Wednesday, June 12, Hour 2

Streaming live on the iHeartRadio app. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jake and Salez on Fox Sports fourteenth fifty. Hey, welcome back to Twining the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen. Cookie, I'm Steve, He's Jay. Now we have Henry with breaking news. This is I on the Ball Breaking news on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. The first story. Arizona starting pitcher Cam Walty was named thirteen All American and he was the first Arizona

pitcher to be named an All Americans since twenty sixteen. In addition, him and Mason Wipe were names of All Region team and the All American teams for position players will be announced on five. So kenyai, no no mention? Yes, well, Cam Walt had a better one loss record, right, I mean he won like nine games, right or something like that. I think he lost twenty one two maybe, Yeah, I think he was like

nine and two or something like that. And then again as eight, you know, he was also way uh you know, a number three starter. So yeah, I mean, you know it makes sense. I'm trying to lead see what his record was, Yeah, it was like nine to two. I'm like something like that, so, you know, you know, good for him. I mean, that's it's kind of crazy that he was your number three starter and he's the guy makes the All American Dan so U

you know, you know, interesting thing. Next breaking news, Hore Lopez signed a minor league deal to the Cubs and he was the reliever that was designated for assignment by the Mets when he was ejected and then threw his gloved into the sand. Where's he going the Cubs minor league? Okay, he talked a lot of crap about that. He shredded. He said there was a misunderstanding because because yeah, right, I heard that conversation and I understand

Spanish and he he he said those things. He said. I was gonna kind of smidic what he said to you, but then I'd be fire. Next story, Joey Chestnut and Taruku Koba Yashi, the top dogs of the competitive world, are going to be in the same arena for the first time since two thousand and nine on Labor Day, and it's gonna be an event that's streamed on Netflix. I don't care about that, no, I know, and I know we we've had the what's her name? The woman from

Tucson who's been in the hot dog getting contest. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I forget her name. I forget her name. You know, this whole thing with Joey Chestnut though it's kind of like serious drama. It's almost like he's doing that for the drama, right, you just kind of draw attention to all of it. And then we talked about it at the end of the previous hour. But Game three of the finals is tonight, Porzingis is ruled out in the MAVs or what's just three point favorites? Yeah,

I would Uh, I wouldn't touch it. Don't I wouldn't touch I don't really care. Well you are touching it. You got a whole thing going with Chris. Yeah, but they're just games, just games. I just need to win the series, that's all. But don't you have money on each game? Yeah? But if he if I win the series, it's you win money. Yeah. If it's just if it's a sweep, I'm good, really good. If I lose one game. And then the ACC and SEC announced a basketball Challenge and the matchups that are at the top.

We got Auburn Duke and Alabama UNC a rematch of last year's March Madness also got cal against Missouri that you shall a game with Arizona. That's the first one is in Vegas. In Vegas, Vegas? Did they in December? December? Well, guess where we're going in December? That laught tells you the things that will have just been there. We're going there early November.

That actually we had to really push that trip up to kind of early November because of it's everything is screwed up because they have Las Vegas Greme pre in there. Now. Oh yeah, you can't you can't get you can't be there at that time. So that that that race is on the date that we would normally go for our trip, it's the weekend before Thanksgiving. So you can't go that weekend. You can go, but you you shouldn't go because it's you're gonna right. Well no, I know that, I

know that. But normally the history of this trip that we take in November has always been either Thanksgiving weekend or the weekend before Thanksgiving, depend on depending on where Arizona Football is playing. So this year Arizona is on the road at at TCU that weekend, but we can't go because we would go but we can't because of the dam in Las Vegas Grand Prix. The weekend before

