This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez Son Fox Sports fourteen fifty powered by Nova Insurance Services and Sure Your Most Prized Possessions kt z R two, SAG and iHeartRadio Station. Hey, good enough to doon everybody. Welcome to Eye on the Ball. Here a Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Ribera, He's Jagin's awe. Now we have our guy Sammy with us today on a Wednesday. Not that we didn't have to bail you out of anything. Yeah, you know, hey, everything was everything was fine.
It fine. Have you cleaned up the mighty clothes from Saturday? Yeah? I washed, the washed the shoes. I washed, washed both pairs of shoes. Actually it was rainy out there, so it was not not fun walking around. But didn't have to wash any of my shirts or my
or my pants from from doing anything for our listener, SA. Sammy does some work for the PGA Tour and was at the Phoenix Open last week, but was a spectator on Saturday when all the shenanigans were going on, and he kind of not poo pooed or it was not as bad as we think it was. No, I just I just think not to say that what happened on Saturday was not over the line, but that's remotely close to what
it is every year. And I know the coverage of it, and the twenty thousand people that quote unquote didn't have tickets were being let in this that the other. But my whole thing was last year at the WM Phoenix Open. It was a signature event, the first on the PGA, and the super Bowl was in Phoenix that weekend, so you would think that that weekend would have been the raw rah, oh my gosh, what's happening weekend as opposed to this This year, it's a normal event on tour. It's just
another Saturday. Wait, what's the distinction there? Signature event is the top eighty players on the PGA Tour are required to play. Oh and it's a So last year was a twenty million dollar per and they had all the guys, all the guys. So this year the field was still fine, right, but last year it was a twenty million dollar purse compared to an eight point six nion dollars purse this year. Yeah, so you're think what happens hurts their chances for it to be a signature event. Again, No,
I think it's it's kind of like a cycle. So oh, I say, okay, it's it's somewhat like this next week and that Riviera, the Genesiss, it's a pristine event. It's it's it is a signature event this year. But they they'll cycle through and I see eventually the waste management will be a signature event. Okay, good, So I don't think this weekend will hurt their chances of that happen. And look, we've been talking about this, you know, the last couple of days, and I don't want
to rip on the Phoenix Open as as sure. Judy McDermott, we had on here yesterday, said look, it's still a great event. They raised a lot of money, it does a lot of good. It was unfortunate what happened, and you know, there's probably plenty of blame to go around, but you know, the Phoenix Thunderbirds up there obviously do a great job and do a lot of good stuff. It's just unfortunate that this thing has
been hung on that golf tournament. Yeah, you know, over what happened, and again and a lot look, as you said, it's probably not so far over the top as other years. The thing was all the social media that we see this time and you go, whoa. And I think we were talking a little bit before the whole circumstance of what was happening at the Tournament of the Rain, which which caused play to start early Saturday and have there be a hiatus in the middle of the day right around where the
majority of people are showing up on Saturday. There wasn't really any golf being played because they just finished the second round, so there's no golf. Granted, not a lot of people go to watch golf anyway, but that helps the product. And so it just the stars didn't the line this weekend for it to be. But the thing is Sunday was a great golf watching day. Yeah, if you enjoy watching golf, if you like that event, the sun was out. Nick Taylor had three birdies in his last four holes,
won in a playoff. It was a great event on Sunday, And that will get blown blown by with yeah happy people just forgot about it. I had fun, though, I'm sure you did early. Did you have to get there to work about six in the morning. Uh So? On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, because I knew it was gonna rain. I got there around like seven thirty eight, and then I got what I needed, and then when it started to pour, it was I was like,
I don't need it was. It was miserable being out there when it was coming down, Like as a fan, I would not have been there. And then Friday and Saturday it was just muddy everywhere. So it was just another weekend at the waste. You golfers aren't used to this madness. No that they playing rain. They played, they played in rain at Tory, they played at rain in uh Pebble, and then they played in rain and waste management. Supposedly from what I've heard, it's sunny skies and beautiful at
Riviera. So hopefully we get a great week of good golf and Tiger's back. Yeah I was playing this week. Okay, let's move on from the state. We're putting Steve to sleep right now. But yeah, Sammy, you and I right here, right here, right here, right you and me. You still like sport a golf. Let's go onto whatever else we're gonna talk about today. We have a different show today. Javio Morales is coming in in the first hour, right all kinds of high school playoffs starting.
