to do to get him in because he was right there.
Yeah, he was ten below five hundred in San Jose, so he's twenty five thirty five right.
So that there could have through the through the mid.
Over the below the below the threshold.
Is uh Tomy's overall record is one eighty three to one and seven.
Yeah, okay, let's do you have a lot of Do you have a lot of stuff? Uh?
Just some stuff. I've just a minute for a minute.
Uh.
Sad news in the college football world. Baylor defensive lignement Alex Foster eighteen died early Wednesday after he was found multiple gunshot wounds in his car in his hometown of Greenville, Mississippi. And then something I found just randomly right, Now Indiana has announced the return of their bison mascot with the cinematic reveal. I didn't know that their mascot was a bison.
Indiana who the Indiana Hoosiers? It is apparently the what the video kind of mentioned talked about is that there was a bison that used to roam around Bloomington area and they kind of just took it as the mascot.
It's on their the state flag.
Or the state seal and uh so they announced the return of it.
Looks like early early Wednesday. Nice. So yeah, it's going to be called the Hoosier apparently, So welcome back, Hoo's your the Bison and I'm excited about that.
We'll come back, Dave. We won't call you anything else. Welcome back to I never knew what a Hoosier was anyway. Yeah, it's like a yeah, hey, listen like a sooner, let's go because we're gonna have another great guest here of Laura Woods on the other side.
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Steve Rivera Key's got his eye on the ball on Tucson's sports station, Fox Sports fourteen fifty eight.
Hey, welcome back to All the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty I'm Steve Rivera and with the Today's Dave Silver got one of the controls and now we have former U of a basketball player center Laura Woods. Lauren, how are you now?
I'm doing good? But you acted like you wasn't sure if I played basketball or if I was any good at it or anything like you seem very questioned when you would give me the introduction. Let me do it again. This is Lauren Woods, former you of a basketball star and now Hollywood actor. That's how you got to do it, Steve, Come on, man, who were gonna ask you why you just had surgery? I know you just had thirty sodas.
You've got to get back into the groove.
I'm drugged down. Yeah, you and Jesus brother, you and Joseph Blair and oh you guys. Give me a lot of grief and I'm okay with that.
Okay with that?
Before around, how the hell are you?
I'm doing fantastic. First of all, thank you for having me on the show. It's a pleasure, it's an honor. And good see you still doing it, man, after all these decades killing it out there.
You know, I'm just an old man trying to survive. Thank you very much. But you know, I saw a clip of you. I don't know what movie was from, so did Dave. I don't know if you remember Dave from Channel nine. You were in the hood. You were this tall dude. What show? What movie was that? Man?
It was? It's called Spirited on Apple TV. Oh man, we shot that well, it was like I think it. It came out in twenty twenty two, so a few years back, a blast, Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell, Octavius Spencer. I mean there was some heavy hitters on that one. Patrick Page, you know, the Broadway King, so we we I had so much fun shooting that and getting to know those people. They were all fantastic and they treated me like like family and it was a great, great time.
I was very fortunate to be a part of that.
How did you get into the Hollywood world And did we know you were gonna do this twenty years ago when you were here?
Well, this is the funny thing about that. I literally was just telling this story about about a week ago. So when I came to u of A, I wanted to major in theater. But half of the curriculum is like at nighttime. So you know, when you're an athlete, then your sport goes over to semesters, you know, you just won't be I wouldn't have been able to take half of the classes or most of the classes. So at that time, I remember that's what the counselor said. So I was like, Okay, well, just I can't do it.
But I've always had an interest in it. Always loved movies, always loved plays, things like that. So once I had the time, I was able to do it. So how I got into it, I kind of got lucky getting back into it. It was after I retired, I was in Phoenix. It just opened my basketball Academy. So this is pre COVID. Everything was was going great. One of my friends called me, he lived in Los Angeles, said hey, man, I have a friend that's putting together the sting about
the Lakers. You know, he's looking for like tall guys to play Kareem. You're interested in reading for the part. So I said, yeah, yeah, sure, whatever, no problem, okay cool? So Rick Fox, no Lie. Rick Fox texted me the next day and I hadn't seen Rick since I played in the NBA. I mean that was, you know, ten years before this, so you know, he said, hey man, look, I'm a part of this project. I really want you to come and read for this part. Now. The whole time,
I'm hearing people say read, read, read right. So I was like, okay, this is great.