Arizona is at home, so we can't go that weekend. So now we're going like November eighth, which is not really you know, we call a rivalry weekend, but it's any really great rivalry is going on that week the troubles of rich men who go to Vegas, right, first world problem? Yes, definitely. Ja Dodgers acquired Cavin Visio and a trade the blue up that will tell you how old you are. Yeah, his dad played here for for a while. I covered him in the late eighties. Yeah,

good guy guy. Yeah yeah. I saw that. The Dodgers like, oh cool, and then I looked at his numbers. He's terrible. He's like a two hundred hitter. What do you want him for another guy, some minor league guy, So you know, I don't. They'll put him somewhere. See if he see, if he see, if he materializes, they already got. I love keyk Hernandez. He's one of my favorite Dodgers

around. I saw the against the Yankees when they had him miked up and he made the oh and he made an air while he was miked up what it happened. Well, he was talking and then the play happened. He didn't say much of me. He didn't say much of anything. We'll let you make this play. And they're like after that, was that's a pretty tough play eating custody. No, no, he didn't. He did not cuss. I think he wanted to, but he did not. I think that, you know, initially I thought, why are we doing this?

But for baseball, I think it's really cool because there's you know, there's time in between pitches and and you know, you got you hear them and you kind of get a sense of what's on their mind, you know, as they're getting ready to, you know, for the next pitch. I guess fascinating. I always thought about like what would happen if what happened, or just like if other teams a billion runs, but which the Dodgers did last night, by the way, they hit four homers in an inning last

night. Richmond problems, you don't have to call. I got your I got them talking. Remember remember when we have a grooder on the of the day and I say, I said, what about the Rangers? He was kind of like, the Rangers are having a tough year. I had no idea they were sucking that bad. That just being a fifteen to two. It was one of those games where they brought in a position player to come pitch. He was throwing forty eight miles an hour pitches and then he was

getting guys out because then I used to that. Literally, the clock had him at forty eight to fifty miles an hour on all his pitch His pitches had arc. Yeah, yeah, it's funny. That's all you go. That's all you got. All right, I had something. Let me look it up here real quick. Oh where is it? Oh? Okay? So on three Sports posted the top returning college football wide receivers from twenty twenty three by twenty twenty three receiving yards. Where do you think t Mac is

on that list? I won't answer because I already saw this. Seven. Nope, way higher three. Two. The only guy higher than him is a I named Ricky White from you, and the one thing with him, guess what he's gotta do. He's got to get healthy. Yeah, gotta get healthy whatever his foot injury is, right, yeah, otherwise, and you have two months, let's say June, June, July, August, he's got two and a half months to get to get it going. He's got time. If not, just get a shot, okay, North for

exactly exactly. People younger than me don't know what exactly. And then announcers were were announcers were announced for the Olympic UH NBC's Olympic Swimming Track Gymnastics UH coverage. And the reason that's significant to us is that twosonan and our old friend Dan Hicks, he's going to be doing the swimming again with Roddy Gaines and he's been doing that for for a number of years. Time. Yeah, we're gonna try and get him on the show. We'll see what we

can do. Make fights, but you can make a contact with him for us. But I mean, Dan was one of one of the friendliest guys around when he was doing huh Channel four Sports here, I mean, I don't know, you just felt like that that guy's going to go places and he has Plus he's married to Hannah Storm. Okay. Then there was silence here, Steve, what am I supposed to say? There's no supposed to he's married Hannah Stor Okay, yeah, good, good good, that's efectually

correct. But now he's at He's had a great career, you know, calling golf tournament's US Open, that kind of stuff. And now you know he's done a bunch of Olympics and now you'll be doing swimming again. We have a deal. I have news to Brian Peterson. Uh doing some n cua A transfer portal stuff. Baseball players. Let's had a picture Josh Morana or Morano five appearances, the freshman two starts is leaving catcher Cole Dylan junior

college transfer. He went one to one for three with an RBI and another at your arcade. Uh Brigold, Uh who did not play is leaving? Yeah, so three that's what? What? What do they all have in common? Right? They just didn't get blame time. You know you look in the dugout. You look at the dugouts of these college there's like fifty guys in there. There's loads of the other load. It's like that,

