This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalad sound Fox Sports fourteen fifty powered by Nova Insurance Services and Sure your most prized possessions Katie z are two SAG and iHeartRadio Station. Hey, good afternoon, everybody. I hope you're listening to that out and joined this great weather. But if you are, welcome to Eye on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. He's diggon Zalez right, here's Jay. I have been
forgetting getting wety five years. We have the smart one in the room, and Lisa is with us today, so make us look good at least please. Of course, yeah, we're gonna check in on Analys because she was that she was at the waste management open on Saturday, right, right, experience, and we'll see we should actually go there. Let's go there because
we well, wait, are you jed fished out? I am? I am I I you know, out of curiosity and just doing my due diligence, right, because we are a sports talk radio show, and every he was talking about this interview he did yesterday. I listened to it, right, and then I said, okay, I'm done listening to it. Yeah, yeah, I you know I didn't in my role, in your role, in the same role, I wrote stories. I didn't get close to him. I don't get close to him football people anymore because it doesn't really
matter. And I'm glad I didn't. I sure don't still don't know if he's a good football coach. But didn't see enough. Yeah, did you know? We didn't. I mean, we think he is right because he did a really nice he did a great job. But again, you know, it's it's easy to get a lot better when you were really bad. True. True. In fact, well we know call yor two who said who said they had a hard time dealing or accepting the higher from Brennan because
his record wasn't so great. Well did you accept Jeff Fish's before he got here and after? Yeah? So yeah, So look, you know I mentioned that because asked you if you listened to it. You did, I did. I'm done listening to it. He didn't say here, I didn't say anything new that the three minute thing, and then the Texas A and M thing, right, and then I still believe there was one other job
that he had contact with somebody. He says he says no, but I think there's at least one sure, But other than that, that's it. That's not U c l A. Yeah. And now you know, I kind of like on the way in, when I'm listening on the way and I'm thinking, okay, I'm gonna paraphrase a line from The Godfather, I'm like, you know, okay, good luck in your your new venture. He's talking to that Salozzo guy, right, Vito Corleone talking to good luck
in your venture. I wish you well as long as your interests don't conflict with mine. Yeah, No, that's good. That's good. I thought there was you're dead to me or something that way. You got to get right up to him, blow his brains out by being okay, get his brains out over your IVY league. Unless something breaks for anything else, we'll talk about him. But we're kind of done with him, right, he's gone, he's up there. Good good luck to him. I understand why
you took the job, and I you know, move on. Sure, sure, okay, So now let's go to the civilized sports of golf. Yes, did you were you prepared? Was that your first time? That my first? What did you prepare for? And what did you see. Well, we knew it was going to be a party. We knew. I didn't think it was going to be that crowded though. We got there early too, and it was anywhere by the entrance or the first few holes totally packed. You can barely move. The lines to get even a water
were just so long, Yeah, to do anything. And then they're like, there's like only certain ways you can walk down, in certain ways you can walk up. And they have started closing off different holes and stuff so everyone could watch the same holes. Did you what was your purpose in going? I don't know. I just wanted to go check out the golf tournament. Okay, okay, did you it wasn't Did you see any golf? I actually saw like I think maybe two two swings. That's my kind of
point. Go for the golf. You don't. You don't you don't go for the golf. For this tournament. I don't even know how the players focus. I mean, it's crazy. There's screaming there, couldn't focus. Yeah, but I like every year, I'm sure it's the same thing, but I heard this year was just the worst. We left kind of early because it was just too two packed. It stop serving alcohol, and they stopped even scanning tickets, so anyone could just come in and like, what
did I pay to pay for? But it was still cool to see. Well, certainly a spectacle. Let's say. It was definitely a spectacle. But you know, in the end, people want to go see the golf. I mean, did you think that waste management? You think people paid to see the golf? Some people they don't. They don't at the WASTA.
I would do it again, but I would buy VIP or something like early or something to be able to sit and watch and sit at the sixteenth hole or something and sit somewherehere you could sit and watch and not have to like be running around trying to find a good place to see. I would do it again, but I would do it differently. Okay, yeah, yeah, you don't know too, you know, and yeah, no, no, there's a lot of people that go for the party. Yeah right,
people watch the people watching to have the party. Yeah, yeah, you know they do. But even that's not big of a party if you're taking the lines to get beers, and I mean, yeah, that's the thing. And that's why I was like kind of disappointment because I was like, this is not how I thought it was going to be. I saw a video of the lines at the bathroom, and I'm like, were crazy expensive to get anywhere. They're saying it was taking you an hour or more
just to go to the bathroom. Well, if you're up there for a few hours to watch golf and you gotta spend an hour of it in the bathroom because you got to go, Yeah, you know what fun is that? That's didn't you say last week you went to Pebble Beach a couple of years ago US Open, Yeah, how was that orderly? Yeah? There was no order. It was you know, it was crowded. You know, Tiger Woods was playing in it, and the crowd following him was incredible.