I know how to read.
So I'm just go in there and I read off a piece of paper. So I go. I met my friend's house of the night before I'm supposed to go in and meet with them. So they said, hey man, you're ready for your audition. I was like, audition, what are you talking about? All I have to do is go and read for the part. That's easy. I'm just going to read these lines and that's it. He said, no, bro, this is Hollywood. That's an audition. I was like, oh shoot, I don't know how to act. I said, oh, don't
worry about it. So he called one of his friends, like she came over, you know, a great person. She came over and spent like three hours with me going, you know, basically giving me a crash course in acting. And that that was at twenty nineteen, and ever since then, I've been all in on it.
So what happened to that, to that audition or the show, Well, the show was winning time.
Obviously I wasn't the one that played Kareem. And honestly, back then I know the guy who who got that part, he was much more like Kareem. I would have just been trying to play my idea of what Kareem was like I do not. You know, I wasn't an actor at that time. Now I could do it. Back then, you know, I wasn't student for it, but I stayed with it, and like I said, you know I was. I've been you know, classes in school and all those
things for you know, since twenty nineteen. And that's kind of like how the spirited thing came came about when I when I went to that audition, you know, uh, Sean the director and now you know writer, he's like, man, you were as soon as we saw your audition the first one, we were like, you know, this is the guy and so you know, but I had been working at it for so long, so you know, just just very fortunate and blessed.
Well.
We had you on the show a couple of years ago, two three years ago. We talked about the academy that you had started up in Phoenix. So you're no longer in Phoenix. You're in La now.
So I'm in La now. All of this happened after after COVID, but you know, like so the academy kind of shut down. It just got this decimated, like like so many people. And here, I'm not going to sit here and you know, talk crap about you know what happened to my academy when people lost their lives during COVID. So you know, I was very fortunate so that happened. I think I had I was going into the marketing realm around that time, and I think that's the last
time we spoke. But this is before. This is before the movie for sure. Because I remember this time and you know that that that kind of fizzled out too. But all all the while, this whole time, I've been doing acting and acting and writing and stuff like that. So you know, this, this is just it's the new passion. It's the thing. It's it's it's what I one of my many passions that I have. So, uh, you know, I can't see myself not doing this until I retire.
Are you in the position now where you're getting chances to audition for certain things? I mean you're gonna You're gonna have opportunities, I would think, just based on on your your size and and just your abilities. I mean, there's gotta be some roles for you out there. I hope.
Well, Dave, that's very optimistic of you. I want you to keep that same energy for me.
He does.
Thank you, Please call them because uh, no one is writing things for seven feet people in Hollywood. It's just not a huge market. Now the things that come out, I can definitely get into the room. It's not a problem. So what I've learned to do is over the last
three years three four years, is I've been writing. I've been writing a lot of my own things, a lot of my own content, So I'm just I'm trying to have that so when I do have that chance, I can present it or you know, there's a couple of things that I want to put on camera, so you know, I'm trying to get those things up so I can just have those and then when I again, when I go into the room, I'm ready. Hey, like you want
this kind of script, I already wrote that. Oh by the way, I had this pilot too, We shot that, you know. So I'm just trying to, you know, prepare myself for when that next great opportunity comes along.
Are you at the level where you can maybe write your own stuff?
Yeah, well I've wrote. I've written two movie scripts already and a TV pilot, so you know that those are ready to go. But again, this is Hollywood. You could throw a rock and you hit fifteen actors and writers. Yeah, you know before it hits the ground. So and everybody's really, really good. So it's just about when you get that opportunity. Just like with sports, you get the opportunity, see the moment, do whatever you can do at that at that moment,
and hopefully something good comes out of it. If not, then you have to be ready for the next opportunity.
How about your connections here to the u of VAN two?
Soon?
Are you?
Are you still? Have you? You know, tried to stay close to the program in any way. I know it's been a while since you were here playing, but and there's been a couple of different coaches since you left. But you know, how's that relationship gone.
Well, you know, I'm always a fan. I was a fan before I even came to the University of Arizona. I'm going to be a fan until I die. So I stay pretty much, you know, up to speed with who's in the program year in and year out, and the level of accomplishments and all those things. Haven't been back and been been to the to the McHale Center
or or even close for for years. But again, you know, I'm in a chat group with with about thirty other U of A you know, all stars, and then we we go from all the way from you know JDS that in that group before him, the way after I left. So you know, we're all we're always cheering. I want everybody to know if everybody close to the program, like we are always cheering every game, almost every play. I mean, we we are up to speed.
