This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports fourteenth fIF day powered by Nova Insurance Services Insure your most prized possessions.
Everybody walking through on the ball.
You know.
Jagan Zalas lived turn that sound your nickname for my nickname for you is gonna be, uh full moon.
I see you once a month.
I like that. I could go with that. I've been called way worse than that. Full of Yeah, and you know, and you know, you know my history. I've been involved in a full full moon or two.
No, I don't know. You know it's cruising speedway. Okay, did you get arrested for them?
No, I've never been arrested for anything and pulled over a few times. We've we had those conversations hand cuffed a couple of times.
Welcome to I and Ball.
You're again on Thursday from the casino you know, fantastic place. Yeah, there's a big game tonight right right sore at the Sole Sports Sports Book. If you want to come in and join us, have fun with us. We're hoping to have a couple of couple of people. Stop buying then check out the show. But uh yeah you can buy. Oh there's some a lot of you know, a lot of stuff going on.
There's you got NFL game tonight and uh, and then you got the NBA in.
Full swing, n b A and then they can always get to get the best for tomorrow's beginning.
Well, you've got you got the World Series starting tomorrow, Steve, And uh, you know, I've been I wouldn't say bad mouthing the Dodgers, my Dodgers, but I've been very not confident that they would get here right right, and and they're here, and I'm just saying that I'm a little surprised that that they made it.
I think you gave them the jay HECKX, you said they're not going to get there.
Yeah, so it must have been you know, maybe that yeah, a little a little reverse, little reverse psychology on that, because I just didn't think all year that they had the pitching staff have to do it. But what went on in the uh, you know, both in the in the Division series and then the Championship Series. You know,
Dave Roberts just managed that pitching staff incredibly. A couple of bullpen games that they won, They a lot of shutout innings, and they're pitching obviously they hit the hell out of the ball because they were, you know, scoring ten runs a game almost, but more than that, just the way the pitching, the way he handled the pitching. I think they can win it. I'm not going to sit here and say they can't. They will. They are the favorite, They're favored. Yeah, there are plus I think
like plus one twelve or something like that to win it. No, they're favored over the Yankees.
I just have a fifty foot walk to the Yankees then, because.
Yeah, the Yankees are underdogs, and you know what, that would be a bad bet. Look, I'm an Arizona, an Arizona fan for life, right, We're used to getting to here and then having our hearts broken. So that's what happens, and and so you know, not so much. Yeah, well the Dodgers, you've been to the World Series a few times. But you know, as as an Arizona fan, I'm used to getting my heart broken when I get my hopes up.
So that's kind of what I'm expecting this in this series.
I was told by a Bernie that you're going to be on the road tomorrow.
Yes, we bit the bullet, you know. My my incredible wife was just said go.
You need to go.
You know, my my brother ed Immediately, he's a huge Oger fan, you've met him, texted me after the game said if you can go, you need to go.
Just go. Whatever it's going to cost, just go.
And I and I'm watching the postgame show and they're talking about how the tickets are going to be record prices. So immediately went on the on all the sites and they were over a thousand dollars. Eleven hundred dollars was the cheapest ticket. I saw no upper deck seats for eleven hundred bucks. Fifty thousand dollars for the good seats seats, Yes, fifty grand a ticket. So I text her Mac, I said, there are eleven hundred bucks. I'm not going. He said, there's any way you can do it.
You need to go.
So the next day, I'm working at home. I've got the Dodger the replay of the Dodger game on. My wife and I are sitting there and we're both working, but the game is on.
Do you have a tear in your eye?
No?
No, no, no, And I laughed. I said, I said, you know my brother Edward telling me we need to go. And she goes, what do you mean? I said, well, and I read the thread. She goes, then go, You said, then go? Are you out of your mind? She said, no, go, So I have money for you. Yeah, And so I text my son, I go, you want to go to the game. He's like, what game could you possibly be talking about?
So you want to go to the World Series game? He goes.
First he says, holy cow, and then he said we're texting. Then he says, are you serious? And then he said, asked how and I said, it's all your mom. Oh okay, And we got tickets twelve hundred bucks apiece, and.
We're going nice. It's a nice day trip with the sun, trip.
Of a lifetime.
You know.
Well, he's you know he you know, we went to the we went to the US Open and Peddle Beach a few years ago. To me, I thought, that's as good as it's going to get, you know him and I and he said, Dad, we may never do anything better than this.
So that's one of your deals. I'm going to be gone next week. I'm not gonna have a show on Thursday or Friday because I'm doing my bucket list.
I'm going to the Breeders oh Man yeah.