But you watched that and we're in awe of it. You just thought, I mean the guy wasn't ever even in contention that year. Yeah, yet there were more people following him than anybody else, which meant you could see uh Rory mcrel you could you could see you know, justin Thomas, you could see all those guys. Yeah, because everybody was following Tiger. Now we did, you know, like we got ahead of where a couple of holes ahead of where he was coming, and we watched and we watched
him come through. We got good sea, but the crowd that followed. So you gotta you gotta be pro strategic about what you're gonna do, you know. We we we decided that what we wanted to sit at the eighteenth hole and watch the end of the golf tournament in the bleachers there. It was gonna take us an hour and a half to get into the bleachers, right, two people had to leave for two more people to go up. Yeah, so said, screw it, let's go walk the golf course.
The lines for the stands were like hours, and I was asking, like, how long do you think it will take there? Like three hours? And I'm like, I'm not even planning on being here for three hours exactly, you know, exactly, you know, if we need to go to the bathroom. We went to the bathroom. We sat on a couple of tea boxes and you could get a drink, right, We sat tea boxes. We sat at some at some by the greens, and we got to see the golf, which is you know, when you got a field like
a US Open field, you want to see the guys. You want to see the guys that you go to see. You want to see Tiger Woods, you want to see Rory mcka where you want to see. You know. At that time, Dustin Johnson and a bunch of those guys who were in live. We had a great time and it was it was an experience of a lifetime. I can't even imagine what that would have been like over
the weekend. Yes, so we're gonna have somebody in about ten minutes of getting some sense of all this, just getting her thoughts at least obviously Judy McDermott, a former executive director of the Concuston now the president of the Tea the Prestige. Yeah, she's she's seen it all and we'll have her thoughts on this book while we're still on the subject. Her counterpart at the Thunderbirds, the Phoenix under Bird, they're the that's their conquistators, who who who
operate and run the tournament. Their executive director who positioned that Judy held here at the Conquistators. He's come out and here here's a questions in the ESPN story, I think that you will see a complete operational change of how we manage our Friday and really our Friday and Saturday, but the entire week. We're very proud of what we've built. I think we've been Tournament of the Year on the PGA Tour five of the last seven years. But we don't
like what happened on Saturday. The players don't like what happened on Saturday, our fans don't like what happened on Saturday. So nothing is off the table. I'm reading there's a headline here a woman fell from Friday Friday. Friday Friday, a woman fell from from the from the sky one of the sweet
shop. It says she's got non life threatening injuries. But now there was also so muddy, like everyone was covered in mud, like people were falling, sliding down, like just the stuff that was going I saw another video of a guy who wanted to get into a suite but not pay right, so he jumped up and grabbed like a ledge, shimmied over and then pulled himself up and over into the suite and they just let him, and they just let him. And who does who goes to a golf tournament to do
that. It's it's it's not like classy golf tournament like you would think it would be you know, it's like yeah, and and that that you know, they got the reputation, they built their reputations being the one off that isn't the you know, the stuff, the stuff, the stuff he stuff, and that's fine, and they built a reputation on that, and that's what the sixteenth hole is all about. Yeah, but like I said, yes, it got out of here. Yeah, and you can you don't
know what's gonna happen until it happens. Although it was creeping, it's been heading in that direction for a while. This is a shocker, not really really. Yeah, it was overhyped in my opinion though, definitely over what do you mean the golf tournament? People say it's so fun, it's the best golf tournament ever, and it was too It was how do you have fun being smushed with people and even pushed and like you don't even know where to go, Like which way can we go where it's gonna be less crowdics
it's just crowded everywhere? Yeah, like should we go to like the beginning holes? Like and everywhere? It was so so in your experience, what would you get one to ten in your experience sounds like a three or four. Yeah, I was gonna say like five like it was fun, Like it was fun, like I had fun with my friends, and there were other things that were fun about it, Like the whole day was a fun day for me, But the actual tournament was not the highlight of my weekend.