There's summer started, You've got state tournaments beginning. I know the state wrestling tournament is up this weekend because my niece is in it. Actually she's a grand niece, she's the niece. She's the daughter of my niece. So she's a wrestler at Sunnyside. And then you know, I went and saw my old Saint Gregory or the Gregory School Hawks last Thursday, and they're
opener in the state tournament and they're in the semi finals this weekend. They're trying to win their fifth state championships since I think twenty two thousand and nine, and so you know, following them a little bit, and you know, and then you just see the you know, the other tournaments gearing up. State soccer is going on, So all kinds of stuff. So we'll talk to have your morales from all sports too, Son, And then at four fifteen we have Yeah, Brett, I was gonna say, I forgot
Brett Ferris, sports editor. There's on a Daily Star boy to they they had a whole bunch of things to deal with, uh, you know, hiring it or a coach leaving a coach being hired and that fleg director fired. You know, there's on a basketball and it's ups and downs and so uh, you know, Mike andre is stepping it. Because Brett was at
the Mike Andrea press conference last week. We got some of his thoughts on that women's basketball, women's basketball and all that stuff that's been going on so with a small staff, right, So yeah, so we'll we'll, you know, we'll get a we'll get a performance evaluation on Justin Spears from from Brett. Let's see what he says about Justin. Justin is a busy man, yes, and and and Lev too, right, yeah, both everybody is guy J. Brown old right, and that's it. You date them
all that, all of them pretty much pretty much. Come on, we did it with the Citizen five dudes, no sleep. Yeah, you know how it is, yep, but it is a good do, good good job. In fact, Brett I think helped with the Naya my Naya Nag story. So we'll talk about him about that too, because I'm sure he had a big part in that. Okay, cool, cool? Anybody want to call remember five two o four one, six, seventy four forty we'd like to hear from you at any point that we're not using the phone,
the phone, the phone, the one phone. Yes, yes, but okay, cool, uh but basketball Tommy has Tommy has press tomorrow tomorrow, so we'll well, we'll get some clips from that. I'll you know, it's too late for you can go, but it's too late to go and then race over here and do so. I'll watch it from here, record the press conference, and we'll have some clips leading into the SU game.
Yeah, okay, I was gonna. I was on a show earlier this morning and they said, if you were in Arizona, would you want to be having a game this week in addition to the Saturday game? Or do you not mind the day the days off? They don't mind the days off. I don't. I don't. It's late enough in the season that you feel like any extra day of rest that you can get, you're you're happy to have. Yeah. I don't either. Loot from time to time,
played the big game in February, traveled somewhere or they played. Yeah, yeah, they played the SU game on Thursday or even Wednesday, and then go play a weekend game. They had. They had a bunch of those. They would do that all the time. Yeah, yeah, you know, and you got a nice non non conference it's like a high, high visibility game. Uh. You know. They would play Duke, They played Illinois a couple of times. They played just a bunch of those gonz did
it this week and they helped them. They went to Kentucky and and won that game on the road. It's crazy. I was just talking about and and they're playing really good basketball. Well they played they not in their conference or they still they still are on the outside looking in, is what I for the tournament. Yeah, they're like okay, they're like sixteen, and I think they'll be okay. But you know there's gonna bell. They're not
in a strong league. That league's better than people give its credit. Correct, but it's better than the Pac twelve. You know what we could go get. We could go get like sixty guys in this town and be a better league than the backlall I need true. But yeah, yeah, well they might have as many teams. All I know is all I know is if I'm you of a I would not want to play go Zaga in anything
in March. I think they're extremely well coached when it comes to few running that system, and they're going to be playing their best basketball in a couple of weeks. I wouldn't be surprised if they won their conference tournament. And they win and they're in the second weekend in March. Did you go a good Zachtor? No, I just think I just think their program is very good and it's built for what is about to happen in college basketball. Could be, could be. I won't fight you on that, Okay, Okay,
we'll see, we will, we'll join. You'll be part of our little uh or picks thing that we do here. Let's go, you know, make sure you have cash. I got cash? Okay, all right? Taking money from a kid, Hey, that's fine, okay, okay, Well anything else. Women's what's the women? What are the women's? They're playing two games? Uh? They got let's see this week they've got coming up? They are? They got Washington State on Friday and uh there
they're home against Washington State on Friday and then home again. Uh. I guess I'm sending their home on on Sunday, Friday, Sunday, Friday Sunday. Okay, I'm okay. Then what made you decide not to do it? Just too too. It was too hot, too many games. I was that Michael way way too much. Look, I enjoyed the games and stuff, but one I'm you know, I was a volunteer too. I wasn't getting other work done because and there's just a lot of time spent over
there. Yeah, that makes you know, I mean, you know, for games at six, I'm you know, I'm there at five. You know that kind of start five fifteen or five thirty or whatever. It just it just became too much for me. Hey, I had some good stuff. If you haven't heard the podcast on with the Pete Williams, go ahead and try to check that down. Good good stuff. Yesterday he was he had fun with us, and he said it was good. He enjoyed it.