So I'm leaving Thursday and getting there Friday for the first day, and then second day you can sear a friendly over that we've already talked. Yes, I'm looking to talk to Baffert and all those guys. Congratulations. That's cool too, That's very cool. So yeah, that's cool.
So we were just there we go, just a couple of old guys getting some checking some things off the list.
Right we have we're running out of time. You don't know, we've run it out of time. You got to get those things up. Hey, good, good to have you here. And the show has been a kind of crazy week. Uh, I don't know where you're at with the football team. What level of disappointment. Yeah, but there's a lot of people now it's become disappointing. Well I'm not talking about results, I'm talking about how they've played.
Yeah, yeah, well both Steve, you know, I'm disappointed and how they've played.
I'm disappointed and how they've been coached.
Right, I'm disappointed that because because where Arizona, they're going through all these injury issues and all these things that are happening that that are working against against the program, and it's I mean I'm disappointed, But Steve, I'm kind of like I knew this was going to happen.
Well, it's because you're used to it four times, four times.
Yeah, for the four previous uh no, three previous, uh this fourth Yeah, four previous ten win seasons have been followed by not so good season season. Certainly not a expectation.
If you have not listened to me at all, Jake, I said, this program is cursed, and this is another example that it's cursed. Whether it's coaching, whether it's performance, whether there's kids, whatever, it's just unbelievable what's happening. Because you could point this is kind of you can point to a lot of different things, right, if not all of them, Right, are the issues?
They all add up to this. Everything adds up to this, right.
And you mentioned the coach, and I totally agreed there's something there or not there. The players aren't living up to expectations or playing up to expectations. Uh so that's part of it. Yeah, maybe maybe maybe we all and included he overestimated this team with the new coach, with a new.
Coach and some key holes to fill that are being very a lot tougher to fill.
Than maybe we expected.
Right, the Jonah Coleman leaving, right, well, they got some running back, Jacob Cowing him being gone, Uh, Jordan Morgan on.
The line, you know.
And then now you've got these injuries you got you know, Jacob Manu and and Gunner Maldonado and and and.
Tragan Stukes and all the guys. Right, you got a lot of injuries, you know.
To me, another big one was Bill Norton leaving the the nose tackle who left and went back to he went to Texas. So, uh, you know, I think those those holes have turned out to be bigger than any of us thought. Combined that with a new coaching staff and unfamiliarity, Combine that with you know, I don't know if what's going on with no Flafiita has more to do with system, or to do with over confidence, or to do with a belief that he can do more than he can anyone of a number of things.
All three are very visible because everyone thought highly of him, right, So if you're thought highly and he can play, we see him play, right, We know he can play. It's just not doing it right. And it's not just him. The team mackets him with everybody with everybody. You know, you just see some balls that look, we're easy balls.
Last year, you know, overthrows interceptions again, then you know this the whole thing of trying to do too much and those are leading to interceptions and fumbles and mishandles and things and just it's and it's all adding up to right now, with three and four seasons, what would you put your finger on as the most troubling.
The most troubling is is the inability to scoringy points with the talent that they have. Yeah, okay, and again, how many aspects are there to that, right?
How much of that is coaching? How much of that is system?
How much of that is uh, you know, the personnel, right, the personnel losses and that kind of thing.
It's the case of and everyone talks works sometimes negative or whatever, but it's the case of Arizona. You can't have it all.
What we don't The problem is, Steve, we never get any of it.
Well, that's that's consistent because you had a great last year.
Yeah, you get to have that, but that's all you get.
Right, It's gonna take a while to get back to that level from year, right, because once you start losing, how do you how do you put the you know, the holes in the diet?
Well, and this fan base is already losing its mind, yes, right again, it's it's it's it's a time of social media and and everybody gets to have a platform. But you know, there are even some people who you feel should know better who are saying stupid stuff because they can't, because they can't, because they can't, well, because they can, and get some gets people listening to that, right, It gets people listening to their podcast and reading their stuff.
You know.
Again, the whole lack of journalistic professionalism that you and I have talked about many years. You and I would be covering this team differently from some of these other guys who are covering the covering and be more straightforward and asked the questions and get the answers and let the columnists provide the opinion.
Right, No, I hear you, you know.
But but the fan base, you know, people are already saying he needs to be fired right now.
Okay, Like I've said with you and maybe others all week, is how much money you have in your pockets are gonna help?
Right?
They're not gonna do there, right, They're spending other people's.
And you fire here, and then what yeah, if you fire him, and then what who do you who's gonna come here? These are to a program where they fired the coach staff for seven games. It's not that bad that he needs to be fired right now. If it's like this in two years now you start thinking about it.
This is the same people that don't contribute to nil, right to the collector or whatever.
Look, am I incredibly disappointed in in in in the in the the performance of the coaching staff and the team.
