Tuesday, June 25, Hour 1

This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzales Sound Fox Sports fourteen fifty powered by Nova Insurance Services and Sure Your Most Prized Possessions kt z R two SAD at iHeartRadio Station. Good, good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to I on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera alongside partner Jagan's aus got our guy kept Bryan, right, that's right. I've been gone so long. He's been Ryan his whole life. Actually,

right, yeah, I knew that, right. I said I'll let you earlier. It's for years. It must be because of the Jay passed that Doobie or was it you, Kevin the head that Adoby. It's illegal now, right, didn't have it. I didn't bring any stuff. I've never done it, but maybe I'll have to do it because you never have. I never have never never ever, never needed to, never wanted to.

But I guess everybody can do it now. Well, that's what they say in n C. Double A now was saying that you know you're not gonna you're not going to be suspended if you if you don't, if you show, but they're they're calling cannabinoids. Just wanted did you say pot in your system? In your system in a blood test, in a drug test regular season, it's a I guess it's, don't I guess I'm assuming if it's. If you're good in the postseason, you're good in the regular seas.

Fire it up, baby, yeah, lay up? Wow? What the world could be to? Everyone's getting money, lots of money. You do whatever your damn please, this world needs to calm down. Maybe if everybody blazed up a little bit, Okay, every and I mean everybody blazed up just a little bit in might calm things down. It and there'll be a run on nachos and well, yeah, you know, the big the big bag of laze would be would be in demand. Well, look at the world we live in. The kids are making tons of money, and now

this there's gonna be a point. And I think there was hinted of this maybe a few months ago, where you could play not just four or five years, you could play it until you wanted to get you wanted to. Yeah, I'm waiting for them to say what you know, one of the one they can put limits on how long can play college sports. I don't want to go there's there isn't there a ninth year player in the football this

and we should go back and explain what this discussion was about. And Double A Division one console voted today that testing positive for what they're calling cannabinoids will not result in your being suspended or declared ineligible or anything like that for its n C Double A championships and for postseason football bowl games. So you can play up all you want tonight before what's next? I think the playing forever is next? And then grades. I'm gonna sue I'm not eligible, Hell

with you, I wanna sue. Yeah, Well, like the question we got asked yesterday, right that our caller who called you us and said, wait, these guys still stood yeah right right, yeah, yeah they are. They technically still have to go to school and they have to have grades, and you know, you have to be eligible. But you know, you get we don't hear players being ineligible for grades anymore. I can't remember the last time we Yeah, and obviously they can't do it for hippo laws

or whatever laws they have. Yeah, but you know, guys not you know, key guys not playing in a game. Why And they just say, you know, we haven't had those personal read personals or school reasons or whatever. Yes, so Steve, now might be the time Steve to oh to dude, blaze up or what did you I'm not hip like that, man. No, come, I already mail though. I don't need to do that stuff. Yo, Nico, Nico, this is a Nico question. Well, yeah, Nico, Nico. Probably Nico probably stopp passing drug

testing about the third grade. You know, if you want to call, it's not a snow hunt. What you're thinking on this? When when did you fail your first drug test? Nico? No, that's that's that's hard. Don't tell them, don't tell, don't tell. That's because that's what's the overrunner on that. Not going there like twelve and a half. That's Jay talking, Nico. Don't listen to, don't listen to twelve and a half. Well, welcome to Welcome to Budday Show or Tuesdayday. Hey,

you do it right after Monday every week every week. You killing, it's my second day back and I don't even know where the hell I am. Good to be back again. Jay. We have a good show today. I think it's gonna be a fun, fun show in as much as it's gonna be eclectic. We have Ray Flores in the first time. Ray Flores, who's family are the owners and operators of all the Altaro restaurants for his concepts, is the Umbrella Company. But they know they're historic family here in

town. Yeah. The reason we're I asked Ray, because we've been trying to or you did last week, trying to get some boosters. Then you mentioned this yesterday you asked a couple one couldn't or one declined. We were trying to treat some other ones and I had been talking to Ray. He wants to come on and be positive about what's going on, that they can get out of this with a lot of work, talking to the right people,

doing the right thing. And he's involved. He caters a lot of the games, right, so we'll see his thoughts and get a booster's perspective because he has some skin in the game. Yeah, he does, you know, just one of those. Look, there's so many supporters out there. There's people that you know, we we know, and we don't think of them as as as huge you know, boosters of of U of athletics, but they are. And then in the Florest family is one of those

you know that, you know they're out there. Yes they have they have concessions at the at the games, but you know that there's money coming, you know, from other directions, and and they're you know, they they support the Arizona Athletics. So yeah, you know, so'd be good to talk to talk to Rain just what's on the minds of all these boosters and supporters whatever you want to call them, who are putting money into the u of A. Who are who have a as you say, skin in the