Yeah, yeah, I saw it again. A video of somebody posted that said it went he got it, gets to the front of the line at a snack bar, a slice of pizza and a beer five thirty two thirty two, eight fourteen for the pizza eighteeneen. I heard thirteen. Ye, Well they stopped serving alcohol. Yeah that's crazy, that was but it's probably smart that they probably how much your beers at the football game, I don't know. I don't buy beer, okay, but I think they're twenty
airs in the stadium. But they're they're they're tall, Yeah, they're tall, They're tall. Yeah. Still, come on, and then I wonder where nobody goes. Nobody goes and they have a big screen at the house. You know people you know, like the on the six thirty game last week. You know, I had to go, you know, have dinner. That's correct. Basketball game. I run in, I grab a couple
of hot dogs. It's fifteen bucks. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, because there're five then you getting soda, but ten fifteen but two hot dogs just really seven and a half dollars and a half? Oh, how you are you? Popcorn was five? I was wondering who my charges were. Yes, okay, if it wasn't for the free sodas, we get in that, I mean we get to go to the basketball games instead on the floor for freeze. I have not come plaining, well, you cover a
decent team. I don't think I don't think they'll let you before all right, I cut you off when we were going to oh yeah about our second guest, So yeah, second guess. So I was thinking, you know, we live in this world of craziness and media, social media, blah blah blah. And we talked to Pete Williams all the time. I wanted
to give his take. What would be the reaction in nineteen eighty three, eighty four when he got here with all the BS, with the BS posters about his team back in the day, and how would he be handled it. Oh, he doesn't know. He doesn't now because because he follows me and I post off and he says he defends me or whatever because he reads all of it. Yeah, and he's that guy. He's but he's very good in how we because he's a diplomatic dude and no one's going to mess
with the Pope. No, he would fight people, oh yeah, yeah, he at least I think he at least would engage. Yeah, so in eighty five, eighty six, So I wanted to ask them, and obviously ask about the team, Yeah, because he follows him closely for sure. But no, I'm I've been wanting to talk to Pete for a while because you know, I want to you know, like I want to ask him about you know, the how the center who plays with us back to the basket, the DeAndre Aids have been devalued, the zach Eaties, you
know, those guys, they've been devalued in the NBA. Now that you know, if you're even if you're seven foot two, you got to be able to step out and hit a three. And you know, because he was even though he was six seven, right, he was a back to the basket center. You know, he was the guy that went in there and he just you know, he he but he was very physical with people and that's why he was. He was so good. Sure, okay, you know, we'll talk about all that. It was always good to have
Pete was always good to talk about basketball. Yeah. No, that the Wellcats are back my breakfast guys. Man, they're all back on board. Everybody was back on back on the vandwig. Those guys are they looked really good. Yeah. I don't think you guys predicted they were going to win this weekend. No, we were all. I said a split. I thought they would split. I thought, okay, I predicted uh, and
I thought I had it right. But I predicted a Utah win. And then I thought they'd lose to Colorado, you know, the second game of the weekend thing. And then especially after they went three overtimes, I think, yeah, they're for Sugar to lose. They're just gonna be out of gas. Yeah, but they sure didn't stay through. They did. It
was very nice. So all right, let's go and take our break, right, Yeah, and we're gonna come back with Judy McDermott, former director of executive director of the Tushock Conquisa Doors, currently the executive director of the local First te Uh. We'll just get talk some golf and some more stuff about you know what it's like to run a tournament like that, and then sure, how you keep it from getting out of hand? And then some other things. Yeah you said, she the la grats. We'll see how
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welcome back to are on the ball here Fox Shorts fourteen fifty. I'm Steve, He's Jay, and at least with us to day, we have Judy McDermott ready to call in any second now, talk about golf, talk about a lot of things going on in the world sports. Obviously Judy is in touch with here we go. Do you sell the ruins? Judy McDermott, Is this you am? I blocking you? How dare you? You're my favorite woman in this town? No, Judy, it's it's our It's
ours are like our nineteen sixty five phone system over here. So she's seen it. Yes, we're working on squirrels today. Yeah. Wait, we have a party line, so somebody else, may you all of a sudden start talking in your ear? But hi, Judy, if there's a woman in this world, I know to settle this golf problems, this fun and games, I'm gonna call Judy. What do you make of what's going on in Phoenix or what went on in Phoenix. Are we are we on the air? Are on the air? Yes you are? Oh goodness, what
do you make of it? Well, it was all bound to happen, wasn't it. Yeah, that's kind of what we were saying there. But in their defense, they make a ton of money for charity and that's what's amazing. But obviously the PGA Tour for years has been on them. And now that the players really came out and used some interesting language back at the
fans and things, it's time. It was. It kind of an accepted thing though too, that this that the Phoenix Open was going to be sort of that that one off where people can get a little looser, you know, the a lot of the players participated in, you know, the things going on around at the sixteenth hole. It was kind of like, we're trying to have some fun different from what we do at all the other tournaments.
And it's okay, right, absolutely, and all and all the players know that, and that's why, you know, as you know, it's not like, you know, Tiger played there every year. He quit playing.