I absolutely am.
This team should not be three and four, at least we certainly didn't expect him to be three and four.
But there could be a multiple multitude of things causing that. Well you're three and four. They could be very well four and three. But it's how they're they're not even being competitive.
The lack of the lack of competitiveness in these last two games and in that Kansas State game.
It's like, no, no will to play well.
The thing is, yeah, go ahead.
No will, no no will to play well. And even if they added in them, it's not going to be even close. But the thing is, Steve, you know it's there. Well you can because of the way they beat Utah.
I get it.
Utah is not the Utah we thought they were. But they still went up to Utah and beat Utah. Where's that? That's only we've seen that one time, right. We didn't see it in New Mexico. We didn't see it against NAU. We didn't see it in the three losses or the four losses. We've seen it one time. Here's the problem, so we know it's there. You have four or five more games, right, it can continue?
Can it can continue? Or it can turn?
I think I think again, this game once again is going to tell us where this team's mind is. That if they come out and lay an egg the way they did against Colorado again, then that's.
Who they are. Different, right, then that's who they are.
It's funny though, that we're talking about this there three and four and we're still giving them a little a little slack, right, We're still hoping.
Well, you know what, well, had they gotten their asses kicked by Utah, right, and now they're on a four game slide or five game slide and showing no signs of anything, then you would know who they are. But because of that Utah game, you think there's more there than we're seeing.
Somewhere.
It's in there somewhere. Steve, you know you're a guy who can never live without hope.
Well, Steve, you know what, as an Arizona fan, if you don't have that, you don't have anything, right, You got to have that.
Let's talk about our guests real quick. We're not going to take calls today, right.
Yeah we can. No, we're not.
Yeah, we can't take calls. We are gonna we are going to get on the phone with Francisco or Merril. He's the Spanish play by playing. That's a good for the Houston Nationals. Good friend of ours. Uh, I get to I wanted him on today just to be able to talk Baseball World Series tomorrow with somebody who's you know, around major League Baseball. I also want to be able to give um some crap about the Astros. Yeah, well this is your time. I hope he's still going to
call it. You know, we we we we poke at each other very well, and he'll, you know what, he'll he'll poke back at me.
Well, I've got I've got a more recent World Series than you do. Yeah. In fact, he's got two. So yeah, I gotta give him that.
Then in the second hour, we're gonna have a former U of a guy, Lamont Huntley.
Right, Lamont's gonna come in, come in here and be here for the full hour with us, join us, and uh, I'm sure he's got a lot to say.
He does what we've talked, and he kind of, you know, he doesn't kind of know the game. He knows the game, and it's he's going through the same frustration as everybody else.
Yeah, so he is.
And so we'll we'll get Lamont in here and pick his brain a little bit on what he's what he's seeing. Okay, all right, we got to check out. We're gonna come back Francisco or Meryl. Yeah, where are we at. We're at the Del Soul. Oh, that's the Del Sol Sports Book Casino Del Soul.
Come on in.
We've got lots of you can, lots of things to do. There's some you got some TV's on with some games. You get yourself ready for the NFL game tonight.
Who do we have? Steve?
That's uh Vikings and the Rams. A lot of talk about UH players moving around on that team. So we'll see the Vikings and the Rams come on at five pint fifteen Today you can lay down a bet or a whole bunch of bets and the enjoy the time here at Soul Supports and Casino Dot Salt will be right back now.
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This is Eye on the Ball on Fox Sports fourteenth fifty. Want to take part in the show? Call up steam now went by two oho four one six seventy four forty.
Hey we'll collect for.
Okay.
Jay has come back to follow me. I can't get rid of it.
I love it. J came back.
J came back because the donors made it.
Well, there's a little of that too, and I also want to poke you a little bit on that, Francisco, but I won't put But you know, as the Astros, as the Astros played by playing, I just tell us a little bit about, you know, your thoughts on how their season went. Obviously some disappointment, uh you know, with how the playoffs turned out, but a little your perspective on on the Astros and and how things went for you.
Guys. We're losing you. We're losing.
We've lost you a little bit, Francisco. Okay, we got your long getting a better spot.
Okay, But I was saying that with the answers to.
You are you're still hold on.
We're still breaking up a little bit. I don't know what the what the issue is here, I don't know, all right, keep going okay and nope, yeah, we're still not getting you this.
Can you hear me?
Now?
I can hear you?
All right? What about much better go outside?
Okay? Okay, But what I was saying is that the games have to be played no matter who you are, and the Answers have a very strong team. I think it could have still made it all the way to work here, But Having said that, you know, things happened.