game. What are they thinking right now? As uh ash these things are developing, and we're finding out that the University of Arizona Athletic department and maybe the university as a whole, really was not taking care of the money the way they should have been, right right, uh And we'll go with that. And then the second hour, we're gonna have coach Stitt. You know a long time there was a baseball assistant. He's down at Pima, one of the heads there. In terms of the administration. He had some some

thoughts on William May's passing. We'll talk to him about that, and and some of the administrative things that are going on now, like like the boosters, his former school at Juve and how you know his thoughts because he's I'm sure he's like old school like us. You know, what the hell happened? Older school than us? Okay, right, I'm looking at his I'm looking at his buyer. He graduated from college in sixty eight, so that's

that's like older than my brothers. So he's Jerry's been around. Although he's a much better shape than all of them. I want to still know how to hit them a curveball in the middle. He taught my wife how to hit really yeah, uh where when when we were playing we had a co ed team that were playing softball out at sports Park and you know, our friend Ray Martinez, his wife was on the team, and Ray got Jerry to give our wives that's meaning lessons. We won a couple of championships after

that. Co ed. That's cool because we were in the lowest level of co ed were basically, you know a lot of players just don't know how to hit male and femes. How many people got divorced after that? Well, I'm still married. Okay, there's one you know, don't you know what I'm saying? You play with your playing with Look, we weren't about the games. We were about going after the games and the pizza and the beer and the stuff. And finally we all started having kids and we couldn't

play. We could just couldn't do it anymore. Yeah, okay, they'll be looking forward to that and see what he says about with all that stuff. At four fifteen, four seventeen, whatever time it is, what else is going on? I'm sure you saw the well you saw you have probably the last tense baseball game with the nub NC DOUBLEA. I was flipping channels between the College World Series and the hockey game. So let me tell you. I don't watch hockey. I don't watch I watched maybe one percent of

one percent whatever, but I watched the final three minutes. Yes it was fun frenzy. Yes it was fun frenzy. That's why I watch it. But I watched it from the beginning, and I mean the they came out of the locker room in a frenzy and it was great. It was I shouldn't take it back from beginning. When I turned on it was one one, and then I was watching when uh, when the Panthers went up to one, and I mean I was glued to it. For the third period, I was coed and it was such a friend, such a frenzy,

uh, you know, and then the heartbreak at the end. You saw, you know, the the you know, you see the celebration, but then you see the guys on the other side and they put everything they had into it. It was a game seven. They came back all the way from three nothing, losing by one goal. A you know, at the

end, it was it was fascinating to me. There was even a video that I saw on on Twitter where the captain of the the Oilers stood at the door to the lock, not the door to the door to get off the ice and waited for every player, every one of his teammates to get off the ice before he got off the ice. You know, he just was there for you know, for each one of them. It was.

It was really cool, and you really when a sport is that physical and that much of a I keep using the word frenzy when they put all that into it for those for those games, they're spent at the end. They're just spent. Everybody is because they all play, yeah, right, they all play. It's not like an NFL game. They don't all play. There's some guys who don't play. These guys all play, and they give it everything they have and they come to the end and somebody has to lose,

and it's it's incredible to see. Yeah, no, it wasn't. They kept saying, you could see the you could see the oilers gas their gas. Yeah yeah, I wouldn't know what a guy in a uniform like that looks like his gas or not. But it was cool. They were they were trying as well as they could. They were man to get that less, riving and poking each other, sticking their sticks everywhere. Just incredible.

And that's that's what I love about it about a game seven. I sound like a dude who's who's a little younger than than my boy right here thinking about talking about uh some old school music. Wow, that's pretty cool. The Beatles, Wow, that's good cool music. And talking about the

talking about hockey. I've always you know again, I've always paid attention to the Stanley Cup in that regard getting to the last couple of games, you know, and watching the elimination games and watching and now I don't even watch the earlier rounds, just the final because I'm not a hockey guy, but I even I have an appreciation for what we got to see last night. It was very cool. Okay, what else is going on? We got about four minutes. I hope we get a lot of calls on a lot

of different things today. There's because there's still a lot of things going on. We'll talk. We'll leave baseball alone for you. I don't know if you have that. I can ce double a baseball was a good game. Yeah, that that was a great game. You know, I was rooting for both of them to lose, you know, because it's that was like, you know, the devil versus the devil, you know, being that you know Pac twelve guy out here. There was no way that was gonna

happen. But I really didn't like, uh, you know, neither one of them had won the championships. I guess, okay, go go win one. But you know, I'm just always rooting against the SEC with the well you had no choice because you know those there was two cars, which is there? Well in the tournament? Did you see this that just that just came across about Texas A and name's coach? Oh did he go to Texas? He did? Because last night was one of those questions, did

you oh, did you see that? I didn't see that. So after the po post came after the game, one of the guys, I don't know who it was, reporters asked him, are you going to go to Texas or what are your chances going to take it? I don't know how he phrased, and he got pissed. I think he say pissed. And he got pissed upset about the question because they had just won a title, right, uh and well less than twenty four hours. I get you gone.

