Tuesday, March 11, Hour 1

This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty powered by Nova Insurance Services Insure your most Prized possessions.

Good afternoon, everybody, Welcome to you. I on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera and with me today Dave Silver. Dave, how were you.

I'm doing great. I'm doing great. Good to be back. Good to be back.

A busy week for everybody around town, but good to be here talking basketball and yeah, golf, tournament's over.

Things like that. I did not. Did you have a chance to go out there?

I did Saturday and Sunday. Nice weather. On Sunday weather was okay. On Saturday, walked a lot. My feet hurt. I'm getting old.

Yeah, So you know, I watched most of the coverage on on Sunday and it looked it looked great.

Great, It was great.

Yeah. I saw I got home before the final maybe three or four holes, so I wanted to watch on TV.

It was great, It looked great, It looked good.

I mean visually, you know, we all know what Tucson can look like this time of year in blue skies and the mountains.

I mean, it was perfect for TV.

I'm sure the Chamber of Commerce loved having Tucson all over the place for those few hours on the Golf Channel, and it was it was really good. It looked you know, it looked good. I don't know what else you can say. Yeah youah, no question. Next day, a lot of people enjoyed the day. I'm sure we'll try to catch up with people at the Comcucators later this week to talk about that. What did you think about the basketball situation? Just to catch up The brue.

Ha ha was not so much about the game, but about Tommy's cumments about the fan.

Yeah, talking to kind of comparing the Kansas fans to what we have here yesterday.

I thought, before you start, we had a very good show with a lot of people calling in and watching their opinions of for and against Tommy's thoughts. He did talk about it today in his press conference. I'm not sure who asked the question. So we're gonna have Brian Peterson at the four fifteen hours for seventeen hour talking about that and who asked him the question about the fans and he said he just wants them to be better.

Yeah, Well, you know, I mean we all kind of know what's what the crowd looks like at McHale Center.

We have for years.

Yeah, I don't think you can even compare it to some of the places where, like Kansas, crowd just goes crazy in the Dukes. I mean those are also the exceptions too. I think most crowds are not like that.

Did you ever go, and you you're from that area, the northern California area, did you ever go to a Stanford game when I ever want to play?

I never did. I don't think I went to believe it or not.

I actually went to a Stanford ASU game almost by accident one time when I was younger, but I never went.

May Those Maples fantastic, fantastic atmosphere. Stanford was rocking at the time, with Montgomery and Lout obviously facing in Stanford. It was crazy, probably the best atmosphere I'd ever been to. And then Matt Court at Oregon crazy place, crazy times with the Stotto Myers going back home and played against the Ducks, and when Orgon was pretty good. There's been other places l s U a time or two, Michigan State come time or two, So you know there are

Yeah, yeah, But I mean we always had the reputation in Tucson just for having big crowds. Obviously, they were the Pack ten and Pac twelve in attendance forever, So I mean we had that going for us in Tucson. But as far as crazy routiness, there would be those moments, there'd be a few games in the season, especially in the earlier years, where there would just be a huge yeah, you know, big crowd and just the intensity and just the excitement for certain teams that was away.

You were there, You got here in eighty three, right before, right same week. Maybe. So at what point, what point did you see that this that he had some magic going on and the crowd believed.

Yeah, I would guess maybe by year two we sort of saw something again.

And the fans started to show up. Fans started to show up, but not full probably not no, not completely.

No, I don't I'm sure we could probably look up the statistics and what the average attendance was in those early couple of years. But by the time they made the tournament, you know, all of a sudden, the bandwagon was there and people should jump on it and people are buying season tickets and you know that kind of situation.

Yeah, so he was right when he was out there saying, you better, Richard, you better get your tickets now because it's gonna be sold out or they have me a hard ticket again. So yeah, and that turned out to be what it was. In fact, I was with the group of my friends last night and I asked him we had a show today and I don't know if you listened to it. They said, yeah, maybe, maybe not. And I says, do you like the crowds? And they don't. They have tickets and they said, it's not like it

Okay?

So Duke was obviously that was that was probably the marquee. Yeah, at least early in the season.

And they were and they were not as great as they should have been, but they were losing most of the game, right, so there was hard to cheer and get them go, right.

And then it was great.

The first maybe ten minutes of the game, and then when pretty much took control, that was that was it. But you know, I mean, there was always such a situation where you'd circle that, you know, that game, the you know, the Stanford games or U C l A for sure, uh during the regular season.

And there would be a couple of you know, big non.