Yeah, he remembers the two thousand and three That's the one I was thinking about that you took a joy but you didn't know we were here, we were watching it here would have been painful given that they were a number one seed. And then the now when we went up at the that was painful too. That was painful too. Yeah, okay, it was more painful for some other day. You know. I think I've told the story that you know, after they won on Friday, after they it was a
Friday, was it Thursday? Saturday? I think it was a Thursday Saturday. After they won on Thursday. Yeah, I called my brother and said, get your butt up. That was the two thousand and ninety eight. They be Maryland on Friday or Thursday, and so I called my brother. I said, get your butt up here. I said, there's tickets available. He drives up, He drives up, gets with a friend, gets two tickets, and then they bad and not in a pretty you tah came
and cracked the Yeah, cracked him pretty bad. Yeah. Yeah, Okay, we only have a couple of minutes here, but let's uh, let's go. We're already kind of right. Well, we got again have you Morales? And we'll get him and go through the various you know, some of the playoff scenarios. You know, Sunnyside Soccer twenty three and one. They beat somebody ate the nothing last night. They're one of the best teams in the country. Yeah, so we'll talk to how have you Morales?
Have you Morales? And we'll talk high school sports with him. So we'll be right back Withhavia Marhala's Oll Sports Tison make the right choice for your home when it comes to windows and doors. For more than twenty years, the Window Depot has provided the best price and biggest inventory on in stock windows and
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I mean iHeartRadio. Wap Hey, Welcome back to Eye on the ball Here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera he jiginsas snow and iPhone. We have Javier Morales from allsports Tucson dot com. Javier, how you doing great? How are you guys doing? We're doing well. I know you're busy, you've gone any sleep and you're getting prepared for the high schools playoffs this month. No, it's I've already gotten over sleep. Maybe when I'm retired, someday, when I'm like eighty years old, I'll be able
to You're never retiring. Ho, you know that, You know that what I got from that is going to look to eighty. Good luck to that you ain't moving in with me. So have all kinds of stuff getting started right? I know that some state playoffs underway, some are still in the works. You know what's what's on your calendar right now? Well, yesterday I went to the Sunnyside Boys soccer. Heard you guys talking about it towards
the break. There just an impressive team. If you if you love soccer or if you want to, you know, watching a soccer team play like the way they should, you should go out already at two o'clock to see Sunnyside play Mason the championship or not the championship, sorry, the quarterfinals of the six A tournament. They're twenty three and twenty three h to one. Their rank fifteen nationally by max Preps. They have some great talent that mostly
juniors, so they're going to be even better next year. Just just a pleasure to watch in Casey O'Brien. I know you guys have had him on your show. He's one of the top coach is in any sport in the state. Just the way he prepares that team. What makes this team special because we've seen them play and do very well over the last two or three years, but they haven't been able to cross that hump. What's this one
doing. A lot of balance, you know, a lot of scoring, a lot of defensive you know, top defensive players are in the state are on the team, and Miguel Lugo is a very good goal They've only allowed thirteen goals in twenty four games this year. They had a shoutout yesterday against Boulder Creek eight to zero. Game was stop twenty minutes early because of the
mercy role. You know, you have Sebastian Barrios on the defensive end and then just on hell barcomntes balito and he has thirty six goals, which is unheard of. Johan and n has had four goals yesterday and it looked like he was just you know, having you know, like he was just scrimmaging against those guys. The way he was playing and going past them. They're just the joy to watch. And I think what's different about this team,
like you were asking, is just a mental aspect. They they are working towards the state championship, where before they would lose in their early rounds and not be really ready. But Casey O'Brien said that they're watching more video, they're spending more time on each opponent than he's done it any other time.