Yeah, all minutes ago that came across now CONTI that is plucking coach if you were doing content and his pockets are twice as deep as everybody else is just go get whoever you want, what you want, give him the cash. He took Arizona's golf coach. But you know it's like the time that that um, what's his name me? Who went from Kansas to North

Carolina, Oh Williams. Williams. Remember they lost to the final four and they said we got to ask you, and he got pissed off, and a couple of days later he was the head coach in North Carolina was with with the girl reporter. I forget her name, Bonny Bernstein, it was Bonniers. It's like, guys, just don't crap on the reporter. Just say I'm not answering that. Just leave it alone. I know you have to ask a question. We have to ask. I'm not answering that question.

Yeah, but we know, but we gotta people find out part of part of the thing with it and my day, your day is a reporter. What's your job? I got questions? What's their job? Win games? Did you ever apologize for asking a question? I may have may have in this context? Uh, sorry, but I have to ask this, yeah, you know, not asking immensely. No, I'm sorry, but I got to ask you because yeah, well the closest I came was that

I've told you that story. But when Luke got mad at me because because uh, Sean Rooks did not show up for a game between Christmas, and that was notorious happening. Yeah, And so I let everybody ask all the questions that were getting asked, and there were no more questions about the game, and he was getting up to leave, and I said, I said, wait, Lute, I got one more question. I said, I have to ask this where Seawan Rooks? Because nobody else asked for Sean.

Well, I can see it. How do we not ask where Sean Rooks was? And that was my whole story. I was there. I was the sidebark guy, and my story was do the story on Sewan Rooks and where he's at. So you know, and I said that. I said, like, I let everybody answer, ask all the questions where Shawan Rooks? And he got mad at me. Did he answer? No? I mean, as I recall, he you know, just said it's personal or something like that. Ye. But that's all. That's all I need.

I just need him to say, you know he's not here, Well, we know he's not the thing about it is, it's notorious. In my thirty twenty five years covering the team, it was notorious that that Christmas Man, they were coming back. Yeah they were coming yeah. Yeah. And I guarantee you because it's written in the book a thousand times that a lot of them thought of not coming back. But they came back and they and they never lived, never lived to regret it. Yes, they guted it

out. They said, you know what, the best decision I made was not leaving to not leave. Yeah, you know a couple of guys did, Sean Allen h Andrew Bohannan, those guys saying I wish I would have stayed. Yeah, I wish I would have stayed. Well, yeah, because what happened to them? Nothing exactly nothing nothing. Had they stayed something good for something good, Yeah, right, they did. They had a better had a better chance of something good happening. Right. But you know,

you're eighteen nineteen, you know more. I knew more than everybody else, right, and then you realize, what the hell do I know? I was pretty stupid. You can say that now. Your dad didn't know that. I know he did. Actually, I was very actually very clever that I didn't get caught on all the things that I could have gotten caught. Lucky, you get lucky. You would be with me right today? Yeah, yeah, Okay, we gotta go, we gotta all right, let's get out of here. We're going to come back. We'll be back

with uh with Ray Florides, longtime supporter of Arizona Athletics. We'll just get I know what's on his mind and maybe the mind of some other boosters with all this financial stuff going on in athletics, we'll stick around. The Window Depot has everything you need to greet the kitchen or bathroom of your dreams. Frowsyisles of instock cabinets available in a variety of sizes and configurations, and instantly elevate your space. Today, visit a showroom and let our experts guide you.

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Tucson Sports. Stay Chef, Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. Hey, welcome back to my id the baug here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. He's Jacinsofs. Now on the phone. We have Ray Florids from Florida's Concepts and all those great Otarro restaurants. Ray, how are you? I'm good, sir. How are you? We're doing on? Yes? Yes, the good to have you on. We had been looking for someone like you, and here you are. Let's let's let's talk about one like me.