We lost five started and started. That's no huge because every team goes through that, and so it's just we started slow and then we were kind of like the best team since from April twenty seven until the end, and we were down at like twelve games under five hundred at one point in time, and in June the Accents were ten games on their first you know, behind the sale on Rarners. But it was a tough one.
But you know, I did well at night. I've been with the Assens when they lost one hundred, I've been with them when they won one hundred. I've been with the acwer when they look the World Series. I've been with the Accers when they win a World Series. So we've seen everything. And so it's baseball and we just have to enjoy the riots.
Yeah, So what is Jay's going? So what is what can he expect to be a fan of out there?
You know what, Jay's going into a great situation. First of all, forty three years ago the same matchup happened with another one in front of the mouth. But besides that, it's two teams that are historically the most popular teams. If we could say in baseball, and they're going at each other. They've been building. They were both in the New York area and Brooklyn and in the Bronx. So it's going to be a great atmosphere. Plus you've got two great teams out there, talk about the best three
players for each team. Come on, it's going to be amazing. So this is what I people tell me who you're going for. I tell them, I want to see a tiny hit a home run. I want to see Cold track them out. I want to see Cold get you know, I want to see somebody hit a home run up here. All I want to see Mookie bed steel a base I want to see Mooky bed get caught feeling. So for me, it's going to be great baseball. So I will enjoy the world.
Clare as a fan, I mean, you know, stepping aside, trying to get a little bit out of my Dodger shell. But if you're a fan, you have to you have to love this. Yeah, there's those there's the people out there who feel like, well, they bought the you know, they bought these teams and that's why they're in because
they have the most money. But in the end, Dodgers Yankees historically has been, you know, the matchup that people you know look for, you know, going into every year if your team doesn't get there, Right, I think the excitement of this of this series is off the charts and you have to love it if you're a fan, and I mean I get better when my team doesn't get there. But I'm pretty sure that if I was an Astros fan or a Padres fan or something like that,
I would still want to see this series. I mean you you, as somebody who's in baseball, you have to feel that way, don't you.
No, I do it, And to be honest with you, this is great for our industry because, first of all, the ratings is going to be very high. The marketing power that will be obtained by the two teams playing the World period will also benefit all of us. And I see baseball as you know, major League Baseball, as a company and all of us working in a different department because we're all one. I mean, we're in the industry and we want to see succeed it no matter
what team plays. Yes, of course I love the ass I'm not only an employee of the Ashes, but I also root for the asses, and it's my team, the team that I'm a fan of. But but yes, you are absolutely right. You have to be gracious the teams that are paying each other because of all the other things around it marketing wise. You know that how many kids are going to become fans of baseball just because of this series, and so it's gonna be a great one.
I'm sure you saw them a number of times.
Each team.
Uh do you know the records against the Astros? And what do you see in each team?
In each team? Okay, think about this. The the Dodgers achilles heel was their pitching and take out their pitching during the postseason. Right now, the Yankees have a lot of power. Look at Stanton. Stanton strikes out of time. He was the m v P. So you're seeing different things. And this is what you call adjustments in baseball. In baseball, you adjust what happened to a tiny when he went
off for sixteen or for eighteen. He's a great actor, so he had to make the adjustments because they already had his side, They already had a way to get him out, so he had to make adjudgments to come back and start hitting again. So it's a Hiss game. And what I love about baseball is that there is a game within the game that you must understand and follow in order to really know what's going on. So
those are the things that are happening. I don't want to stay behind the scenes, but they're happening every day. He's making adjustments, and once you make adjudgments, you make more adjustments in order to be successful.
So I did get to see a Dodger game this year during the summer, and you know, when shoe Hey comes to the plate, the buzz that he creates is incredible. You probably you saw that with the Yankees. I'm sure a few times. What's it like when Aaron Judge comes to the plate?
Look, yeah, you hear that. And you know what, I don't want to bash into the Yankees. They're a great team, but being with the Astras into twenty twenty two, the extra swept them in the in the Alcs And so I mean you talk about when Aaron just s comes up to bad, it's like when you're not about it from the actual stumps up to best and you know you're gonna you're gonna feel you're gonna see this the day when you go to the game tomorrow. It's such
a different buzz, the world serious buzz. It's something that just stays with you forever. I'm glad you're going to experience it because it's just something out of this world. People were telling me all the World Baseball Tlassic is better than the World Series. Now, believe me, there's no feeling like being at the World Series. It's a different animal. And I'm gonda you're going to enjoy it because it'll
be great. And I'm glad. I wait herry fans would enjoy our World Series with their team because that's what the payoffs that from the players to the fans. That's what it is, and it'll be great. You're you're just gonna come. I mean, whether your team wins or loses, it's just a different feeling.
I'm just hoping he brings me a souvenir, like someone should have brought me a souvenir from the Astros.