And they won the state championship but five years ago. So you know a school like Sunnyside by that, I mean, you know a school that's not South Point that you're going to go mind players from all over town because it's a private school or some of those other schools that do that. I mean, these kids, these kids have to be coming from the neighborhood for the
most part. Right, how is this happening? Is that that you know they've got athletes and then he's just coaching them up or what's going on over there with that, Well, they are from the neighborhood. Mostly he has an occasion got some players to come in from like out of area to to play here and because they know how good the program is. But this year's
team is mostly from the Sunnyside School district and that's not all. And what the difference is is because he spends a whole year on soccer, not just the soccer season, and you know, club soccer is so huge. What he does with these club teams is he spends more time with these players than they do on their club teams. So he tries to spend as much time with those guys as possible year around. They're playing in one hundred and eight
degree temperatures like at a park somewhere during the summer. That's what he does. It's a year round thing with them, so he can stay with them and know what he expects out of them. Yeah, okay, so you got Sundayside. How are the cell Point the usual stories? Sell Point doing boys and girls. Although the girls team is third seeded in the open division, the girls basketball team uh they went big yesterday in their game and they're there. They can go all the way to the championship game this year.
And all their top players are juniors. So that's another team that could really uh you know, be a be a foce here that this year and next uh you know, till everybody knows about the Leah Henderson, you have a recruiting target. But they also have four other juniors that are really top notch. Yeah, I'm sorry, three other juniors Sidney Anderson, Panna Williams, and Alison even four other juniors. I'm sorry they those those four right there
can start for anybody, and they're just overpowering opponents. Why why are the open tournaments already well underway while the other I know one A is underway. I think two A also, But why are those being played so early? Well, the one A, two A and three A they don't have they're not part of the Open Division. They're just no. Yeah, but why is open division started and the other six A, five four A haven't started?
Because they have? The Open Division happened earlier because if you lose in the first two rounds of the Open Division, then you go to your conference state. Oh, Okay, instance, sunning Side lost last night, so now they're going to be in the six A tournament. They'll probably be a number one or two seed now in the six A even though there are number twelve in the open division. So now they do have a really good chance to win the state championship. That's six A. But of course if you're
in the open division you want to win that. That's the most preceidious one. They lost yesterday, so you have two bites at Yeah, that's that's that's what football's done the last I think three years, they've done it three or four years they've had it that way. But with football, that's it, you're just top eight. But basketball, the last two years, if you lose in the first two rounds, you go to your your conference tournament. If you win the if you win in the first two rounds, that's
it. You're you stay in the open division tournament, even if you lose the next round. Okay, so wait to go back to what about soccer you had with wolf Gang in with uh with Peers, they're they're still alive in their in their their state tournaments. Maybe not as dominant as years passed, but they're still they're still in there as high seats, I think a lot. I think Sunnysides in Tucson High have gone a lot of attention this
year because of the way they were ranked. And Tucson High unfortunately lost in overtime yesterday the boys in the first round. That was a shocker because a lot of people thought Tucson High would play Sunning Side in the championship game again. But uh, cell point and the girls and boys are still highly highly rated and they'll probably get to their respective state state semi finals at least in state championship. And nothing's really nothing really changed with their with their you know,
their their dominance in their in their conference. Okay, what else is going on? What other sports? H Well, you wrestling with Sunnyside going for the thirty seventh state championship is Saturday, and uh thirty seventh and then I think they won seventh in a row or they're won for their seventh in a row, just like a factory. There's the visional champions, including Audrey Jimenez, the first female to win a boys sectional title and she won one
hundred and six pounds. So it's just amazing what they do year in a year out, so she's wrestling in the boys division. She's yeah, she they they enabled that to happen this year, where where she couldn't wrestle in the boys if she chose to, and she has chosen to do that. Last three years she's wrestled in the girls division in state. Right, what did it take to do that? You know? Did they have to get some ruling or was it just she could decide to just go wrestle the boys?