What does that mean? Someone like me? Someone like you, a booster who knows knows the ins and outs of at least the local scene. When it comes to people like you, who you know, give money, have this moral support, have this financial support for you? Of a Initially, what are your thoughts on what's going on at you? Of a academic? Not academically athletically well athletically. I really like all the coaches, I

mean, and I haven't met a coach I haven't liked. And I can't say that's true for every year since you know, I've been around, and I really do like the coaches right now in their staff, so you know a lot of them very approachable, They seem to care about this community. They want things to work. Maybe that's a change in tune around the entire country that so just have to be a little bit different than they used to be, not just x's and o's. But I like what I see right

now. Well, and you know it bodes well because the importance of you know, having support from people like you other businesses, and you know, not only to some but nationally it's become more important than ever with what's going

on financially with athletics. So before we go into the issues that the U of A has, just your thoughts on all the how important money has become in athletics, whether it's at the u of A even at the high school level, you know, just how it's changing ever thing and kind of where you are on all that as a fan, well, I think if you're walking on two feet or have a brain matter of any of any a substance, everything in our lives is impacted by the dollar, whether it be our

politics and who spends more, whether it be the medical system, and who has more, who can cover more spend more what medicare reimburses more for So it's silly to put some negative cloak of money on top of any industry or organizations such as sports. It's going to be there, and as it gets

bigger and more important, it's going to grow. Right now, I think, you know, when I see things that are going on, for instance, the constant barrage of articles and terminologies that are all of a sudden attached to sports, like Ernst and Young. I mean, if everybody sees Ernst

and Young, they automatically freak out. Ernst and Young's job is one hundred percent to go out and find critical issues to be fit and sometimes they may not need to be and sometimes they may be present in every living, breathing, business type organism you can find, but it's that's literally their job. If Ernst and Young had nothing to say, they probably didn't even show up.

So when I see that, I kind of had read flags me that this is a there's a little bit of a drama attached to all this because it's a public institution and they want to have something to talk about. You know what, at the end of the day, the University of Arizona is our hometown team. It is our Chicago Cubs, it is our New York Yankees, it is our you know, uh, Buffalo Bills. It's our it's everything to us. And a lot of those teams, Cubs, et

cetera, they didn't have winning seasons for many, many years. Right, we can't. We can't connect winning and losing to the love and the need to support the university. That that's a very different mindset. Yes, we all want winners, but our support should not ebb and flow with their record on the field. Do you know our support should be or should be a fe all the time? Yeah? Yeah, I'm thinking you know a lot of people like you again, with the support and all that. What are

they thinking? Is it a is a disappointment? Is it we'll get through this? What is it? Well? Look, I think there's probably is always an opportunity to change how you do business. I mean, I have some stores that don't work. I've talked to other big restaurant operators. They run like an eighty twenty rule, where eighty percent of stuff works, twenty percent doesn't. This is a public institution, so everything's under the microscope.

Yes, I think they've I think there were mistakes made. I think they've they've addressed in their moving in a direction to fix them. But this idea that you know, we should cut things or we should not give them the chance to remedy that, or now support should constantly come under scrutiny. I believe that the powers that be are there. I believe that they've set up the review processes. So let's not hang on to that hat. Let's get

back to driving the university forward, especially for Tucson. You know, as much as we know we need solid research institutions, we need solid scientific backgrounds, we need solid education. The sports and tourism market are completely in bed together and tied together. We benefit from room tax, we benefit from sales

tax. Our community needs these drivers. And you know, if you look at Family Weekend last year when we had Washington and that record in town, one of the last, you know, possibly one of the last, if ever times they'll play here, you know, Beep of course, before the jetfish drama, but that weekend was probably one of the busiest weekend in food sales we've ever seen. Well, you know, well, that's good for

you, Ray. Well, okay, you can say that if you're single minded, but We have five hundred people that work in our restauran runs that benefited from that, more hours, more gratuities. We have a bunch of police officers and firemen that need sales tax to pay for their raises or their wages, and that's what it was driving. We have bed taxes. There were rooms that were being auctioned on the black market. That's how popular that

was. And I don't know of another event that is like that other than the Gem Show, and we know how much that is coveted by local leaders and our industry trades in general. We have a chance to have a Gem show weekend every weekend that U of A Football plays, and it should be that way in too soon. So I guess that's the long wave saying you support what's going on over there. You're I mean, you're probably paying attention

to it, maybe even concerned. I don't know, I'm not I don't know if I'm putting words into your mouth, but you're willing to give the U of A an opportunity. You're going to continue support to support the athletics

while it's trying to fix these issues that it's had. And is that what you're saying as long as athletics, and I don't know about you know, how detailed the lear Field decision or whatever, But what I do want to say is that the one thing I like about my relationship release, and I can speak for myself with the university, is when we reach out, they're willing to listen. And I think the problem is is if you're not supporting them, and then all you want to do is reach out and criticize,

well, then that's not good. I think it's a two way street. I applaud those who are investing, I applaud those are involved, and I also applaud the effort to listen to the feedback. And if they stop that, or if we don't have that channel, then I think that's the problem. What I see right now is there may have been a lull in that over the last couple of years, maybe where that kind of fell apart,