Conference games that we would look forward to, and and the crowd you could just tell. I mean, there's enough smart basketball fans they know when to show up and when the game means more nowadays, who even knows what.

That even means with the tournament, and yeah.

Everybody kind of figures, well they're gonna get in.

Now, let's just see how things go in the last parts of March.

Right you you're you're I don't know, are you a fan?

I probably ask you this before. Are you a fan?

Oh? Yeah, okay, what do you think on the level of fandom? How do you think they're going to do this weekend? And then at the beginning of.

Next weekend, Well, you know, if they're gonna have to play Kansas again in Kansas City, which it you know, seems kind of likely.

I don't really have super high hopes.

Maybe I'm just being a fan and maybe not looking at realistically.

But I don't know.

Maybe it's going to be it's going to be a Kansas crowd. I would assume just being where it is, it's maybe not going to be as rowdy as it was in Lawrence. But I think we can expect it to be a tough a tough matchup for them no matter what.

It's not gonna be Michale, North, Kale, Midwest. What do you think? What do you think in what terms about the game itself? Well, I think that there.

Was a friend of mine who and I said this yesterday, who said that Arizona travels well, they don't travel well.

They'll have a lot of people.

And you you know this because you you went to the places where they had a loves right right Midwest not so much.

I don't know about I don't know.

I mean, I'm sure there's some I'm sure there are going to be people who are looking forward to them coming that live in Kansas City or Saint Louis.

I said, don't get to see him very often.

Exactly so that it's always been the case whenever the team travels to, you know, a different destination like that. You know, it's a tournament, so there's a reason and people, I'm sure there's a pretty strong I don't know. I'm assuming the u A is going to send out playing load of people, the Boosters and the traveling Park. Yeah, the Bosters are gonna probably go with ye. And here's the issue.

Here's the issue.

Okay, so they played this weekend, right, They're got to turn around and go to the next destination. So either they have deep pockets or they don't have deep buckises to make these back to back trips. It's the reason why I'm not in Kansas City. I'm not going to go to Kansas City for a possibility of one game or two and then and then come right back, get dressed and showered and go to the next destination wherever that is.

That's the problem.

And I'm I'm you.

I'm in fact, I.

Might have to ask you for a phone number because this Isn't your son live in Denner?

Yeah?

Well, I need I need a place to stay, McCall just a closet will do.

It's not too far.

Yeah, So you know what I'm saying. It's it's not cheap for people to go from here to there to there Vegas. You know, people just drove up and and half of them didn't go to the games. They just want to have fun with the rest of the people.

Yeah, well, I mean it's not certainly not going to be the same. We all know that in Kansas City, you know, in the heart of Kansas Country, it's going to be a big weekend for them.

They can make a quick.

Little forty mile drive over from from Lawrence. So yeah, and I mean it's basically the Big Twelve is very Midwestern. The Iowa State crowd apparently is going to be large.

They were here, they were large here, they brought some people.

Yeah, so it's going to be it'll be you know, I don't know how if you of a fans are really even care that much. I mean they do, but if they can get by Kansas, I suppose they'll.

Care a little bit more.

But I'm sure everyone's kind of like, really, we got to play these guys again, like less than a week later.

Yeah, and that kind of was the probably the thought of it, right, they got to beat somebody first, though, I think they have to beat who's the team coming to beat someone? Though? I thought they were on the bottom end of it. You have the bracket.

I don't have the I don't have it in front.

Of I thought we said that yesterday that there are a three right and the four is uh, who's the four?

I can't remember.

So that the four plays Kansas, I think, and then the next game would be Kansas. You'd have to get the bracket for me because I think the Cannis it might be b Yu. I mean by beuh right by us four. But who's going to play into the Arizona game. That's that's what I'm saying. It might be Kansas.

The second round Kansas versus the winner of game four, which is today utah U c F will play Kansas tomorrow right right right where if that plays Arizona the winner of.

The right of course, Yeah, so but who does Arizona play the winner of that game?

The winner that bracket?

No, no, no, no, oh do they Yeah, so they didn't get it. They're gonna they're gonna buy it. Not a double buy that Arizona has a double buy?

Yeah yeah, no, no, but Kansas.

Kansas does not. Who's come first? No, no, no, no, no, I'm just joking.

Four seed is b Yu.

So they're playing the winner of the Iowa State somebody game, Oh Iowa, it will be Iowa State and Cincinnati. Say that again, did Cincinnati win earlier? I think they're playing now they played the first game.