I mean what what? What was what? You know? How did that come together? They? Well, first, AA had a rule in place earlier, this towards the end of the last school year, according to this school year that the girl a girl couldn't compete in the boys sectional or state. But they Sunnyside appealed it based on her background or wrestling and her success, and the AA granted it. I think there was another girl in the Phoenix there Waho did the same thing and they granted that appeal just because
of their backgrounds and their ability to compete at that level. I think what AIA was concerned about is the you know, the competition might be skewed, but obviously ob can hold her own and it's her choice that she's doing it, So they granted that choice. So that's that's why she's allowed to do it. Each athlete has to has to do that appeal. It's not like a you know, any girl can decide she wants to wrestle in the boys and take a shot at it. Yeah, there has to be an a
process and that's what they did a couple of months ago. Yeah, so that's that's going to something to watch this this week. She could be the first to win a boys state championship again competing against boys, and she wins the title. What do you ask? I mean, do you ask the guy how uncomfortable it was? But what's interesting is because the boys know how
good she is. He's a world class wrestler. She's in the probably wrestling Olympics, not it's not this year than two four years from now, so they know how good she is, so they they're kind of they're they're accepting of it. It's not like where they're questioning it or or against it. If you go to the meets, they're they're all accepting of her because how good she is, and she's and she's wrestled with them right against them,
right exactly and she's had that background. Yeah, what's the record overall her record? I think she's only lost maybe like three or four times. I don't know her exact record, but she's overwhelmingly drum the fifty to the four
range, fifty and four range around there. How would you feel? Well, I used to, you know, as a as you said, I would get upset if I lost a race to a girl, and that that that was you know, I mean I felt like I should be faster than any girl, and that just wasn't ever true, you know, because there's some great athletes out there male and four male. So but you know that's us. We grew up in that era where you differentiated that. I think, you know, it seems like, haven't correct me if I'm wrong.
And this, you know this this student now, the high school kid now, they don't give a crap. You know, they'll you know, they'll play baseball against girls. I remember when we were going up and somebody, you know, girls wanted to play Little league baseball with the boys, and they had to go to court, and you know, they had to be protected, and and there were there were dads and players who were you know, totally against him, like it's just a different era, and I would
like to think that you know, we've gotten we've gotten past that. I don't know that I would even go as a reporter, right and have you you know you, I don't know how you would do it. I don't know if that i'd even go to the the let's she beats him? Boy, I'm not even sure that I would go ask him that question, because
what are you doing there? You're saying, well, she shouldn't beat you because she's a girl, and no, no, no, no, I'm asking how comfortable it was to or uncomfortable it was to to do this. But see, I'm not sure that that that I would even ask that. I would just say because because by not asking that, now you're saying this is normal and this is okay, right, it's more normal than you would think because of her background. And what what I would ask him is just
what what? What was it? Like? What? What? What? What? What made her be the winner? What did she do? You know that kind of question? Right as her? Are you asking him? Yeah, That's what I'm saying. I ask him like what what what was it that allowed her to win? What did she do? You know? What? Takeaways did you get from that? That's what I would ask her. That's caim. I'm sorry. Yeah, I wouldn't. I wouldn't say was it was it different wrestling her because she was a girl. I'm not
sure I would ask. I think I would. I would say I apologize with the question, but no, see, I would try and ignore it. I really would. Well, I would think maybe she's a senior, so this has happened before. She's she's wrestled against boys since she's been a freshman in different tournaments, so it's nothing new. The boys around here, the coaches around the state, they know her, so it's a little different. But yeah, I can see here you're coming from Steve too. I
get that. I get it. But has that story been written? Uh, well, it has been as far as her competing against boys, Yeah, and then her them accepting her. So Jay, Yeah, nineteen seventy five, you're running against a girl and she and junior high track me or whatever. Jay, you just got to beat And this is sexist, this is a sexist question. But you lost. How'd you feel? I feel
like a weenie because I lost to a girl? Okay, okay, but this is different because this is fifty years later, and this is a physical thing, not a touch, not a running thing. I get it. This is that's the difference. But yeah, yeah, I think have to have a level of understanding and respect. I don't know what you call it of the female athlete to say, you're just a good athlete and you beat and you won your state champion. You put that in there. I mean,
that's part of the story too. It's part of the story about King and Bobby Riggs, right, that whole thing. I think. I I'd like to just the way we don't talk about black quarterbacks anymore. I would like to think that we're of course that we would want to be past going to the guy and saying, how did you lose? To Sure? I get that. I get that, that's what I'm saying. I get that, and I understand what you get are saying. I just I don't think
it's a wrong question. No, I mean no, And there were and there would be some people who would expect you to ask, right told me. Yeah, if I got told, I'm just not sure I would dwell on And I get it, I get it all right. Hey, I went and saw my old We got a few mores, my old uh Gregory School Hawks last week in their first round game. Man, they play with a lot of pressure. They were really you know, they look really good. They're in the state semis this week. One a basketball boys basketball Desert
Christian in them that those guys are amazing. You look at some of their players and that what they're averaging scoring wise, I mean that those are some good teams. Yeah, but you know when I saw High is also really good too. I'm sorry to They're twenty three and one. They're playing tonight. They had I don't know if you've ever heard this story of a of a team like this. They're twenty three and one, and they don't have a guy who averages in double figure scoring. What nobody in double figures?