or maybe review processes fell apart. I don't think that's the case right now, but having owned a bunch of businesses, some that have failed, I understand these things can happen, but you don't throw out everything over one or two issues. And this may seem very big, but we must rally around

this university and these teams as a community right now. So mister flutis, if you were the A D and you have a chance to probably talk to the new one a time or two, what what suggestions would you offer if you could well somehow, some way and Tucson, you know, they love

what they love. We've got to get the love back for U of A sports, specifically, you know, U of A football and it can't just come out at times like you know, that was great that we had that turnout at Hi Corbett the other day when we had the you know, when we'd won the Pac twelve, when we launched into the NCAA's that's wonderful. But you know, it was really hot. It was really nice a couple of months earlier, and the weather would have been great to have more people

out of the baseball park. It's a great ticket value. I think now we've got this inaugural year, you know, we should see a full series of games full of occupants. So U of A has to work on things like engagement of the community. I think I think in a little bit more local will help. I think getting our market, our culture into into the stadium will help. I think they're interested in that family, family environment.

I think would really help getting the people that are there celebrating at the tailgates, not to staying out there or leaving early, but getting them into the stands, creating an experience that they like staying throughout the game and not leaving early or our halftime. The student, the students have to be have to be committed, you know. I think we've got to get the students to really feel committed to attending sports games. I mean, I went to a

lot of baseball games and there were a lot of students there. Football, We've got to double, We've got to double and triple that attendant from the students. I think, you know, I don't know that Mexico shouldn't be an opportunity to market to and now that they've grown in their interest in American

football, that we shouldn't be marketing more for them. So I look forward to seeing what this new culture is going to create because I think I think the new ad is a person of action, and I think she's going to take action on some of these opportunities. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, No, I mean, look, there's those of us, and I'm gonna say us because I feel like you're you're one of them who you're gonna support the You're gonna support the university as you as you said, it's for

sports. It's everything that we do here. Yeah, there's you know, there's some baseball, and there's some hockey, and there's some you know, indoor football. But in the end, you know, we're a college sports town. We rely on that, and you know, businesses like you rely

on that. But and that's why, on the one hand, you're gonna support them, But on the other hand, you want to you want to support something that's you know, doing all the right things, and that I guess that's what we're trying to get to in terms of, you know, does the business community that that supports the University of Arizona and the athletics, are they okay with you know, do they feel like things are moving in the right direction with the new a D and the the uh you know figure

trying to figure all this out that's going on, so that you're not running a thirty million dollar deficit, well those are those are obviously big numbers, right, and to be foolish for anybody to say that's not a lot of money. I think there were obviously spending issues, and there were budget issues, and there was accounting issues. But again, is in business that can happen. I know it's crazy to think that it could happen at that level, but it can. It's still a human based process. I do.

I do think that from a standpoint of hospitality, I think I hope that the new AD and her team will focus on hospitality because I think from the apples, from the approach, to donors, the sponsors, to the to the fans, to the everyday person coming in and out just for a game or two or hopefully a season ticket holder, all of that should experience the same level of heightened hospitality, of heightened approach, build a culture of the you know, this is the game in town, and I think the idea

that it's the only game in town is actually can bite us back. I think we need to figure out this is a part of our fabric. I like leverage in business, I do, but I don't want leverage just for leverage sake. I think we have to identify as a community that even if you don't like sports, even if you're in academia, who thinks it's stupid that a university needs a football team, or you're somebody who believes I like gaming more than I like football, understand that all of those things and all

those categories should have a seat at the table in a community. You may not like local restaurants, you may like change, but you would not want to live in a market where there we're only changed and there are only locals. Right there has to be a blend of fabric of different threads and colors and shapes to make a community. And right now, the U of A for one hundred and fifty years or however as has been a vital connecting thread for our community and we need to support it right now. Has it has

it got issues? Yes, but tell me what household, what business, what religion, what academic concept hasn't had issues in our generation, much less the last hundreds of generations. So I think we just need to get rid of the negative for a while. Yes, we got to come back and look at how they do. But for the next six months, I think we need to end this year strong. I think what you guys do in portraying athleticism as a as a newsworthy concept that people should pay attention to,

is really important. Right now. We can't lose that fact. And you see markets that like look at look at Glendale right now. I mean, look at the West Valley how it has been driven forward by sports and tourism in that area, you know, And we need that here because it percolates and it drips down. It does. And I know people get mad because

that concept of like, you know, drip down economics. But but I'm not worried about the economics as much as even things like I would love to be in a town where I didn't have to in a situation where I didn't have to drive to Phoenix every weekend for a tournament because there was a sports community here where they were Phoenix would come to us where I didn't have to get on the road every week and to drive my fourteen year old to play

a baseball tournament. But there were some here, and there was in football, you know, training camps and soccer tournaments and things in Tucson. And that does start with our having a vibrant u of a because it's about what all those entities and governments and sponsors, they need to see this market as one that's for real. Otherwise they're just gonna look over us and we're gonna

die. It's gonna and it's gonna hurt so many of us that aren't paying attention to this ball because where we don't think it's our ball to hit, it's gonna hurt us. Yeah, no, I totally agree with you. We have to be one pulling the rope in the right direction on all this. It's important. Yeah, yes, hey, Ray, I appreciate your time. Thanks the whole bunch of very good stuff. Yeah, thank you.