Well here he is. Yeah, since I beat Oklahoma State. Yeah, that's how it's going to play. Okay, so I'm just trying to get.

Arizona, Arizona will play, will play Thursday late last.

Game, And you're right, because I'm looking at the back of before.

Okay.

Yeah, so they're at the bottom of the their the last game, right six thirty whatever it was going to be and Kansas again, and then they would.

They get here there. I thought they were flopped, but they're not there the late day.

They'd be the late game on Friday as well, which would be six thirty two, so on time, and then the championship is on Saturday.

At I did say this, I said before they played on Saturday that if Arizona lost on Saturday, I think I think they'd win on this Friday against or yeah, this Thursday against Kansas. Because it's hard to be the team twice in a year. Specific the Arizona Arizona's kind of you know, just Timmy doesn't lose two in a row very often, if at all, UH and playing the same team twice back to back, that you know how to solve or try to solve the issues that that you're going to run up against.

So we'll see, we'll see. It's it's it's tough.

Because you know, again, all these teams have played each other and you just kind of never really know how things are gonna play it on neutral courts. You've got that that factor in as well. Did you does Texas Tech bring fans? Are their number two cere? They going to bring other people up to Kansas City?

Who knows?

Maybe there's good enough. Let me, Texas schools are one too. Did you follow the SEC at all?

I mean a little bit, just that they're good.

You're really good, and they say that the best conference ever and they some people last that I was I couldn't sleep. So I was watching the CBS college basketball team and they said that if you saw three or four SEC teams in the final four, that wouldn't be surprised and that would be a heck of a final four. Right, what if you saw something? What if you saw some big twelve teams in that uh four? I wouldn't be surprised if Houston's in there. I wouldn't be surprised if

There's I mean, yeah, Baylor has been hot and cold. What are they there? I was State. Look at Ia State.

I mean they're still the seventh seed. I mean, they gotta win a cup. They gotta win.

Like you know, I was State. It's a tough, tough team.

Yeah.

People were just a month ago saying that they have the chance to get to the final four to two.

So, you know, it could be. I haven't really paid attention to Big twelve. I know Michigan State did a number on Michigan over the weekend. UH and there's some other other schools as well, But it could be a Big twelve sec situation in UH at the final four in San Antonio.

I don't know.

It's gonna be interesting to see how Houston kind of maneuvers their way through the tournament.

Two.

Since they've kind of been, you know, kind of one of the favorites, they obviously win the Big twelve. Yeah, they're gonna be probably no worse than what a two seed in this thing. So it's gonna be kind of fun to see how the last year some of those Big twelve teams day Last year, I picked them all.

I thought they were really good last year, and then their bad guy, their guard got hurt, right, and then they were toasted. Their issue is they can't score. And if you can't score against Bama or Auburn or whatever, it's gonna be tough. But they also don't let people score.

Yeah, I mean, they're obviously a great defensive team. The Wildcats ran and some of that when they play them here.

I don't know.

I mean, I just it's usually the tournament's pretty tight defensively. You know, there's not gonna be too many blowout games. You start getting scores in the seventies or so, things, they're gonna be tight.

Okay, I'm gonna let you introduce our first caller or not caller, but our guests here on the other side, And they were gonna have Brian Peterson at the four seventeen, who was coming on.

Yeah, we're gonna bring in Marin Fader, who is gonna be in Tucson for the Tucson Festival of Books. She's an author and a writer sports writer from The Ringer, and she has got a new book out about Hakim Olajuan actually came out late last year. So she's going to be joining us here in a few minutes from LA and she'll be on her way to Tucson and we'll talk more about that and talk more about her book.

Super Okay, So we'll take a break and come right back.

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This is Ie on the Ball with Steve Ravera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.

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Hey, welcome back to One of the Ball. Here all Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Ox stiver g through Dave Shilbert. We're trying to get hold of them. We're in and to see what's going on. Why don't you give it for the number? His number came in through? Uh so just make sure if five two o four one six seven four four zero. No, let's try her one more time. Uh what's the last? Just give me? Did you what for her her? No? I already got the first three.

Three, I don't know.

Hold on to have her call us or get the.

Sorry guys.

Sorrybody, we're trying to get her on the on the show. She had a hard time getting through, like we had some issues last week and now we're trying to get all over her and it.

Was busy, so we'll see. Uh.

Dave's well, he's switching the the number again. She's the author of a few books. Her latest is on Hakeem Olajauan. I guess it came out earlier this year, so it should be fun. We're gonna have a few of the authors out here in the next few days.