So yesterday I don't or maybe the weekend I saw something on TV and I don't know, I can't remember what it was. It was the Organ game, uh and where you were fantastic. You were a star that day. Block fourteen blocks, I can't remember how many blocks, but blocks. I think it was a triple double. Do you remember much about that year? That game? And I still and we talked about this with Dave, I still say, and all the teams I covered, two thousand and one was the best arisone team ever.
Wow, Well, thank you so much, you know for giving us that. We had a lot of characters on that team, that's for sure. We probably were number one in personality.
Yes, Jean Gilbert's Holy crafty.
Yeah, yeah, we had some guys, Luke. I mean, you know it was it was some amazing characters on that team, you know, awesome personalities. I remember that game. What I remember most about that game is something that Gilbert said to me. I remember in the first half. He I think I had maybe four or five blocks or something like that in the first half, and He's like, again, I have to say, man, I'm not playing any defense today. I'm just gonna let everybody come to you because I
think you're hot today. You might get like nine or ten blocks today. I said, kit let him, let them come on, bro, like just just feed me. It's all good. And then you know I ended up having whenever I had like thirteen or fourteen blocks. So it was it was a fantastic, big you know, fantastic game. You know you're talking lout, you know, rest in peace. You know. He he's like one of those coaches where you just show up to you know, to the game. You're already ready.
You know, it's not anything You're not trying to get ready for anything, you know, because we prepare so much down to the smallest detail all week, so you know we we know we're doing as soon as we walked out on the floor.
Yeah. Yeah, I'm looking it up. February third, twenty fourteen block shots. He had three in the first minute when they just came at you and just standing there and there just trying to score over you, like one after another. That's funny.
That had to be a record. I don't know if anybody that has to be an ntry double a record. You know, they track every kind of stat Now, I won't to know how many what's the most blocks in a minute? That has to be three. I have to be number one on them.
We also talked about the Duke game. Obviously Gilbert was hurt, Luke had hurt his hand. Just the circumstances of the event. You guys, I guess, I guess to me the most talented team I've covered. Eighty eight was pretty good. Obviously so was ninety seven ninety eight, but you guys were just special.
Yeah, yeah, we're fortunate it was. It was one of those things where you get the right group. You just don't get to have that all the time. And I don't know if college basketball will ever have something like that again. There was all kinds of teams like that back then, but just now with the way the rules are, you know, the transfer portal and NIL and all that. And don't get me wrong, I don't think anything is wrong with the NIL. There should not be a cap
on it. Players should be able to make a hundred million dollars off their name if they could, and I love it. I wish I could have done the same thing. But you're just not going to get that level of, you know, special atmosphere anymore, because you're not going to have teams that are together like that anymore. You know, on that team, we had what five seniors I think, you know, get Gilbert and Jason Public could have turned pro after one year. You know, they were that good
as pressman. You know, Jeane took off a year so he could get his degree and then he came back and played. You know, Josh was there coaching from the sidelines, and he had been there for six years, so you know, you know, Richard and Michael Wright recipes, you know, like you know, these were ultra talented players that stayed in school for multiple years. So you know, it's and we had to you know, because we were just weren't getting drafted like that back then. You know, It's like you
had to do some time. So you know, it was a very fortunate time for us, and you know, we were very lucky to be a part of.
It and nobody and this is another thing. Two thousand you guys were the number one team going into the tournament, right, number one of all the seeds, right, and then you unfortunately had your back issues and they had to survive without you. How difficult was that?