You're doing Thank you. Ray flotis from look and you know, and there here's a business guy right who this is important to him and so he wants it to He wants to be going well, he wants it to succeed. He wants you to get it stuff together because it you know, as he said, in a lot of ways, for a lot of people, it's a life blood of what they do. Right. No, And he has he has a love. He has a love. I didn't ask him if I think he's you a graph. He is a love like many others

do for you. A right, you know, it's the red and blue. He bids the red and blue and not business is business for me. They've got to do a lot of things wrong for me to be really pissed at. Yeah, I'm kind of pissed at him right now, but personal right, let's go Okay, no, no, we'll come back with that because I kind of asked you that yesterday. What would and then somebody what

would have to go really wrong for you to just say enough already? And the colors are called yesterday, I'll ask you again, Okay, maybe you could rethink well, no, you know, okay, let's take a break. We'll be right back. If you 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 beloved coach. Lessons from Lut is an insight to how he built the program into a national powerhouse. Want one Email me at Steve dot Rivera

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classes so you can choose the field that's right for you. Learn how at PEMA dot edu. Slash someday there in a state upre Is it hot in here or is it just me? Honey, I always think you're hot, but it's June and we all know it's going to get hot in Tucson. It doesn't have to be hot in our house. Honey. You should call

Picture Rocks Cooly meeting them plumbing. They have the solutions for us for all your air condition needs, all today by few zero four nine two zero seven four eight or visit us at Picture Rockscooling dot com, jucks Day, get and Plumbing. Steve Rivera and Jake and Salez they have their eye on the ball on Tucson Sports Stag yet Fox Sports fourteen fifty streaming live. I mean iHeart radio apps. Hey, welcome back to Iying the ball hero Fox Sports

fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. He's jackins Owis. We have our guy Ryan with us today. We have fifteen minutes if you want to call five to two oh four one six seventy four forty. Do you guys think a lot like Ray? I mean, they'll get through this eventually. And and like I asked, I was gonna ask you, do you what would I couldn't give you a tragedy? What would happen if you were to jump ship? But you're never gonna jump ship. Now what would kind of make you

even more depressed? Well, I guess it depresses that's right. Well here's the thing. And look, I know that, you know, coaching biounces where things bother me. All right, I get you, I got you. But you know, I understand that's part of the game. I understand. You know you're gonna have to give Sean Miller. What do you get four million dollars something like that? You haven't someone got seven? No? No, I think Sean got like under two something like. Okay, whatever,

those you know what, That's part of the game. Those are the numbers. But I'd be pissed off if I'm, you know, giving handing money, you know, giving money to an athletic department, and my coach has a seventy seven million dollar buyout. That's where you lose me, right or or you know, you know, let me tell you your selling an example is perfect seven and a half million to do what every win that he

had caught? Yeah, cost two million dollars or for a win. And then the reason I wasn't more upset about that, Steve, is because when because somebody took care of it? No, no, no, when when Arizona hired him. He was the guy everybody wanted. Everybody thought it was a home run higher right. Uh, you know, he he was. He was kind of the hot guy out there as Mike Stoops was back when he got hired. So you know, to sit here and say, oh, you know you never should have hired him, well, that's crap.

Everybody wanted him and and and so I think it was. Uh, you know, I'm mad at him for doing such a crappy job that they ended up having to pay him seven million dollars to get the hell out of here. I'm mad at him. I'm not mad at the u A for that, if that's what it took to get him. But you know, seventy seven million dollar buyout for like the one they had for uh uh Jimbo Fisher. There's some forty million dollar buyouts and fifty million dollar bus that's crazy.