I got a cowboy hat here for you.
I still haven't sent me promises promise.
I'm imagining Steve wearing a cowboy hat, no shirt, maybe some boxer shorts and some cowboy boots.
What what would that look like? I would have had to have lost a major so so Francisco.
You know, we lost a great friend this year, this last couple of days, Fernando val And I call him that because I feel like what he did for baseball and what he did as as a Dodger, and but like it's a baseball.
In general, it was like he was everybody's friend.
There.
There have been some players through the years who have been like that. I saw that you had a picture on social media, but you had a chance to see him at a at a non baseball related the event. I got to meet him right before his rookie year. He was I was at a spring training game and he was going to the Dodger's bus and he was walking between a bunch of cars and I'm the only one that saw him, and I ran over there and I got an autograph, and I shook his hand and
I spoke to him for a second. Uh you know, so you know, you had an experience with him, But what he meant to baseball and certainly what he meant to the to the Mexican American community, tell us a little bit about your thoughts on him, and and maybe you're I don't know if I'd call it a relationship with just your thoughts about him over all these years.
Oh, Jay, you know what I got. When I was twelve, I spoke to English. Not that I sick English right now, but I spoke. I spoke to English. And so we wanted to listen to Tornando's games, and we I think I've told you the story before my brother found Kati. He remember for fourteen, Hey, we used to call three four four. I was a number when we used to come for that. For the course, we didn't listen again. I still remember that number. And so Fernando meant more,
uh than it was. It was more than baseball. Right at the end of the day he was. Fernando was a social movement at that time in LA and California. You would hear a lot about repretations and Davadatta program had just finished and so a lot of people were getting deported and and and you would see that. But when when I came into the picture and you see somebody whose picture language would look like you, and and you know, he becomes a star. He goes into the
White House, person called the maya right away. And and so you didn't see that before, uh, And so he he was a movement, not only in baseball, because the movement in baseball he he had what ten to fifteen thousand more people per stadium when he played right. And I've heard of all the GM saying that they wanted for another picture in that series when they visited the Cubs or the Reds or the ass Or or the Eggs or actually wanted him to pick up in Canada.
You know, they act that he could pitch on that series. But uh, and then as a social movement, uh, he just moved massive. He gave people a lot of hope, He gave people opportunities, and people were became the only baseball fan, but became they became Fernando fans. And you know, if he could do it, what couldn't anybody couldn't couldn't
anybody else do what they wanted to do? And so and the other thing is that around Latin America, not only in Mexico, but he he made a lot of people, a lot of kids and fans of baseball and out of and so nowadays they can still recite that lineup of nineteen eighty one for the Dodgers. And I mean I grew up a Dodger fan. I grew up a Fernando fan. I grew up coming a Turtle fan. You know, I knew the names that Tom Nidden's he or Jay Johnson who were not even started, but I knew every
name on the roster that year. And then we go to trickle Kags in Tucson. I mean we could get the gum and we would get the Angels cart and the Dodgers cart. Remember that? Yeah? No, nice?
Yeah, nice. I think you said the word movement, which is a perfect movement.
You don't.
That doesn't happen very often. Yeah, a few people right in the NBA you had insanity.
Well, let's say Kaitlyn Clark, right, I was gonna say if he was he was that for those of you who don't didn't see for nandomania. But you've seen Caitlyn Clark and when she's done, that's that was for nondomania right back in the day. Uh, if you were a Reds fan, I mean what you're you know, what was your Oh he was a vision of him.
Just fantastic because they were the rivals, right, they were in house or in conference rivals. Uh No, fantastic. Having grown up in Santa Fe. You always wondered when he was gonna pitch. You wanted to see him and the motion that he threw because you didn't know.
What he do like that?
Who who didn't do that motion? Playing in the yard.
If if if your brother here would gain them maybe seven inches uh in height and was the picture he'd be Fernando. He's talking about you. He's got he's got the gut.
But yeah, yeah, my brother, my brother Jean, is here. He said he got mistaken for Fernando. But I think everybody in our family did everyone.
To just everybody had that kind of looked right, had that uncle, yes, had that uncle.
Hey. But you know my brother was born in nineteen seventy nine and when he was three or four years old, we made him a lefty. He made a plo as a lefty, as a Fernandober we made it. Yeah, we made him a lefty. There you go and he and I think you talk about Fernando Mania. You still go to Disneyland and he's see Fernando Vealezuela's jerseys all over everywhere.
Sure everywhere. You don't want the thing that's not talked about with him? You could hit yes, silver slugger. I wanted to say silver sluggers and stuff. Yeah, he would, he would pinch tack and stuff.
Yep, yep, absolutely, and.