Yeah, we're lucky.

We've got a number of sports books coming to two soun sports authors who've got some new books that have come out in the last year or so. So she's one of the authors we're looking forward to hearing from and seeing.

She's written a couple of great books already. This is really her second book.

She wrote a book about Giannis, the star for the Milwaukee Bucks, and she's a regular reporter for the Ringers, so she covers all kinds of sports, including basketball. So very timely that she's coming to Arizona this time of year where hoops seems to be the number one story no matter what.

It's a variety of books. Right, it's a number of different type of books. Still not coming through. Ope, I wonder what's going on. Beatballs Meatball's phone came through, not hers five two O.

I'm quite sure when we've had some you know, some problems connect to pass some of the callers or something with some of the some of the guests. So apologies for that, but hopefully we can get that worked out here sometimes.

Yes, we'll get We'll see what happens.

Okay, how many books sports books do you have in town?

Do you think, Dave? We have about ten? Hello, you're on the air.

Nine the ball?

Is this marine?

Hello, you're on the air and I on the ball?

Is this marine?

Yes?

Hi, Hi, thanks for being uh patient with us.

Good to hear from you.

Yeah, of course, thanks for having me.

I'm curious and Dave sent me a bio and congratulations on all your success with the book.

How many have you written in total? Oh?

Thank you?

Two?

Two?

Okay, okay, when did you do the first one?

The first one was in twenty twenty one, which I also was at the festival and.

You came to the festival. This is this is Dave here on the other end here. Thanks Thanks again for your patience with all this.

What was it? What was it like when you're here the first time?

I know this is it's fun that you get to come back and I know we're looking forward to seeing you.

Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to be back.

It's so fun.

Me as like just a literary fan. I was like trying to go to everyone else's talk because there was just so many amazing authors there and like I grew up going to the La Times Festival books over here in Los Angeles, but the Tucson one is like even bigger. I mean, it's just really.

Really fun, nice, nice.

What what gave you the idea to write the first one? And how was acxis? Must have been easy, I mean the axis, not the writing.

Yeah, yeah, I was gonna.

Say nothing's easy about it.

Yeah.

The first book on Yannis, I actually when I was working at Bleacher Report Bag, which is where I worked before my current position at The Ringer, I was doing a story on Yannis's forest brother, Alex. He was in high school at the time, and I just happened to go to their house and Yannis happened to be there. I didn't think he was going to be there, and so that story came out, and you know, it was very It was just received very well and it was a very emotional story, and I just thought this would

He was accommodating. I assume he was accommodating.

He didn't want to be interviewed again after the articles I was able to interview, Yeah, but I was able to interview his brother, others, his mom. So I have a lot of other interviews in the book, which was very helpful.

When did you decide to write something about Akim Olaje One?

Yeah, So I was finishing the Yannest book and I was trying to figure out what to do next, and you know, I just kept thinking about how they honest book was very much not just a biography of him in his life, but rather a story about the landscape of international players and how this new school of players like Yiannis are really dominating and many of them come from Africa, and I wanted to sort of see if I could write about you know, who said the stage

It's funny, Becau because I'm guessing now I could be wrong, but he was probably playing in Houston before you were even born.

So he one.

I was born in ninety one. Yeah, yeah, yeah, title, Yeah, when I was two years old. Yeah, so that was a challenge. You know, Yannas is of my era, Hakeem is not. But that's what made it so fun. It felt like I was like a basketball historian going back in time and reading the archives and watching game film. I mean, it's just such an awesome era of basketball. I wish I could have been there to see it myself.

We should mention quickly.

The name of the book is Dream The Life and Legacy of Hakim Olajuan and it came out late last year, and it's going to be great to hear you talk about it here in Tucson in front of a lot of basketball fans. I'm sure you know we've got quite a basketball story here just at the university.

When is that going to happen? When's that gonna happens here this weekend?

But once she have a time, since you're gonna be involved in three different sessions, I guess right, So it'll be busy when you get when you get to town, that's going to be fun. So maybe a little bit more, a little bit more about Hakeem. You know, Steve and I are of the generation where we did watch him play at Houston in college college I was talking about Islam.

It was he was. He part of the slim and jam and all that.

Yeah, and then you know going on to you know, be drafted in the Michael Jordan draft with Barkley and stuff like that. I mean he came in and such such a flurry of stars were part of that that generation.

Yeah, I mean it was the draft to change at all. Right, no more, when you.