You know, it's just nuts. And on the one hand, yes, you're protecting you know your your you know your interest to make sure your coach stays. But no coach is worth that without question. No coach is worth question. You know, no coach is worth that. And so uh, you know, if you if you got to get him X buy out to get him, and if he needs more than that, they let him go somewhere else that you know, that's what I say. So that's where you

would lose me on something like that. I get it. You know, universities and as as ray as Ray for Us said, large businesses, they have issues like this. You know, to me, it's it's affected us personally. You know, with my son at the of A, it's affected us personally. So in that regard, I'm on happy with what's going on, but not to the point where I like, I just hate those guys because I don't and and I and I won't. They're gonna have to do

something really stupid and it's funny. It's not funny, but it is what it is. Because I don't want to use your son. I want to you just as an example kind of Uh is very good at what he does, affable. Uh, they like him. Oh but sorry, we gotta let you go because someone else screwed up, right, I mean, if it's not me, it's not me screwed up. But it was not on me. What the hell? What the hell exactly? That's what that's what upsets me that yeah, that that is bothers them, you know what,

It absolutely bothers them. And and it's you know, but I don't know. You know again, it's big picture. You know. The university is important to me, it's important to my family. I'm with Ray. Tucson is Tucson where a million people were a nice place to live, and a lot of that is because of the university. Let's take this call higher on the air and I on the ball. Afternoon, you guys, Gabe. I hope Steve is all right. I'm sorry for you for your lost good

thank you. I appreciate it, appreciate it. So just so, the reason why I'm calling is because I'm very happy that Arizona a number of recruits or commits this path this past Sunday and Monday, so keep it coming. Also, it's very happy that the universe Arizona beat beaten out the well flip I commit from the you know, the mons in Tempe. So I'm very happy for that. I hope Jay is pretty happy. I was gonna, I was gonna prompt you with that gay because I said, you must be

happy about the flip from up north. But of course you were right. Of course you were yeah. Yeah, yeah, there's dumbasses hard. We'll see what happens. Are you okay with the quality of people that have coming in? Yes, yes as well, Yes I am okay, Okay. I think that's the biggest question mark, and we won't know how good they're going to be until they play here, right, so wait, what's wait

and see? The only thing that matters is for Brett Brennan, his coaching staff and for the team is just a stack wins on each on each other on this coming season, because in twenty four because in twenty fifteen and in nineteen ninety eight, Arizona has been the widely coyote recently, So yeah, they need the stack wins on each other and then then next year more recruits will come because once you stack wins on every season, the mainstream media,

including ESPN, Fox Sports, we'll see. Well, I guess Arizona's power football program that is going to stay for a couple of years. So they just they got they just need to win a lot of games. I hope ninety three or at least going to the Fireoff will be will be pretty good. Yeah, no, thank you, Gabe, I always appreciate it. Okay, bear down Arizona Coquat, Thank you, Gab gave on top of

it as usual, it's as fact, it's as funny as hell. They were sitting here, you know, they were the same playoff in the same breath with Arizona football. Oh yeah, legitimately, right right right now, it's just got to happen. Now I can sixty seven, sixty six games days away from the nervous I'm nervous, are you? Yeah? For about what about the fact that every time they have a ten win season, they

sucked the next year? Yeah? Yeah, Well that's your that's your thing up it with like it's you know, it's it's it's Lucy pulling away the football. Yeah, no, I know. Well, the thing is it's never under this condition is because there's a new coach, new motivation, new fire under their under their their heart or whatever fire under to get them motivated, so they have a new will to win, if that makes any sense. But you know, the conditions would be great, new league, new

coach, new everything. Yeah, I mean yes, And that part of it's going to be fun. I keep saying that, who's the first game we get? Is it in New Mexico? No? Yeah, yeah, New Mexico NAU. Then they go to Kansas State. Yeah, okay, okay, should be fun. I mean, it should really be fun. They're thirty and a half point favorites over New Mexican. Yeah. New Mexico's has a new coch coach obviously their head coach is now here. And a half is a lot for a first game. Yeah, yeah, don't you

think. Yeah, but New Mexico's bad horrible. How do I know? I just know, I just know that any of you and then the Kansas State right away? You see, now you're going to be in the league. Yeah. There are some lists that you know, there's all these lists that are coming out, and there's somebody put out a list of you know, top games early in the season to keep an eye on, you know, and that's listed as one of them. In Kansas State right now is

a nine point favorite in that game? Oh for Arizona. Well yeah, well should be fun. Yeah, take your tombs now, I love it. We're already talking point sprints for football. Should we go to media day? Oh it's in Vegas. When is it July, like the second week of July. Yeah, I don't think I can. I don't think I can. If it's mid July, there's no way I can't. It's like it's like the second week. Well, maybe I can. I'll make an

exception. I have a lot of stuff coming up in July, so maybe maybe we take a road ship for a day, do the story, do the show from up there on a Friday or what day? Whatever day is. It's Wednesday July. No, it's July ninth, and really that early July. Oh, there's no way I can go. No, you know you didn't go either July ninth and tenth. Yes, why so soon? It's usually like the twenty something. Maybe not, it's because it's not the fact. Well okay, but still, I mean that's the way I had