He liked hitting and my my broadcast partner, I had a podcast with him last night, so followed my podcast called Beyond the Mic on Facebook. I talked to Alex last night about Fernanda because they were battering me. Uh, Alex was a catcher and Ananda was that was a picture. Talk about some stories about him and some of the story of that going up to the mountain talking, but he said another it never wanted to leave the mount even though he was looking by four or five rounds.
He said he was perfect.
Well, he had a lot of shut off. Hey, Francisco, we gotta take off. We gotta take a commercial break.
Appreciate Francisco.
Thanks a bunch, man, And I know you'll be watching, so I'll wave to you from the from the upper deck where I'm at.
Okay, okay, heyay, I'm serious. Enjoying the heck out of it, man, I'm glad you're going. I appreciate it, joy, I know you will, and it'll be a lifetime experience.
Yeah, we were looking at it that way. Thank you for now to appreciate that for them though for now, Thank you Francisco.
Well we'll see you appreciate it. Thank you. Okay, it's all right, Jay, are you guys looking? We do?
We do, especially you. You'd like you to I did get mistaken from them by some kids one time. All right, we're going to go get out of here. At sold Sports the sports book at Cassina. Do'll, Saul, if you'd like to come out and join us. Say they've got some drink specials. We'll talk about those in a second. You can get to the betting window get something down on the World Series game tomorrow. So we'll be here for another couple hours. Lamon Honley joining us at the top of the hour. Stick around.
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Steve Rivera He's got his eye on the ball on Tucson Sports Station, Fox sportsportem fIF Day.
Welcome back on the ball, Hero.
Yeah, We're work I'd love for you to come out and hang out with us. Got a you have known for a while, and no, Buddy's Dean hanging out with us over here. Howard's over there, Coler Howard who you you hear? Occasionally they've got some drink specials, but uh, you know, the sports books a great place to catch a lot of the pay per view events. You got UFC three oh eight coming up Saturday night. Uh here, you can watch that here at the at the sports book.
Put some some bets on it. At They've got fifteen self service betting kiosk and five live ticket counters and sports foot people here are always ready to help. Drink specials this month we've got MODELO Special Draft Course Light and Midder Light aluminum bottles.
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They've got some great creative drinks Partender creations of my Sancha's Revenge and the Creeper is a drink called featuring Maestro Dobell Tequila.
Those are seven to fifty.
And then they've got some some wine special So if you want to come out, just have a good time, hangout, put some stuff down, get some get some money on some games. Got the NFL game tonight starting a five to fifteen. Right after the show, he got the vikings at the Rams, and of course, as we've been talking about the World Series get started tomorrow.
Yeah, let's send the schools somewhere.
I saw you guys earlier this week because we'll talk plenty about football next hour. What did you guys make well? You specifically your brother Shure about the men's basketball team, and I didn't realize what you guys go through. But it's kind of, oh you heard us, It's kind of crazy change.
It's like a yeah, my brother Jean, I guess said, who I mentioned is here. He's uh, he's sitting next to me at the games calling, uh calling the stuff on the court, and I put it into the computer and uh, yeah, these guys are getting the first hand look of what that sounds like.
And it's it's it's crazy, isn't it.
Yeah, it's like the numbers, numbers, and you don't there's no way you have.
A chance to watch the game. No, I see very little of the game.
Jene gets to watch it all because he's he's got to see it all, he's got to call it all.
But yeah, no, I don't. I don't see as much of the game as people think. I know that the listeners don't give a crap of what I'm just going to say. But your venue has changed, your your location is right, it's gonna be a little different.
Yeah, we were thinking we may well not not me because I'm not the one that needs to see, but Jean needs to see, and so the far end of the court is pretty far. So we're going to bring binoculars to the next game and see if we need those. But we did, right, you know, I think we called a perfect game.
I really do.
I think we we didn't. I don't think we missed it. I don't think we missed anything. A lot of it has to do with actually what the uniforms look like, you know, things that you notice it on on on on Eastern New Mexico's jerseys, the numbers on the front were really small. So there are a couple of times that we Jeane had to hesitate to give me a number because it took a second to see it.
Right clearly the lenses time or two. Yeah, So what did you what did you what didn't you see? Because you did see, but there's I didn't see more creevious, and I'm wondering, what the hell is going on? Well, I think, yeah, they're resting him. They got to get him ready. High ankle sprain apparently, is that what that is? High ankle sprain? But the and and he'll fit in, right, he'll get in. And yeah, the guy that I've said this a long a long time. I love the way
Henry plays. I just hope he gets an opportunity because he can play. He can stretch you know, the stretch four, stretch five. And the kid who couldn't miss Townsend?
Where did that? Very impressed by him? Where did that come from?