So sorry I'm getting echo that slim. Yeah you're good though, we can hear you find good is the caller there anyway, for years they have been warned and with the PGA Tour, but obviously the tournament is a force, and you know, it's great for golf because you're just attracting so many eyeballs on golf that week, and like you say, and they make a
ton of money for charity, and so you can't argue with that. But obviously, between the weather and everything that happened with having to get everybody on the cart paths and stuff, they just were overrun this week. And it just sounds like from what I saw on TV, I didn't go up, but we're down, I guess. But the players just the players had it.
Yeah, well something like that. As you said, I think you alluded to that, you know, the fact that Tiger used to play that he doesn't now other players do. There's some golfers who just say, yeah, I want to go do that, I want to have fun, and
then others who just said I want no part of it. Correct, correct, you know, and you know, and the money still there, and you know, it's a great golf course and the Thunderbirds treat all the players well and and everybody knows it's good for golf and it's a little different, but it just, like I say, it just it just you know, it used to be just on sixteen on the rowdy holes and the spectators were just wild everywhere. This this past week, I wonder why you want to
be here to well part of it too. They had the delay and so then everybody's still drinking. So it's it just was a force that just you know, turned into one big volcano. Obviously. What were some of the tougher challenges that you had, you know as the director and running that and running that tournament that you know, we're kind of out of the unusual. I mean I remember you were you still the executive director when they when it snowed over up a time. Yeah, so you know you had that stuff
like that, right, you know what I mean? Was there anything that was a really hard thing to deal with like that or was it just kind of like, Okay, the weather's bad and that it is what it is. What were some of the tough things you had to do? Well? The year the year at snowed on the match play, it actually made it centure the title sponsor really happy because we basically made national international news picture pictures. Well, you know when you're a title sponsor and you're spending all that
money. You know, they were thrilled, and and obviously we had the benefit because it was match play in a limited field. We were able to get the tournament in even though we had so much snow. And the next day, you know, we didn't tee off until late in the afternoon. Let me ask you this dumb question. But you expected from me. I know you have a great life. I want you to adopt me, but but do you miss your old role? I missed some parts of it, but it was it was just time to do this. I don't. I
don't miss it. And with what's going on with Live Golf, and and obviously you know, the Cool of Guard Classics move into La Paloma this year, so Jeff and his team and the Conqui stores, you know, they have a lot of work to go to a new site. It's going to be exciting. And the routing of the eighteen holes is using all three nines at La Paloma, so that'll be fun to see the routing and see the
players play a different golf course. Well let's talk about that, because I don't but I don't, but I don't, I don't miss it in that regard, because we're doing so many great things with our junior golf programs and our first two programs and the kids just you know, putting putting golf clubs in the hands of a kid that never ever would have had the opportunity to do that, it's pretty rewarding. I want to talk about that in a second, but let me go back to the you know, the golf run
and being at La Paloma this year. It bounced around a couple of places while you were while you were running the show over there. How hard is that to you know, move the venue and kind of do everything all over again and just kind of start from scratch and build a whole other infrastructure and all that type of stuff. How tough was is that? For these guys? It's really hard. You know, it's a ton of meetings and a
ton of meeting with the vendors and then obviously meeting with the site. You know, you're putting up these massive tents and scaffoldings that are going to do some damage to the golf course, and you have to deal with all those things, and you know, you're trying to please everybody. You're trying to please the volunteers. You're trying to please the spectators. You're trying to please the host golf course, You're trying to please the PGA Tour, You're trying
to please the players. Obviously, the charity piece is so important, you know, you know the Conquis stores here locally, you know, we put the tournament on for the community to have something professional here because obviously we don't have a lot of professional sports in Tucson, per se. And then also in turn trying to make money for charity, to make as much money as you can. So it's a fine line of how much you spend on what you know to do it. I'll tell you a story. I mean,
everything's just getting more expensive. My little cousin is he's now the operations director for Tiger Woods Foundation, and they run the tournament at Riviera in la where Tiger's playing this week, and their costs have quadrupled to put up tents and scaffolding at that event. And you know the same holds true here in Tucson.