Nobody averaging double figure scoring. They're their their their highest score is nine point seven points a game and they're twenty three and one. How many players do they play? They have nine guys who average at least six points a game. So it's it's that's that's the definition of a team. I've never seen that before. And you guys are older than me, not not to date. You guys, you got nice shot. Nice shot. You question, have you got beat my girl. Oh wow, co Man Hovey has been
nice talking to you. Just to be the last time we talked to you. I feel like I just got slapped in the side of the head. But he is like a kid to you, I know he is. He is. Thank you, Hey, Hey, thanks a bunch man, and we'll check in with you again later. All right, thanks for guys, Okay, bye bye. You know what, though I may be a lot older than him, I have way more hair. Yeah. Take that. If you're still listening, take that. You've never couldn HAREI exactly. All
right, Oh god, okay, let's take our break. We'll be back. We'll take your cause. Would love to hear from you. Five two zero four one six, seventy four forty. If you're a neighbor's on a man's basketball fan, you know it's been successful for nearly forty years. Now. Take a look back at the Ludelsen 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 Loot is an insight to how he built the program into a national powerhouse. What one email me at Steve dot RIVERA ninety five at gmail dot com. Hi, this is formal while get leman huntly with Arizona Health, imagine how home GM can change your health, your comfort, and your time. Arizona Health is
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my in the baggaret Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. You're Jak and Collis, two old dudes, as we found out. We know we're old UDEs. We just don't like to hear it, you know what, And hobbs right around the corner again. Dude, I've got, I've got, I've got medicare coming up this year for you are old and who are old? Hey? Did you see this thing posted by I guess Joshua Rebholtz talking about Nils and I don't know who he's with, And they got a
lot of traction about nil. Opportunities for our student athletes aren't nice to have. They are must haves. The only way we can compete and win in the Big twelve or football is with healthy NIL program. Please invest in our student athletes. Blah blah blah. And then he's from you know, he's from somewhere. He's from, josh Rebolds. I'm not sure where he's from.
But then one of the guys from Juve, the kid who's doing the jerseys, Quinn Magnuson, he came up with something that was pretty interesting, possible solutions for other things. You know, he's got you know he's selling this jersey and he's giving the proceeds to the kids to go to watch all right, Yes, he says possible solutions base nil for all players at ten
to fifteen to twenty thousand dollars. Right, Okay, that's probably a year bonos, incentives for GPA levels, community service, on field, performance starts, all things that have a metric that you can kind of keep years with the program are rewarded. Players get paid at each of the end of the semester for the thing. But in order to do those things, Okay, to do that, I believe that, you know, to be able to regulate and not even regulate it's not the right word, just to have some
sort of standards for compensation. Yeah, I think they have to be employees, right, because if you're just if you're just an athlete and you're not, you know, an employee of the universe of the university. In order to be that athlete, right, then you should have the right to go get whatever you can get. Whereas if they require if they say, okay, if you want to play football at Arizona or anywhere, if you want to play college football, you want to play college sport and we're gonna pay
you, and you're gonna get paid for it. You have to be an employee of that program or the university or whatever. And then you can because then you know, the market still bears what and you know what you're gonna pay. But you can say, Okay, we're gonna give you. We're gonna pay you X for this, X for that, X for that, and a school can have its pay grade just like you know, you know, employees of the University of Arizona don't make the same thing that employe of
the University of North Carolina. Right, So university is going to have its page scale and you know different pay grades. You know, the quarterback gets this or or you know, you get this much for playing your sport, you get this much for community service this much. The only way you can do that is by having those players be employees. I think, do you think eventually that's where we're gonna go? I think we are. Steve, I hate it, but I think I think because that's the only way they're
gonna be able to rain this in. But that wasn't the initial goal. That was not the intent. So that's why that's because that's why they call it name, image, likeness. It's like you have those three things and you get to benefit from those three things. What this is saying is in order to be an athlete, you have to be an employee, right, and that and like we just said, that wasn't the n's goal of doing any of this. So I don't know if that will ever kind of come
to fruition, though it might have. The courts may decide that though, right, But because they're they're you know, all these lawsuits that are happening are happening because the the intent of n I L the intent of it, Okay, what the what the n C double A envisioned of it is against the law basically by by putting parameters on it, you can't be parameters.