That was very tough? Very tough for me. I thought that, uh, that year, I probably would have left. I thought probably would have gone and turned pro. I think I was in a good position to do that, be a decent draft pick that year. Obviously, those things didn't work out like I thought. The recovery was brutal. It was grueling. I think I couldn't even run or jump for six or seven months, and then I had to work my way back slow. You know. Fortunately for me, I had
Carla Garrett. She was a strength and conditioning coach. I think she's at South Point Catholic now, yeah, you know, she was with me. I remember walking into the weight room. I had this big back brace on. I couldn't move and I was just sitting looking depressed on like a
bench press machine. I wasn't doing anything, and she just kind of came over to me and said, you know, like like sorry about everything, but you know, what do you what do you think do you think you're going to be able to play again or do you think you know you want to, you know, try to turn pro or go to the NBA. Stal I said, yeah, man, I mean hopefully I can. I don't know, you know, She's like, well, it's all up to you. Do you want to do that. I'm like, yeah, of course I
want to do that. She's like, all right, well, you know, you come, come to the weight room and get in here and work, and that's work this summer, and I can. I think that you'll be able to do it, you know, but it's all up to you. And she was the first person that said that I thought my career was over. I honestly I thought, I've seen the doctors. All the doctors said, well, maybe you're probably never going to play again, or you definitely won't be the same. Who knows about
anything else. I thought my life was over because basketball was my life at that time. So yeah, when when Carla and I had that conversation, and then you know, she trained me the entire summer, you know, I mean there's double sessions and nutritionian I mean, she did everything and she basically build me back up, you know, from from nothing. And you know, I always hopefully she's listening to this right now, and I haven't talked to her in a few months or maybe in a year, but
you know, she is. She holds a very special place in my heart because she was the one that that made me say, oh, you know what, it's up to me if I'm going to make it or not. And and that's just how that's how it started. Man.
So yeah, what was the experience like for you playing you know in Asia especially you were there a long time, have you know a number of years there? What was that like, you know, coming from Saint Louis and you know, Tucson and America to go out and play like in Beirut and Iran and places like that.
Yeah, yeah, a little difference, the very very different. I will say this. Going through Iran was very different, the having you know, the mosque going off constantly, and it was a little unnerving at first because those those you know, chants are loud. But the places, both the Iran, Lebanon, I was in Bahrain also in the Middle East, all of these places had the most amazing people. I mean, I can go to Lebanon right now, this is no lie.
I could go to Lebanon right now, go to Beirut with no money, no suitcase, no not I would have a place to stay, I'd be fed, I was you know, had everything that I needed. I'd have within a matter of hours just from touching down there. That's how much love I have for that place and how much they have, you know, have for me. And it has you know, it's just about the people and the same thing. You know in Iran, the people in around were great, the
people in bay Rain were great. It was just it was always a loving atmosphere.
You know.
I never felt threatened or you know, like my my safety was in danger or anything like that. So I have nothing but good things to say about all those places.
Or what the Star Center back in the day.
Thank you, thank you. I appreciate that. I appreciate that.
Man.
Well listen, I want to say before we go.
I do want to.
Say this because I have I started my own uh clothing life. I got some T shirts that I have out uh and we what what I do with any any T shirt dot cell, I donate to a one T shirt to an under privileged child in Los Angeles. There's a huge homeless population that is is fair. You know, it's children that don't everything. But we're donating tons of things to to the kids. Go to stand s t A N dot S T O R E forward slash s e v y N f o O T seven foot.
But the the seven is stilled with Y and not a E and and you got we got T shirts there, and every T shirt you buy, you know, we donate one to an underprivileged child. So I just want to throw that out there. Man. You know I have to do my sales pitch.
Stand dot store.
Y S t A N dot S T O R E forward slash seven s e V y N f O O T.
Okay, we're gonna go there right now. See what the logo there.
I got some self help. I got some self help stuff on there too, man. I got an e book that I wrote that I know a lot of people out there will definitely need because with all this AI stuff coming out, a lot of people don't have to start over their lives. And that's what I'm talking about, man, how to rewrite and start over your life. So got a lot of good stuff out there, man, we'll try to help as many people as possible.
Good luck to you anytime you want to come back on, just let me know. I see you on Instagram all the time, so good luck.
Yes, they're yes. There'll make it easy.
Man, you too, Thank you many. Enjoy your great career. Now, great fantastic.
Here we go.
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This is I on the Ball with Steve Ravera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
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Hey, welcome back to the ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Riverra You're Dave Silver. We got one there. You got a cigarette and a cigarette. It was a good show. What it was a good cigarette.
That's great.
Give me a real He's so proud of himself.
Lauren was whiskey anybody else? And Brian Peterson, I'm Brian Peter. I got my guy. A great show.
Let me tell you. At noon, I had none of this. At one o'clock. Who am I going to get? Did he get me? And then I got you? Dave doesn't know anybody.
I know people I know how to, at least you know, talk to them. I don't know how to fight. You're the one.