So and the thing is, you need that stuff. You need it right, So you need it. You have to pred corporate entertaining, and you know, to make a different than just you know, walking down the roads. And you know that's that's what it's about, you know, the everyday spectator walking the golf course and watching people play. It's fun too. And but but you got to have the scaffolding and the hospitality suite, sure, you have no question. I know we deal with it a tour where
you know, the barricades and the cops blah blah blah. And they don't talk about that for funding, right and they don't. You got to find a way to find them. You got to cover all that. You gotta cover all that. Well, yeah, it's it's a it's a fine it's a fine line. But uh, you know, for the for the Color Guard Classic, La Paloma has been a wonderful partner for them. Yeah, it was a good move for the tournament. And ask you what do you think of that movie? What do you think of La Paloma as a place
to host a tournament like this? I think change is good, you know a little different. And you know, obviously some people are saying, oh, it's hard to walk and this and that, but it's not like it is the Phoenix Open, so you know there'll be plenty of room to move around and walk down the cart paths and see people play, and the players are going to enjoy the golf course a lot. And and it's you know,
more of a desert style. So when you talk about the national and international broadcast on television, it's really going to showcase showcase tu Son, you know, in a really nice way with the desert style golf course. And the audience is totally different then we'll obviously up in North up in Phoenix, it's that civilized crowd, you mean, all nice to you and me. There's still some partiers that go to the cold that class. And I'll go
to the concerts Friday night, but you know who can go. There's nothing on the scale of what happens in Phoenix. I know more. I know that there's more than a few people. There's more than a fe people that I know who are a little disappointed that there's no Grand Slam tent. Right the Friday night tent with with both the band Uh duck soup. I was thinking something duck, but it was duck soup. Yeah, you know what I mean? That that was? That was I really am, I really
am, you know, stop it. I don't know what to tell you, I mean, Judy, I mean, don't don't take this wrong, but there were years that I only went to the Grand Slam tent and didn't even ever go to the golf because I just, you know, get off of work ahead to the concert Midlands performing for them. They're going to have that at Retol on Friday night. It would be fun. It would be fun, a little bit of something for everybody, obviously, So let me
pick your brain. What's going on with the Bruins And are you happy? Fascinating, isn't it. I was starting to I was starting to worry that we might lose coach from Arizona, Brandon going over to U SKLA since he played there. But don't even start a rumors and this town will go crazy crazy. But uh but wow, U c l A and I hold them in high regard only because of the basketball program. But now they're going to the Big Big ten. What do you think about the move? First of
all, you know, I'm not happy about it at all. I mean, I can't stan seeing the Pac twelve doesolve. It breaks my heart. And honestly, I mean, you just look at you know, you just look at women's basketball, and you know, and how competitive competitive it's been, you know, this season with the Pac twelve. So it just it
just breaks my heart that it's breaking up. And you know, you can like Chip Kelly or not chip Kelly, but you guys probably saw that, you know his comments on everything he's he said in an interview, you know, the football should be all on its own, and he said, it's the damn shame that UCLA and Arizona are not going to play each other in softball anymore, right now, right, And he's right, and that's coming from you know, a football guy, right, No, his his,
he's spent two three minutes on it and everything he said, I told you read, Yeah I was. I was really impressed, you know with that. So yeah, no, absolutely. Can I ask a real quick questions? So you played golf that you see here? Right? I? Did we talk about or people talk about the the minor sports or the Olympic sports having to travel all these distances? Now Big ten, the Pac twelve is
going to go to the Big twelve. You know what I'm saying, Is it that much of a difference for the for the minor sports, if you will, going and traveling and coming back, and how it'll affect them academically and otherwise. I'll be honest, I haven't studied the schedule enough. But you know, on golf was always a little different the way the tournaments were structured because it wasn't like you were just going to play one team. So
it's not quite the same as the softball team or the basketball team. You know, you know going over So so I can't really say, not knowing how the actual schedule is going to work, but you know, it sure seems like it's going to be pretty complicated to me and a lot of traveling. Yeah, all right, so we've only got a couple more how things going over at the first he still a lot of a lot of little kids playing golf in more and more, how's it going? All? All kinds
of kids playing golf? And we run all the competitive tournaments and we introduced kids to the game. We got almost a thousand kids in the program and about two hundred kids a player junior competitive tournaments. And one of our kids, James Lebucus, who he became a caddy at Tucson Country Club through a new program we helped them start for the Evan scholars Program. He actually was awarded the Evan scholars and so he's going to get a full ride scholarship to
the school that he ends up getting accepted to. He's already been accepted to several but he hasn't chosen yet full scholarship. So everything. So I did the room board tuition, you name it. Great kid, and so we're really excited for him. I did a little piece in BIZ Tucson about that Tucson Country Club had a special section and I did a little bit about that
Evans scholarship. I mean that is that's just something that's really cool for you know, these kids to have a love of golf, but you know, get get a chance, and a lot of these kids don't you know, might not otherwise get that chance. Yeah, it's based obviously on financial need, but and then how many loops you get. It's it's a great you know, it's been in it's out of Chicago, and it's amazing. We have a new college scholarship program and so our applications are going out for our