And that was the intent, right, The intent was, Okay, let's let them make their money, but we got to have as they kept calling them, guardrails, and they're saying, you can't have guardrails in that kind of a system. So the only way they're ever going to fix that is
if and the thing is, all the schools would have to agree. They would have to agree, but the U of A would have to say, Okay, you can only play for us if you're an employee, Well why if ayas U says it's wide open, you can come and you can make all the money you could ever want. What happens then you go? And then you go with schools like you of a who's a high profile school? What if you go to Grand Canyon University? Yeah? Like are they are
those athletes going to be employed the same wages as an athlete here? Right? Right? And then then what happens? And what you know what one of the conversations here, let's say taking in the n C Double eight Tournament newcount Let's say Saint Peter's right, they're paying their their they're athletes are getting you know, five thousand dollars a year. Yeahday idea, and and uh, you know, Ohio States athletes are getting you know, fifty thousand dollars
a year. Can you put them in the same tournament because they're they're completely different classes of programs. I know that we have that now, but going forward, when you're talking about paying the athletes, you know, do they still get to do they still get to compete against the big boys? Well it's a big, big mess and we probably don't have a solution anytimes too one. We're not going to solve it in here, no, no, but yeah, yeah give it. Let let the three of us run this
damn show. Well it's I don't know if any of us wants. It's gonna be crazy. You continue to be crazy because they're getting paid even before
showing up on the on campus exactly and seeing that and that. But if you know, look, if you if you're looking at it, Let's say you're just applying for jobs and you see a job that fits your profile at the U of A, you see one at ASU, you see when at PEMA, you see when at NAU, and they all have their own payscale, and you're going to decide, Okay, I'll make a little less money to work at a place that I think i'm gonna like more, or you're
gonna say I want to make as much money as I possibly can, even if I hate it. You know, you make those decisions. Sure, and that that may be, But you know, again, if all the schools aren't doing that, you Let's say you have Ohio State saying okay, we have a we have a payscale for our athletes, and Michigan says, now it's nil and you get to make whatever you make. You know how
you know, how does that work? Plus, let's say in Michigan you say, okay, you're going to get the quarterback that wants to make two million dollars a year, but you're not going to get the volleyball player who knows they can make more by going to the school that has a payscale. Right, So how often are you with mkill in that area? Like? Yeah, I mean almost daily. I go to the every day. Okay, So do you notice do you notice there's a difference in I don't know
what the kids are driving or are they're driving? Do you notice that there's money there now for the kids? Honestly? No, And even as someone that's been here for now five years kind of seeing quote and after yeah, quote kind of before the boom of nil to like what it was before, I haven't noticed, even in when I've met the people or in my interactions or even just seeing them in passing whatever. Personally, the athletes here that have been here as long as I have, or at what I've seen,
haven't they're not driving a different fronts. They're not They're not Yeah, they're not out on weekends or whatever's like paying for everything or like the the quote unquote wealth that some of these athletes may have is not I don't see it. No, it's not. It's not one bit. And I think maybe that speaks to the athletes as people like who they are, but maybe it's
just how it is University of University like these kids. Not every single athlete or not even every single kind of high profile athlete is getting loads and loads of money. Sure, Like I'll use like Pelly Larson for example, it's just the conference player of the week. Like if you went and asked him how much actual money he's benefiting from this, it will be it would probably be less than you think. Probably I think he's a bad example in as
much as he's an international guy. But okay, Caleb gets your point. Yeah, no, I hear you. I think the guys like Noah and Tam t Mac, those guys are benefiting both. If you're an athlete, and I said this to Jay when this all started, you're the quarterback and you're making x amount of money, a decent amount of money, and in the center that's giving you the ball isn't making a decent amount of money.
And you're the center. How'd you feel, Yeah, I feel I feel like partially like because why they're so good is partially en route because of what I'm doing, Like he wouldn't be as good if I didn't protect as well as I can and so, but I also think there is some notion that like that's somewhat of an expectation, like if you're a center and you go to you of a, you know that you're gonna be protecting Fafita who's making
an I own money. And I hope that like I'll make some do whatever, But like I didn't, I hope that a lot of these kids don't go to schools for just how much money they can make an io wise, and I talk like I talk like offensive linemen. I talk like tight ends that may that aren't going to be getting an i ow money wherever you're talking like Jadfish, do you think, well, do you think that's past?