When you when you had this epiphany to find the originator or him, did you say, Okay, Now I got to find him. Now I got to make sure he could do it. Maybe he wants to do it, doesn't want to do it.

That's definitely the first step. Although, as you know, you don't have to have full access or consent to write a book on a public figure. So while I definitely got very close and ended up meeting him in the home of one of his friends, and he couldn't have

Wow, it's how difficult, you know, have you written a few of them, a few books? And how difficult is it? To not have the subject of the book really being the main character.

You know, it's kind of the norm in biographies, especially because most biographies are written about people who are no longer with us. But you know, we do live in an anti media climate where the only you know, celebrity memoirs are very puffy, go certain kind of collaborative things. So I actually I think it's I don't I don't want to say it's easy. It's definitely not. It's very hard for the reasons you outline, But it also just gives you an independence and a freedom.

You know, you're not.

Beholden to anything. This is real journalism. This isn't influenced by what a celebrity wants in there or not. You know, you're getting the most unbiased version of the story. And the other difference is I'm interviewing over two hundred people for it, So I interviewed two hundred and sixty people for this book. So you're getting the true story from all the people around the subject, and that creates such a rich, more layered story.

Have you had a chance to even appear with him, like publicly or anything when you're when the book first came out or no, with that too.

Well, we did an event at his mosque, but he obviously didn't participate. It was funny. All his friends are like, you gotta come, you got to come. But you know, just the fact that that he allowed that to happen was really special.

So so let me give you an example that and that's tough. Again, I'm thinking this is gonna be tough, especially to sell the books if you have to, you know, get the books, purchase the books on whatever you do. And then he doesn't show up and they come to sign you sign the book. So Ludelsen, who you probably know, I did a few things. My last book was on him, and he's passed since, right, So the people who wanted

I mean it, I don't. I mean it was fine. I I yeah, I went on a multi city book tour. It was really fun and we went to so many different cities and you know, people really loving the book. So yeah, I'm super happy with it.

Very nice when you when you think of him in history too, I mean he like again he was, he's mixed in there with some great great players. Where do you think he stands, you know overall kind of amongst the you know, the centers saying the last I don't know, fifty years ish when you know he was really in his heyday and you know that that and that position too has changed quite a bit too that I don't know how many other great centers we're going to have in the next the next generation.

Yeah, I mean he's for sure top five, no question. But part of the reason why I wrote this book is because I felt like he was being left out of those conversations. When you talk about the all time centers. You never hear his name. And part of that is because he's not on t and he with a lot

Yeah, no question. Did you go in after you did it and completed it and maybe did some interviews? Uh, did you grow more appreciative of him or his accomplishments before you know, when you're.

Done done with this?

Yeah?

I mean, oh my god, I have so much respect for him. You know I had it before, but I think you know, when you talk about when you talk to people that you know, pray alongside him, that various Moss in Houston, and talk to people that have just so been impacted by him emotionally, spiritually, it's just a

What are you working on now? Anything new book wise?

Yes, I'm starting my third book, but I can't say what it is, but I'm super excited.

Don't worry, no one listens to us. Go ahead and we won't tell Anyboddy.

What are you? What are you doing with?

What are you doing day to day with the with the ringer though, I mean we see your stories posted all the time.

Do you have a specific beat or how does that working out?

Yeah?

I usually refer to myself as the weirdo without a beat. I look for what's interesting, what's compelling, what is going to move somebody beyond stats? So I focus on all sports, but I would say primarily basketball and football, but you know, I've done track stories there and soccer stories there. Somebody recently recently asked me to do a curling story. So I'm just honestly after what's interesting.

It's funny you're not too far removed from college, maybe ten years i'm assuming now if you're born in ninety one. But you know, in journalism now, I think more journalists need to have that passion that you have. You're trying to find the story, your storyteller, more than anything, right, You're trying to find the quirky or the weird and the story that compels or inspires, right, right.

I think you know, more than anything, finding the story is the hardest pass right, Like reporting is hard and writing is hard, and we know that, but finding the story, finding the angle that's different from everybody else is really the hardest part. You know, the Ringer is only on the Internet, and the Internet is a very crowded space, and people are commenting daily, every hour, every second about these players. So your job is to give them something

They've an I deal with this, or Dave not so much now because he's kind of out of the business and I'm still almost out of the business. But now it's it's all sanitized because you have players who are moved to the podium and the coaches up there and they that's all the access you get to with them, and then they sue your bof the thing. Right, so everybody has the same material. I mean you're going, you're trying to go to the extra yard because.