kids for college scholarship. Obviously based on need and all those things, but it's not a full ride. It's just you know a little bit of money here. So so that Evan Scholar and our partnership with two Cuntry sub with the kids Caddy and it's just been dynamite. Is it. Is it a program that's continuing to grow or or or or what? And how many kids do you have in their program? What's that? Is it still growing? And how many kids do you have in the in the program in the First
Tea Program? Yes? Yeah, we have almost a thousand kids in the First Tea Program on a calendar year. So wow, it's amazing. Okay, I'm I'm and like to say about two hundred kids that play our competitive tournament. Okay, I'm a ten year kid. I've never golf before. You know, my parents don't have a whole lot of stuff. I go to school. I love sports. Talk talk me into being you know, joining up with First Tea and being uh, you know, being a part
of that program. That's what's so great about what we do is you know, we're more than just golf and everything is is group lessons and it's not like when you come here you're just coming out. It's almost like recess. You know, you're going out and playing golf on recess and you're not but you're not holding up your hand waiting to be the last person to be picked
to be on the team. Everybody's treated equally no matter what your skill level, and so much of what we do here is we teach them how to you know, set goals, stay in school, work on goal laddering, you know, just give these kids, you know, a sense of belonging and a place to go in a safe space. And then, you know, and if they want to move on and do more things competitive leave golf,
we have that too. We kind of run the gamut with what we do here and introducing them to the game on up to getting them true, true golf lessons if that's the direction they want to go. But what's nice about what we do with You don't need your own clubs. We provide everything, and once you stay in the program a little bit, we'll give you clubs if you want to take them home and practice. Other time. I'm going to cheer up. I'm going to cheer up. You're a good girl,
Charlie Brown. Thank you. Judy is always thanks for, thanks for She came on into last minute. I appreciate that, Judy. She even jokes with me, are you desperate? Or she knows she knows. She knows me already. Don't let him know that. Don't let him know that, Judy, don't let me Thank you as always appreciate you. She's one of the best. But yeah, thank you. I think the world is very cool, very cool, you know what. And you know, the golf here, this community was a ton to her. Yeah, I still
have golf. Yeah, we still have pro golf. You know. One of the things that she didn't say that, And you know this, finding a sponsor is just not easy, man, that's the and that's the biggest thing they'd try to chase down. Yeah, all right, thanks, thanks, let us and exactly all right, Okay, we're gonna take our break. We're gonna take some calls if you want, five to zero, four,
one, six, seventy four to forty. I'd love to here if you were out out at the waste management in your experience, and did you see, you know, people sliding down the hills in the mud. Did they show us stuff like that? Oh yeah, I didn't see that. I didn't see a ton of that stuff. And or if you want to talk anything else, obviously you have a basketball is a hot topic of conversation with through wins over the weekend, So stick around give us the call five
two zero, four, one, six, seventy four forty. If you're an Arizona men's basketball fan, you know it's been successful for nearly forty years. Now take a look back at the Loudolsen era in my new book, Lessons from Loot. It was a labor of love through the eyes of twenty five former players, coaches and friends to give insight to the coach and the man who led them, competed against them, and inspired them twenty five chapters
for his twenty five years as Arizona's the loved Coach. Lessons from Lut is an insight to how he built the program into a national powerhouse. What one email me a Steve dot RIVERA ninety five at gmail dot com. Hi, this is formal while get Leman huntly with Arizona Health. Imagine how home GM can change your health, your comfort, and your time. Arizona Health is everything you need to transform your personal space and your life. We off a
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exes and ohs. It's Steve Rivera and Jagins. This is I on the ball on Fox Sports fourteenth Phi. Welcome back to the ball, you know, Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. I'm Steve, He's Jay. We have at least today with us. We have thirteen minutes. If you guys want to call you gont check about hoops, just call golf, whatever. Football, Let's not go there. We're done with football. Where do you guys think
about Pele? And after that performance? Well, I think we he's like the basketball team in November December. Wow, they're good and then just don't go away. Yeah, because that's what that's what we see he's capable of. Yeah, but guess what it may not be as consistent. Yeah, does it make sense? Uh huh? Jay? Yeah, No, they and we've been saying. You know again, Evan Makawa turned us on to him that when he plays well, they play well. Yes, and when
he doesn't play well, they don't play well. And he's he you know, he's it's weird to think that he's the the lickxir. Yeah, like as you say, the magic potion, you know, the secret sauce, the secret sauce, secret, the secret sauce, and and and so you know the fact that that you know, he I mean, he had he earned the Player of the week and they swept on the road. Yeah. But you know what, we kind of pointed out this yesterday because you said
that he's been overtaken by h. Bradley. Bradley, but the guy and we said this kind of strangely, Okay, so Pelle right, he does really well, the team plays well. The guy that played really well, Kylon Boswell, Arizona needs him. Uh and then you come up with Baba they need him. So it's kind of like everybody needs to have their piece
of the pie to make this team go well. And to your point of Bradley, I totally every point that you made, totally agree, except that he doesn't pass the ball as much, And I was thinking about this coming in today. The success of this team is the passing of the ball. The ball finds as open many and sometimes that doesn't happen. When a couple of guys get the ball, right, that's one of them. Right, you've been paid attention at all. Right, so if that was to continue,
I don't have to pay attention too much to see that. And how many times, Jay, maybe you at least do you say, and he shoots the ball from wherever? You think? No? No, yeah, yeah, now you know. Let's say, let's see what happened with the year. And as you said, Steve, it's gonna it's every every week. It's gonna be a wait and see. Okay, let's see what they do next. It is a wait and see. You never know because they've been as you say, you know, you say you can't trust him.