You're the one I'm responsible for this. Yeah, so that great, It is great. Then I got the text from Bob and then it's cool. No, Lauren, that was a fantastic It's been twenty five years.
Yeah, it's hard to believe. I mean I remember the remember the game at Yukon. Wasn't he in the middle of that Arizona loss case did he get he got called for a goaltending? It was yeah, and it was seconds very by you Blisto, Richie Biasteros.
Yeah, yeah, it was very close. Obviously Loot was not there because Bobby Rosborow was there, and just a crazy time.
And yeah, it's you know, because what we got Arizona's got Yukon coming up again. That's gonna be kind of fun to kind of relive some of those movies that were pretty pretty big. Yeah, in the early two thousands.
Of couse he mentioned this too, because if if you remember and he mentioned them, and we have to him a personality, Richard, a crazy personality, gene a personality, Gilbert of course, the personality crazy team. It's just a bunch of dudes. I remember at the Final four and somebody came up to me. I don't remember who it was, but he says, I think he just came out of it, came out of Richard's interview. Says, God, that guy is fantastic. He's a quote machine. He said, you haven't talked to Genie,
then you haven't talked to these guys. He says, No, this guy and we all know Richard. Richard just talked.
Richard was He was a great interview. You know, it's funny because he's talked Laurence talking about how he was a contender for a position for a role in that show Winning Time, and I know some people who were involved that show as well. In fact, the writer is a guy named Jeff Pearlman who has written some great sports books. But I was thinking they could do a show about the UFA basketball. That team he's talking about writing scripts for movies. That team could be a movie. It could.
Let me tell you, there's no question, and let me tell.
What they've done since their career.
Yeah, let me tell you. Let me Yeah, Well, the program itself and I've done a number of books for that, but that year specifically, because there's probably and I don't know this, a lot of stuff that nobody knows Gilbert Gilbert himself is just ye, holy crap. I mean, did you see the documentary.
I was gonna say, if you haven't seen the Netflix doctor.
Check it out.
I I have not, So how was that?
It's interesting? I mean, I just things. I didn't know what we're going on. You go ahead and well, what is it going on here?
Well?
I mean some of the stories about where he was getting gun the guns. I heard that I got my guns in Arizona, like where, you know, did you have him around the campus or what was going on right? Right?
And your buddies gave to you? Yeah, I heard about that.
That team in general talk about personalities that could be a great movie or TV show.
Yeah, Gina talked about this. I think one for the book is. You know, one day they went to practice and Richard and not Richard Gilbert was acting up being you know, he was a socomer, he was nineteen years old, eighteen years old, and Jean being Jean, you know, the older guy, that's the tougher guy. Uh didn't like what Arenas was doing. And I guess after or before the practice, Arenas had punctured his shoes, his car tires and he wanted to kick the crap out of him practice. Yeah,
and just was all Rosboro. I guess this is Rosboro's going to I guess there's something going on between Richard and not Richard, Arena and Gene and Gene and Richard says, well handle it.
Yeah, that was That was quite a group. It really was. We fun to just kind of re You could probably do a whole thing just on that team. Probably that's a good idea look at what they became and what they've turned into. I mean, Michael Wright's story didn't end well, and obviously Lawrence can kind of continuing. Maybe nothing we expected Josh doing what he's Josh having, you know, a coaching career, broadcasting probably be a good interesting year. Collaborate on that one.
No, you're right. The season on the brink that wasn't And let me tell you they they went through a tough time. Bobby he had missed games for the first time in his career. Bobby was was passionate away they weren't. They had a little struggle there because of the absence, right, and then they caught fire again when Luke returned.
I remember going to Minneapolis that year was very emotional for him. Obviously, there were billboards right up there honoring her. The team was, you know, really good. I mean, it was a lot of stories happening there that always weren't always just basketball. There's just the personalities. Like we said, it's interesting guys, and yeah, that's quite a group. Yeah, so we're going to go about two minutes. No, okay, Lauren, you got the website.
So oh he talks about make sure the people know that the website he's giving away stuff.
Yes, Stan dot store slash and then the word seven spelled s e v y n foot So Stan dot store slash seven foot and you've got t shirts and stuff that he's working on. Book, a book he's written. You'll see it. Yeah, maybe we can put it on the website somewhere.
Okay, yeah, great, Thanks everybody, Thank you one for keeping us under control. Thank you Dave. Of course, see you guys tomorrow.