Yeah?
You know, again, you have to be careful because it is an exhibition game. The defense maybe not what he's going to see, those kinds of things. But when he hit the first four to three pointers, I'm like, okay, you have to be able to shoot, to be able to hit that, right, to hit that four times.
In a row, Well, it gives you another option, right, because they have they have Love, they have kJ Lewis, they have Bradley. Now they have this kid, right, and they have Henry to stretch him out. I mean, they have more weapons. Well, and then I can't the the orso is that number three?
He has a nice little shot. He's got he's got a little shot too. It looks I mean, it looks like they have some options. Now again, what's that going to look like when the defense is Kansas, Houston, Texas Tech, Iowa State.
Sure, no, no, you're you're right. Though, when the competition gets steep, we'll see there's a lot to like.
Though.
They're finished, they're picked finished fifth, right, yeah, twelve, Ye happened this week?
Good luck?
And you might want to prepare the fans to temper their emotions.
Well they need We've been saying that.
Look, Arizona, nobody's going eighteen and two in the league, right, you're not?
You know you you you might win the league.
I think they play twenty games, right, I think you might win the league with five losses. You got to you got to understand that you're going to lose some games, especially on the road. Uh, You're not going to go to You're not going to just go walk in a Kansas or Iowa State again those ones I mentioned, Houston, Texas Tech wherever and just walk in and beat those guys like you were beating Washington State and Cal and Stanford and Oregon State.
What people also have to realize that McHale is a tough place to place, right you want to compass in the West, a great venue to play, and it may not even be the toughest place to.
Play in the in the league, right And and they're you know, Kansas is used to playing in those venues.
All these teams are states. Yeah, I mean.
They some people say that Iowa State is the hardest place to the hardest place.
To play, especially when they're good. Yeah, and they're gonna be good. There's there's five teams that could actually win the league. Houston's picked to win at all, yeap, Kansas is right behind them, Kansas, Iowa.
State's up there. And I think it's Kansas State, right, aren't they? Aren't they the other Yeah?
And Texas Texas going to be there, right So yeah, I mean, you know, again, Arizona fans have been spoiled all the way dating Steve all the way back to nineteen eighty eight when Arizona just ran through that through the league.
That year they went seventeen and one three or four times. You know in the league that those those days are way over and people have to understand that and coming to grips with that, and come to grips with the fact that, well, look, Washington State came out here in be Arizona. Mchael's I understand that of Kansas and Iowa State, those teams are going to come in expecting to win.
You talked about tickets with the World Series. I'm hearing too that the Duke tickets are going to be at least a couple of grips. Really depends on where you're at.
Well, that's that's good again, that that's gonna be a fun one. That's that could be the highlight of the season, you know, but.
That's look put in perspective. If you're saying highlight of the season with others teams with this big twelve coming in, rightly, crap you, this is the time you need season.
Dates, right yeah? Yeah, yeah.
If you don't have them, good good luck, good luck getting you know, getting tickets to that game.
Someone texted me, I don't know tuesdays, just Steve, can you help me. I'm trying to get tickets and I'm thinking you're about five months too late.
Where you been?
I realized now it's gonna be a big year. I say, well, where you've been?
What rock were you living here?
What do you?
Yeah? What were you thinking?
Look, we told you that, we told you this was coming, so you know, absolutely, you know, But Steve, I'm you know, it's exciting. First of all, you know, getting to the arena on Monday night, I thought, what the hell am I doing here?
Right?
It's it's it's still October and we're and we're playing games. There's there's a degrees right, there's another one coming up this coming Monday, you know, and then then the stuff gets going.
But let me throw another thing at you, and not you. A best men's basketball idea is going to be under the radar, wet. I'm not sure she likes it or not, but it's a great spot to be in.
Sure.
Well, you know, again the fan base has gotten behind the program. Okay, you hope they stay right. It was a tough year last year, but you know they got into the tournament and and and uh, you know they were they were very gutsy with the situation they're faced with with you know, personnel and all that. She's put a team back together, got a lot of new players. You know, we'll see what they look like. But I think for a DA, it's a you know, it's a
moving to a new league. We'll see what that league looks like, look as opposed to the way the men's the men's league was. The women's league in the Pact twelve was you know, hardest league, arguably the hardest, the toughest league in the country. Now they're not in that anymore, but let's see what they got.
Right, No, no questions, gonna have to play. It's funny.
We have PG Brown on it yesterday the day before and it's the same with the women as it is with the men.
It's tough, physical.
Uh, you have to have some guts to play in it because it's it's a totally different league. It's not finesse anymore. Yeah, yeah, no, I I hear you.
It's just, you know, it's gonna be interesting to see what what the what the what idea comes up with because it's it's been different every year.