You have to, right right.

I mean it goes back to our conversation earlier about access. We don't live in a climate where journalists are you know, respected and given time and so you know, for me, I want nothing to do with press conferences. I'm not going to get anything there. I need to get one on one with the player outside of it.

Are you also doing podcasts at all with the Rant because they've got some amazing podcasts.

I listen to them all the time.

Yeah.

Currently I don't have a podcast there, but occasionally they'll have me on when I have a story, okay, sort.

Of the Bill Simmons Network. It's pretty pretty strong, pretty fun.

Yeah, so yeah, I work there.

So do you know they brought this up for Saturday? So you have three three similars? Do you go?

I can list them if you want.

I'll just do it because I have them right in front of me. But you're going to be appearing at the u of A on Saturday at one point fifteen at the Stacks Book Club, which will be a booth that's going to be just outside the student union.

That's going to be a quick one.

And then you continue on Saturday in the Internet excuse me, Integrated Learning Center, which when you if you remember, I don't know if you were there last time, but it's down below underneath the mall kind of thing classroom with Melissa Ludkey and Howard Megdal, And then you come back on Sunday, also back in the ILC with Jack McCallum, a great basketball writer, and Lewis Moore, who has written

Yeah, No, those are all great people.

I'm super excited, very nice, very nice. And you think you said you've been here before. What school did, what colleges did you go to? And you did you always want to be a writer?

Yeah?

So I started out at Lewis and Clark College in Oregon. I played basketball there and then I transferred after my first year to Occidental College and that's where I graduated in twenty thirteen. So I definitely didn't want to be a writer.

I had no idea.

I wanted to be a WNBA player, and you know, I pushed it as far as I could go, and you know, went through a lot with that. But you know it was when I transferred that I really decided. You know, hey, I think sports journalism could be a great way for me to stay in basketball and pursue this new passion I have, which is writing and reading.

Very nice, and you become a better writer by reading, right right.

Yeah, if I could just read books all.

Day would be.

Good for you.

You'll have a great time, and obviously you've been here before, and you'll meet some other great writers.

Thank you very much, thank you, thanks for joining us so much. Good luck to you. You'll sell a lot of books. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thanks.

Mary Vader.

Yeah, that's that's that's awesome that she uh, she's coming back, and she was definitely a crowd favorite when she was here a couple of years ago. I think people are going to enjoy, you know, hearing from her and looking at her books and people we got tons of sports fans and basketball is right right in her wheel had and she's fairly young. She's like thirty three, thirty four. She's very young, just getting started.

But you know what, they're not young anymore.

That's not young because she's already in a second book, good Subjects. My whole thing is maybe I was spoiled because I had Loot to talk to you, right, yeah, and him to come with me for the Who's that he's the author.

I don't want him.

I want to cheer.

Yeah, you know, it's kind of you know, and she was hedging on her her next books, so you know, maybe it'll be another basketball book.

Maybe it'll be an ever another player from Africa. Let's take a break, dame.

I'm gonna ask you a weird question, but you may be already used to those weird questions.

Thanks everybody.

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Breaking down all the I says and ohs. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Box sportsporteen fifty eight.

Ray, welcome back to my on the ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty I'm Steve Rivera, Dave Silver, Thanks for getting Aaron. She was fun, yep, smart obviously. So if you had a chance to write a book, Dave, will you write it?

Oh gosh, I don't know.

It's interesting that she's picking especially Hakeem who really has not really been on the spotlight right but in a number of years and he retired I think two thousand and two.

You know he's been gone for twenty over twenty years. Miss, is he still in Houston? She didn't say no, she said, I think I think he is probably, Yeah, I mean that team was. I remember seeing him.

Play in Phoenix a few times in that run where they won championships. When Jordan retired, you know or whatever, stepped away for a couple of years and they won two right, Yeah, and they had that memorable game at whatever US Airways Arena what it was called where they beat the Sons and knocked him out and had Kenny Smith on that team.

And you're talking him mid eighties to no, this is the nineties.

There was they had to run in the eighties too, where Drexler and yeah in that group Ember because I can't remember who they were the best team in the West. Who were they playing, not Boston maybe Boston when I was a kid, nineteen eighty five, eighties time they did.

When they had Ralph Sampson. Yeah, then that had the Twin Towers with him and a team for a bit and that didn't last too long.

But no, no, but you're right when they when when Jordan, when Jordan retired, they had that window of opportunity.