Well? But but Steve, I did you know I did hear you know one of those n Cuba business guys who said that actually that that that the way the market is developing that linemen, particularly often of linemen, just like in the NFL, are making a lot of money because the importance, right, because coaches know the importance of having those guys, so they are getting you know, we sit here and think the offensive lineman nobody knows who they
are, so they can be. But offensive linemen are actually what I'm what I've heard in the nil market, are actually very valuable because if you're going to be giving a quarterback two million bucks or a million bucks a year, well you better make sure you've got guys who aren't going to let him get
killed. Yeah, well that's what that So that the market is kind of developing the way the NFL does is because we hear about the offensive lineman, you know, the left tackle, right, the stud left tackle who's making you know, ten million bucks a year because he's protecting their forty million dollars a year quarterback. So so that that they said, the common thinking is that the college linemen aren't getting that nil money, when that actually they say
that they are. And there's another thing that we talked about when this all started. Would you rather go to a smaller school Tucson not soon say Shue, but smaller school or usc U c l A given that it's a college
town, but the little resources are limited. But loyal or U c l A those bigger schools where you have a lot of opportunities, but you're tenth and the seventh in the total pole in terms of Rams, Chargers, Lakers, YadA, YadA, And the money is kind of not from as a college athlete, right right, right, And look we're already hearing it for U c l A. There's no money, no money, there's no money. I was gonna say, it depends how good you are, right because
because Caleb Willis wasn't going to have a problem. Even guys that end up if you're a five star or you're a high level transfer. It's like those guys probably aren't gonna have that big of an issue finding an an il deal of some sort. Right, So it's it's again the haves and the have nuts, right Like, I don't know, it's a it's the wild West. No, and it's going to be that way for a while, you know, I don't I feel sorry for those smaller schools. Yeah, it's
true, but but but that's just the way it is. That is I mean it, I was thinking about it. It went from so before all nil came and even like the transfer portal, it was like Okay, where can A lot of it was where can I go and play? Or if you knew that you wanted to go to Notre Dame to play football, even if you were a four star, you would you would take not playing to go to Notre Dame. But or on the flip side, it's like, okay, I could go to East Carolina and start right away. That used
to be what it was all about, where can I go play? And now there's where can I go play? Where can But now where can I go get money and play? And where can I go get money if I don't play? All there's so much more to this now than what it was of kids just should want to play football, And that's that's the reality of it. But it's a sad reality, that's true. That's a great point one hundred percent. I mean, you know, we're I was just having
this conversation with somebody yesterday. It's like, you know, how many athletes you know are are going to stick around in college because they know that they're not going to make that money, you know, right like for like, for instance, I used the example of Zulis to ballots. Right, if you had been getting a decent amount of nil money, he probably would have
stayed another year. Yeah. Right, But then but let's say you got you got somebody like, uh, I don't know, just you know, somebody who knows they're not going to probably they're gonna be a seventh round draft pick in the NF in the NFL, right, and they're they're you know, they've had their for they can they have one more year of eligibility left. They're really good on their college team, and so they're making two hundred
thousand dollars. You think they're not going to stay another year and taking another two hundred thousand dollars instead of jump to the NFL. You know the best example of that is the w n Bay where they're making They're make more money now than the Kayalen Clark is going to make the road Man. Maybe she will, I mean salary wise, the endorsements, right, but but that's the case. You know, did Michael Wiley, you know, get a healthy, you know, amount of nil money to cause him to stick around
one more year? And you know, with the understand knowing that, yeah, do I have a future in the NFL? I think I do, but it's not guaranteed. Yeah, And I'm not gonna I'm gonna have to go through the combine. I gotta go through the Senior Bowl, and I gotta hope somebody I get I get picked by a team that that I fit with all these unknowns. So he says, what I do know is if I stay here for another year, I get to make another six figures or
something that will help me guaranteed. And that was I think that was an intention of making this happen. You wanted college kids to stay for their team, and now it's it's a combination of you want them to stay sure, but this transfer portal is everlasting. So now it's like they're staying in college,
but they're playing for different teams in three years, right. So that's it's counterintuitive in a way of if the transfer portal was a little more limited, then you would actually get to know these guys who were playing for you of a year after year, and they're staying because they know they can make a little bit more money as opposed to being a six round draft pick or going undrafted for basketball. So there's the clash of those two things, which
that they don't help each other. You got to go because you got to get to work yep, all right, coming, right, coming, right after the break breaking news with Sammy