Right.
We know that she likes her teams to be tough, play hard defense. Uh, and if you don't play defense, you don't play you know, we were talking about the fact that, uh, you know what when one of her players, Maddy Connor, has gone on to TCU and she's you know, she's a star, right, Uh? I heard that she was. She was the player the TCU took for media day. Well, she didn't get on the court at Arizona. With all the offensive talent she had. She couldn't get on the
court because she couldn't play defense. That's why she left, and that's why she left. And yeah, she's a star over their TCU. But how good is TCU? We don't know how. You know, Idea demands certain things and if you don't have those things, then you don't play. And it's as simple as that.
Uh, let's go back to basketball. We can again. We're gonna have Littlemont Hunley at the turn of the hour here and we'll talk a lot about football, obviously with West Virginia coming in. You see, Well, I'm gonna throw this out to her before we go to basketball, that Saban's name was mentioned for West Virginia. Now, didn't I did not see that in a cursory kind of way. I don't know what maybe as an advisor who threw
it out there. I saw it earlier today that somehow his name and had come up just to you know, because he's got a lot of coach he left. It's just not not the bs that he has to deal with. Everybody has to deal with it.
But Steve, if he got out because of all the because of how college athletics has turned, I imagine it would be harder, Oh at West, at a place like West Virginia.
But why would he want to get back into.
You don't have that pressure of winning all the time and then bringing it back. Maybe bringing it back is the It was just a name. I mean, he's from there, right, it's just the name mentioned. I think he's from West Virginia.
I don't know.
I believe that's where he's actually from.
And maybe that's maybe somebody thought that that was a natural thing, But I don't know. I I have a hard time seeing that well, I mean any more than I see you know, Andy Lopez or Mike and Dre getting back into this right because we've talked about that a million times.
Okay, basketball won't last time anything else strike at you, uh that night?
Now, you know, what you want to see is, you know, sort of a fluidity to to to what they're doing. You know, like like I I spend a lot of time watching jayde and Bradley handle the ball, breaking the ball up court, how the offense is running with him.
I like him, you like him, But nothing's really changed with his game. No, it's still down.
Yeah, he's still downhill. He's some might change it. Well, he's aggressive, all right, and he's gonna and and he's gonna. Uh, we got Vick in the house over here. He's gonna. I think he's gonna run the team hard.
It was.
I was interested to see Caleb Caleb Love. He was yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, and Caleb Love again. I think trying to make his game better. He spent a lot of time going to the hole, right. He wasn't just taking just wandering out there and taking shots out there. He was getting the ball and he was going into the lane and and and and trying to make some shots. I thought that was interesting, that cut. That caught my eye.
Well, there's lots of like they had their nine deep in terms of roster, with one hundred people on the side lines waiting to get that ain't gonna happen. Yeah, we'll see and Tommy, We'll see how Tommy handles.
Yeah, you know, I think more than anything, Tommy's got options, right, I think maybe more options than than than he had previously. You know, there were times where he felt like if Pela Larson and and and Keisha Johnson were out of the game, they were really limited in terms of physicality, right or uh, you know those games when when Kylin Boswell was having a terrible game, which he had a few of those, they were really limited. You feel like
there's guys that can come in in situations like that. Uh, and again we don't know yet until we see them under the lights outside of an exhibition game and against a really good team.
Well, what those guys are gonna look like? Even even for Martinez, Yeah, could come in and.
I like him. I like the way, you know, again, a guy who doesn't.
Appear to be caught, you know, overwhelmed, overwhelmed by it. He looks he looks a year older, ready to you know, play some meaningful minutes and and do some things and not just be a guy that comes in during scrub time. I I you know, he looked like a guy that I think now we we call him Rudy at the scorer's table.
Okay, are we ready to go? We're ready to go. We're about We've got about another minute but I we're having fun up there.
But if he gets five or six minutes a game, seven manes, I think that's good.
But just somebody who can you know, or you know, a fall trouble guy or whatever. But I think he's gonna play. I've gotten the impression from day one that that Tommy Lloyd likes him oh a lot, very much, and I think I could see him get getting some getting some meaningful minutes. So I don't know, it's an interesting to see. All Right, we're gonna take a break. We're here at the Soul Sports Book at Casino del Soul, Lamont. Huntley is going to be joining us here at the
top of the hour. He'll be here on the microphone for the full hour. We got Vic in the house, We've got Jean in the house, we got Howard in the house. Got some guys here, so checking out the show. You can come by. There's some drink specials, beers, certain beers for three seventy five. You can't even get that at the ballpark. So come on over to Soul Sportsbook at Casino del Soul and join us and have some fun.
We'll be right back