Exactly, and he you know, he did quite well that he was obviously, like she said, you know, he's probably a top five center of all time when you look at his number and championships, and he's in the Hall of Fame of course, right, So it'll be fun to you know, kind of be here a person.

And yeah, are you going to you're what's your part? Tell people what your part is.

I've been part of It's called the Book an Author Committee. So our job was to basically get the people to come, get the authors to show up and come. And we looked at many, many authors from around the world who have decided to come here, and they're all divvied up into different sections and different genres of books, and so how many put together?

I'm put together in panels.

So, like I mentioned, she's going to be in a panel with a couple other authors, and she's also going to have one moment or a half hour or so where she's going to sign it all by herself.

So they do the panels.

The panels last about fifty five minutes. Then they come out of their panels and then they sign sign books.

How many of how many people were like you doing that? Trying to arrange.

We had about I want to say, around seventy five. Really it's a big group. Is it all local or no?

Yeah, pretty much. The people volunteer pretty much are local. I suppose we could have done that job kind of remotely because you're you're really reaching out to authors and to publicists, and.

Why would they I mean, I'm just hypothetical. Who would. Maybe they didn't, but.

Very few did turn you down. Honestly, they want to they want to go. I mean it's a chance, you know, it's an expense to whom, to the authors in cases it's there. Yeah, I mean the Book Festival does a really good job of helping some of the authors come, you know, for financial things with you know, hotels and transportation and things like that for some of the authors, but not all of them. And many come pay their own pay their own way. Well, if they sell a

I mean, it's a big deal.

C Span comes and televises you know, throughout the weekend and they tape theirs some of the say some of the panelists and put them on their website so you can come, you know, you can go sit there on Saturday and not even go to the Sea Span ones.

And watch them, you know, next week.

So are you done?

Are you done?

Are you still or done getting getting the authors? And you said, I think Jay's going to be doing something.

Yeah.

So there's moderators and many most of them are local people that you know, you know, we know like a Jay Gonzalez and Elliott Glixman and some of my friends that I know. I'm in a group of people and we know a bunch of them that are going to be moderators, and it's going to be it'll be fun for them to you know, go off and talk about things that they know about. If you're an attorney or if you're into entertainment, or you're into the environment or medicine,

It's free, free. Yeah, I've been to last three. Yeah, I've been to a bunch. I mean it's free. It's it's really fun. Yeah.

Did did the I want to ask, is I think you can say it publicly? Did my situation that.

You told me? I don't know. I honestly don't know. It may still be.

Paid for this sun No, it could be for this Sunday. No, truly, Yeah, I think I don't know. I don't know, Okay, I know that the years in a Daily Start put out a big special section in there this past Sunday, which is always good.

Go through it.

I looked at it online. Yeah, it's good. Okay.

Yeah, I guess they're part of the availab. They're going to be available at the event.

Exactly when you get there. Definitely when you get there pick up that also. Of course, there's an app if you're into that to some festival of books. App is fantastic. It's got maps and it's got all the schedules like the things I was just reading off about Marin's schedule is all on those apps.

And it's funny, say, if you're into that, us old dudes are not into that. You need the paper where you go, Gertrude, we got to take a left right twenty three exactly.

I mean, that's usually how I approach it.

I usually kind of take a little list with me when I go, like I want to do ten o'clock in this room.

And every year I go, it switches up and I've been to one, I've sold a book or two. One of the ends with Bob Elliott when he came out with his book, and she's been She's here for two days, right, so they're here multiple days, not just one day.

Gone.

Yeah, it depends.

She's one of the one of those who will be signing and talking three three different times.

So two days some don't. I mean it's some it's their call.

You know.

They'll tell you I don't want to do two, or I want to do three. No more than three is generally as much as they'll go.

So who's the book? It begins at ten ten am on Saturday and runs like through fives free free both days. Plenty of walking, you can walk meet people.

Watch.

Yeah, it's a lot of a lot of that. I mean, you got you know, Maureen Dowd from the New York Times is going to be here. She's going to have a session with our friend David fitz Simmons, who you know, we all know is the editorial cartoonist to the Star for years, who he's going to be there. And Governor Gretchen Whittmer is coming in from Michigan. She's she's got a book out, she'll be there. Scott Tureau who wrote

He's going to come cool, cool, cool, cool. So who would you write your book on if you have to.

I still am thinking about that. Your time, like a biography on somebody. Yeah, if you have a ches, you get to meet the person. You may not you may not want to quote. He might not be like the king you can't talk to.