I say, they're just unpredictable. I was just gonna ask, because you haven't been with us for a while, I haven't brought this question to you. Do you trust one of your questions? Do you do you do you trust this team to win every game or to win when they should? Yeah, just the rest of the year. I don't know. I don't think I trust them, That's that's what. No, I don't I think that people who have seen enough games love this team, but they don't trust them.
Yeah, they are, they're unpredictable. Yeah, but I mean this weekend you get a little bit more trust in them. Now, sure, until you don't, I know, because remember we were saying, like again I actually said this the other day on UATV, that it was amazing that they could come back from Stanford and UCLA, even though they should never be down in the first place. But we were saying, like they were at home, like they probably wouldn't have won if they weren't in McHale. But
then they did this at Utah and they had the fight in them. Actually they gave up, they gave up, I know, but you know they played till the end. Yeah, yeah, it is what it is. I mean the things, they're eight strong, they're a good When they play really well, we see what they're capable of. When they struggle, we see what they're capable of. We have and don't forget Jay in the tournament,
how many bullets do you get? You get one, get one and six day trying you know, you got to hit the bulls eye every time, right right now? I get yeah, I understand. You know, there's I'm not trying to poo poo or anything. I mean, those you are, but that's okay. Those are the legitimate things I'm not trying to do. You guys think it's going to be looking good in the tournament team oys, Yeah, that's what we really don't know. Well, how about
how about what Kansas did? Yeah, you texted right away. Yeah, twenty nine point loss. It's crazy, unranked. If you're if you're a canvas guy, you trust them, You've lost your mind. You know you've lost. Do you trust? Does your mom trust Duke? I trust? Yes, because they're always more solid, though they're more consistent. They almost lost the weak for us at home last night. They won, though they almost lost. There's a lot of teams that are out there that aren't.
You don't know, even Purdue come on as good as they are. Do you really think giving their tree? I don't trust that exactly exactly. It's just when these players are so young and unexperienced, that's it's hard to win March madness like that. But Arizona is more experienced now, so you're trying to go away with a diploma and some luck. You need a little luck to you need a lot of luck, luck and health and all that stuff. We'll see what happens. I'm not try trying to poo poo and it's
just what I see. My eyes aren't lying to me. I don't think no, no, you're right. I mean it's you. I mean you're you're a hum percent correct. I mean if you're thinking, okay, everything's fixed, then you haven't been watching them all year long, right, right, because it's day to day, it's game to game, right, you haven't you haven't been paying attention. So yeah, you know you have to you know you have to kind of just take it day by day. That's
what it is. I mean, that's it's it's a stupid cliche, but you have to do You really do have to take them one game at a time. Who thought that ACU was going to come in and beat them last year? Then they did? You let them hang, Let them hang, You let them hang. Then they hit a half court shot to win the game. If I said last Saturday morning and said, okay, Jay, here's a hundred bucks, uh, put it on. Put it on.
Utah or a issue. What are you doing, I'm going to Utah easy, right, he's easy man, easy money, and so well, because it's you never know, give from on any team. Yeah right right, no, so that's you know, and that's so that's where we are with this team. And no matter what happens, Steve, you know, they can want a winning streak. They can win three more games in a row, right they you know, they they've got I think the Washington schools commit.
So let's say they win these next three home games they should, which they should, right, they should. Right, let's say they do. Now they're on a six game winning streak with momentum, right, and you are you thinking though, right, are you thinking? Okay, there's after, there's after, who's after? Then they then they go to say, oh see, you see it. That's even because you see, right, isn't that very well at the end of the end of the regular season,
Uh? Yeah probably? And U c. L A Is I think the last game of the year, and you're looking, oh no, because they're playing really well. Yeah, so you know, I'm looking up here real quick. I've got on my trusty calendar because yeah, you got you've got the Washington Schools here next week. Then they go to oh no, they've got uh uh uh, they got a s U on the twenty eighth Wednesday.