a test schedule. I think we'll see maybe no, maybe maybe yes, maybe no. It's so what days that it's Tuesday Wednesday? See yeah, it's a Tuesday Wednesday. Yeah, Tuesday Wednesday. You know what. I can't go either. I just I just lined up like four meetings those couple of days, just literally just today, just today. It'd be fun though, Okay, it'd be fun if they do it there every year, we can go win these years. Yeah? Hey maybe, well you can't go

in July. So you talk tough and then you back time. Yeah, I did, because I forgot about all these meetings. I said, yeah, no, we have it. It's too if it was, I got tomorrow. I've got a bunch of meetings to get there. Yeah. The magazine. Yeah, no, no, no. If we would have been able to, I think that maybe get up there for a day or two come back. We'd have to sacrifice ourselves. I know, you'd have to stay in a room with me. Oh that's why I'm never there, So

it doesn't matter. Is a shower loud? That's okay. Sleep in the tub. I'll sleep in the tub. I hope it's a tub, not a stand up. Okay, Well we'll talk about that. We'll think about that down the road. Okay, you know, let's let's let's put it this way. If you, if you guys want to fund us to go to the go to media day so you can listen to us from there, we'll, you know, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll consider that. Go fund me, Paige. Yeah, we don't want to do an official

goal fund me because that would be a little low level. But somebody actually we could give a responsor with the trip. You know, yeah, it wouldn't comet very much. No, we don't have to go to the forty dollars. But no, I'm going to McDonald's. You know, sure, Grand Slam breakfast. He send send my guy here a quick If you're you're thinking about it, it wouldn't cost but a few hundred dollars. I mean a couple of hundred dollars. Yeah, give us up there, get us

back. Cool. I could do it. Look at you thinking ahead. I know I'm trying to. I'm trying to. Well if not, if not, then then we'll go. We'll go for the No, the U s the first us A game is he is in Phoenix, right or is it in Vegas? So you Sally basketball game? That one in Vegas? Vegas? It is in Vegas. Yeah, the one. We gotta go to that. Yeah, yeah, I hope it's a weekend. I think it's a weekend. We got to go to that. Yeah, yeah, I think I'm sure because you mentioned that before. Ryan, I just don't

know what day, like December seventh, dish. I think yeah, that would be fun. We could do that. We can do that. That'd be fun. All right, that's actually December fourteenth in Phoenix. Oh, it is in Phoenix. I think it's Vegas. I think, you know, I think the first one is I think the first one is in Phoenix. Really I thought it was Vegas first. Well, we're going down for sure, Phi. Okay next year, and then we can go to Phoenix too. It doesn't matter. Phoenix is in New Vegas. It is,

well no, but Vegas is yeah, No, Vegas is Vegas. Okay, this has been great, regular Sorry, we're trying to figure out plans that will never happen. But uh, okay, if you want to call, we have two minutes to a little more than two minutes. Quick call five to two four, one forty. It's already gonna be the first hour. That's how fast this went. Uh, the game this year isn't Phoenix? Well, wow, December fourteenth. You said that's a Saturday. I

get I would imagine surely that's I think it has to be. Why else would they have it on a weekday. Yeah, we'll get one that quick call. We get about a minute. Hi, you're on the arr and I on the ball. Got about a minute. Hey, hey guys, Hey, while you're so talking about you of a moving conferences. What are what are we supposed to expect from a TV coverage perspective? Do you guys know the scoop on that, Like you know somebody who's had like needs that

packed from network for years. You're gonna need every single game we do, you know the outlook as to what we're gonna expect on TV coverage And you're gonna need to get a subscription to ESPN Plus. So for any games that aren't on a network. Now, Big twelve is is an ESPN you know, it's TV contract is with ESPN, so probably all of its football games are gonna be on one of the ESPN networks. There's four of them,

so you know the few. But when you start getting to basketball and games that might have normally been on Pac twelve network, you're gonna need an ESPN Plus subscription and I think it's like nine bucks a month or something like that. And that's where you'll get games that you, as I said, you would normally find on a Pack twelve network. And you think if we do that, well we'll see every game. Yeah yeah, yeah sure, because they have as many of those as they want. You go on. There's

some like very obscure games. So yeah, you'll get all the game. You'll see every game, certainly basketball if you if you have ESPN Plus. All right, man, hey we got we got to go over top of the hour. Thanks a bunch, man, appreciate it. Nice. Got a good call, thank you. Yeah. Okay, first hour done. Wow, how fast it went. Well. Breaking news from from my guy here, Ryan, got a bunch, a lot of stuff, a lot of fun. We took a lot of stuff too, We did some of

it. Okay, all right, all right, you will okay, so let's go and take our break. We're gonna come back. We'll have breaking news here at the top of the hour. And then Jerry Stitt, former former coach in Arizona, was part of two of the national championships over there when he was there in the in the eighties, so we'll get some of his thoughts on what's going on over there. So stick around for all that. We'll be right back