She wrote, like a biography on him without he had no assistance for.

That's well, assistance yeah, but not his voice. Yeah yeah, not his voice. I know I would have a heart time. But she's right, you know, my last book with Loot was nothing participated. It was everybody else's thoughts on Yeah. Yeah, so I guess, yeah.

I don't know. I've never really thought about writing a book about anybody. No, but you let me go back then.

So your stories that you've done when you were in the in the TV business, Ye, your stories were shorter, shorter form than longer form.

Right.

Who was one of your better longer form stories, you know if that makes any sense, because you had to do specials.

Right.

So one thing that I've always been fascinated by is kind of the history of Tucson sports, just in terms of, like I don't know how far I go back, but say maybe the early nineteen hundreds and just kind of start tracing how things were going. It is interesting high schools were really the only thing we had, I guess maybe dirt, dirt, playing fields, shields. Yeah, and then you

Well interesting you say that because I did that for the blue Book that I did, you know, the blue Book with it looked like a coffee table book cofage its one hundred top games up until two thousand whatever it was. And that's what I found out. It was like peach basket stuff of dirt, dirt, floor games, all all these things.

How they just kind of made do.

And you know, and Freddy Ink, Freddink the son, Freddie the Dad was very good. But Freddick Junior was like the star of the city at Tucson High. He was dominated when to World War Two, came back, dominated here and then become this basketball guru and football guru.

Yeah.

I mean, you know, Tucson was small town and a lot of different types of people living here that weren't maybe some weren't even allowed to go to the schools and play publicly.

Things like that didn't happen, like.

In the uf A didn't have any African American athletes till what the fifties because it.

Was a god, the red red.

God.

Yeah, I've written a bottle without how do he read?

Had he read?

He read?

I think's nineteen fifty eight ish, right, Yeah, So I don't know.

I love just even you know, when there's old NBA games on or Major League Baseball games, I just love to watch this stuff just to see how it was broadcast or how the players play.

Well, have you talked to I'm sure you have the God.

I don't know why I'm blanking out. I do know why because I'm old. But the highest score in New A history for the game. He's in San Diego, Tucson native Ernie McCrae.

I mean he.

Oh, yeah, yeah, a few times. You know, he's in the books. A well spoken man, bright as all. Heck, he's in San Diego now, author, he loves poetry. But he kind of lived through that and told you how difficult it was. But back in the day, Yeah, I think that'd be a good book. Why don't we think about putting together?

Put that together? Anybody? He would write it, Yeah, he would write. We need to get, you know, the stories from these people before they go.

Yeah, there's so many, so many, like you said, in the fifties, forties, fifties, most of them in the forties.

Well, well, if not all of them are gone the fifties and sixties.

Uh.

You know the guy who would have a lot of knowledge was coach Larsen. Yeah, Coach Larson. I went to him when I was doing one of my books. Him and his wife gave me access to all their pressure. It was tons of stuff. Mister Inky did too.

Just kind of just here. It is just Freddy fred Junior. Which they live in. They live in him someone in the cotton fields.

Yeah, he came down and maybe he was he's going in the p MC County Sports Hall of Fame or something like that, and he came in for that, so it was kind of fun to meet him.

Well, it's kind of weird. I don't know if it felt with to you, but you're seeing these dudes. These dudes are these people who are like iconic, like, wow, you're still alive and you look good, you know what I'm saying. Name schools after this guy, right, golf courses right right beyond famous there.

Kind of like wow, that's great.

You know, we're lucky we have their next generations are around too to tell their stories and maybe just you know, remind them, hey, this was my grandfather. Like Lacey Nimeier, Yeah, the great swimmer here in her family's got all kinds of generations.

A couple, dad and grandpa. You're exactly right, and then she can tell stories about that. So it's good we have people like that. Yeah, yeah, I know you're right though. That name too came out a few times.

Yeah, the Lincoln's, Lincoln Richmond's, and you heard that he was probably the best player, the best player back in those days to ever play the game in the forties and the fifties around around tu Son, Lincoln Richmond. And there's a lot of people that played in Morana, the mayor of Marana, the Honey's.

Yeah, they place.

Yeah, they were at all the good old days, good days.

Yeah, think about that. Okay, we write a book.

Yeah, I have about two left to me. I have two in my head already. I'm starting to think about. But they're not easy. They think about it almost eight nine months.

Yeah, she said she talked to two hundred and sixty people that ain't Can you imagine and guess what a lot of it gets left on the cutting room floor, right right, Ye,