Up, that's right, And then Oregon comes here. Then they go to the there's still a lot of basketball left, especially issue up there, because you know how crazy it is, Yeah, it's crazy. Yeah. Then they go to the LA schools and then who's first u USC or UCL C l A is on Thursday? Okay, the US is the last game of the season. Yeah, so they beat U C l A on Thursday, and then guess what that downer game that you always have to worry about
is that Saturday. Yeah, because there's always playing down to a team that you know what, a USC is so bad. Yeah, they're so bad. Oregon State wasn't very good, but no US is even worse. I mean they're the last place by a lot. USC and Arizona were supposed to be the top two of the pack twelve. This season. Washington State's been the big, big surprise. I was excited for these USC matchups and now it's well, you kids booing BROWNI just I was not Bannie. I was
working that game. Students. You guys, you guys. No, yeah, so I mean, I mean you look at their schedule. You know, they got a SU should be a win. They got Washington State, should be a win. They got Washington should be a win. Then they got a SU again, didn't They lose to Washington this year at Washington State. But in Washington state's put there. They're gonna come here and they're gonna Arizona's gonna be passed and then and they're gonna beat them. So you may
have a seven game winning streak heading with Oregon coming to town. Now you make it eight and then you go to U c l A and USC and you're thinking, Okay, what can go wrong? The traffic, the traffic just to get to the games? Get what can go wrong? Well, sid who is it that head? That was it Oregon that had that trouble at U C l A. There was a presidential motorcade that kept them from getting the arena. Corey Williams was doing the game him and and what's his
name from the b area. Well, you know, whenever they play US U s C, it's going to be the stars are going to be out, especially probably in l A. Yeah, with Brownie playing, the stars were out here. Kevin was here, right, they were out last night at the u A women's basketball game. What's his name? The funny guy Curdy here? Twins? Twins? Is it the you know who it is? Early hair, funny guy short. You know he was in the brother Brothers, Brothers Brothers. That's a well Farrell, Yeah, that's there.
He was on the sideline. There a few people there there, he was there. Is there a lot you know, if it's out usc, it's going to be And what's your name, Jude? You watch it is fantastic. I saw a lot of I saw, you know. The one thing I saw her play. I thought she looks like a deal. She plays like a deal. Smooth, very smooth on the busket. Yeah, she plays. She plays a different game than the rest of them. She definitely
does. The woman played well last night, it could. I mean they were hanging pretty well into the game and then they weren't down by that much. Then it got away from him. I feel for a deal now that it's almost over whatever, seven players, how are you going to survive, man, whether it's injuries or craziness or whatever. Gilbert was back and she played well. You know, they all played well. It's just us. It was just too much for him. Yeah, no, I I I
watched enough. I turned it on and it was towards the end of the first quarter, right, they were at the end of the I'm like, wow, there's a little something going on here. And then they hung with them and they were down what four, four or five at the half. I thought it was like more like ten, but you know, I mean,
but they were there. Actually in the middle of the second quarter, they were still hanging and then I mean had I think at a four or five point lead at one point in the second quarter, and then the game got away, got away. You know that's to be expected. Yeah, but you know, Idea's gotta she's got to kind of evaluate, you know, how her program's going, the players that she's bringing in, right,
and you know she's doing that. I mean, I mean, she she's going to I mean, she's she and all of a sudden become a bad
coach. Yeah, she's she's well, she's evaluated it for the last two years, right, and then it's just not just not working, you know, and she's and maybe she's you know, she's adjusting to the things that you know need adjusting in this day and age of of of uh you know, of coaching and that in this uh you know in college and it's like some people just to well some people don't you got you know, your your athletes can be all nutty and you don't know what to do with them.
And so, uh, she'll be fine. I think she'll be fine. She's still a good coach. Yeah, listen, I think right right, Okay, I was, I was talking to somebody today, how would you handle in a l as a coach? That'd be so always so tough, knowing that you're gonna lose players to other schools. You don't have a choice. If you got it, you've got to embrace it, and you've got to figure out ways to help. I mean, your livelihood at at stake.
If you if you if you, if you think I can ignore it and continue to be competitive, then you're not going to have a job for very long. Yeah, you have to embrace it. That. Plus you're in Tucson, Arizona. Uh, and you're asking the local companies to give you money, especially now with a you of a the school in trouble here and then you have n I l here and then you have the Athletic Department here all asking the same people, same questions. Can you give us some
money? You got? You have to embrace it. Absolutely do and you had no choice. And if you don't, then then you need to do what Chip Kelly did and go somewhere where you don't have to to do with it. Take a job that you don't have to deal with it. I bet you that was reasons could be a reason when you did that. Yeah. Absolutely, I've had enough of this. I don't need it anymore.
Okay, let's take our break. We're top of the hour. We're coming back and and a list will have breaking news and there's some good stuff coming up, so stick around.