Yeah, it's like fifty guys. I'm like like nine guys play, you know, nine guys in a handful of pictures, right, you know it's crazy. I mean really, I mean you know, there's a reason twenty five is the number for Major League baseball teams, because that's all you need. So so what's that? What's the roster size? And scolships? Scoffships and baseball scholarships? They have like twelve and a half scholars Yeah, look

at this with the money and situation. And did you see Willer? Did you see will there's a tweet earlier will you w realizing they're they're losing money. They lost a lot of money, maybe thirty million down from one budget and now they have to find ways to find it. And I said, every school's doing it. You know what. We talked about this even with the president when he was on and how everyone, every school is losing it.

Arizona's situation just became public and COVID screwed up everything. Now they got to pay eventually, will have to pay that money. Where do you get it when you don't have when you don't any money? Well, you saw what you did, right. They've absorbed the debt into the overall debt of the university and as you somebody said, has the second highest athletic department deficit in the country, And like, why aren't they in trouble? The way

you know, Robbie Robbins got in trouble in Tucson. Yeah, you know, and Dave Dave Hekey's gone, Yeah, no, it's a good question. And then the school took the took the hit for it, right right, and school took the hit for it here. Yeah, same situation kind of, isn't it. Yeah, no, it it would be. It is, except it's US is way worse than Arizona's. Yeah, and yet you don't hear the people screaming about that up there. Uh. Hell, life is not fair. It's not fair, Steve, It's really not fair,

and your Dodgs won't win the series. He can I say that you just did. You didn't even bleep it either. It's okay, Henry, you can keep your job because I don't want to do it. Yes, Ryan wanted you jump on the on the dumb button because because Brent Brannan said, damn, oh you should. Yeah no, damn, it's okay. Asked some other things just the case. So that was a good interview yesterday. People said a lot of reactions. Just just another dude who sounded just

like a dude. Yeah, you know, he won't who you could tell wants to be here? Yeah? Actually I got a friend of mine got upset because he didn't know that Brandon was going to be on the show, and he was upset he wasn't listening the podcast we have about I don't know the numbers actually, and you you might know him or not. But as many people who listen to us right now in life listen to us on the podcast, you know, they do say no, yeah, no, they do. They have to yeah, two and two, so we got four,

that's not true. The thousands they got help Yeah, yeah, it's kind of nice. Yeah, and people listen to our that's cool. That's cool. So Henry, you're done, right, we have you want to go. We got about a minute, but we can get Cory A. Butcher. We got Corey Williams four minutes, so that's a right. Yeah, let's hit the road. We're going to come back and we'll have Corey Williams and we'll pick around some of the basketball news of the day, so's

stick around. The Window Depot is more than a windows store. The Window Depot is a one stuff warehouse with everything you need for your complete Homer model shop. The aisles of pre built cabinets and a variety of colors, granite and courts countertops, sinks, skylights and hardware. To complete your project, need a custom order, we can help. Our designers offer free design services and can special order everything you need for your kitchen, our bathroom remodel Today.

Shop the window Deepot dot com or find a location near you. The Window Depot more than a windows store. Steve Vera here to talk about Dorato Rock and Materials. I needed a lot of gravel for my driveway, so I called Eric at Dorato Rock. He found out the amount and color I needed and boom, it was taken care of and at a great price. How do I know radio commercials work. I heard one of his on the

radio. Dorato Rock and Materials provides a wide range of landscaping materials, including decative rock, boulders, gravel, soil, and sand for residential and commercial use in the Tucson area. They are locally owned and have been around for more than fifteen years. Give them a call at five to two zero four

zero zero for two three three. Where do you buy exercise equiesh Man Arizona Health Arizona Health, Arizona Health. Of course, to feel better and look better, it makes sense to buy your fitness equipment from the people who know it better than anyone else. At Arizona Health, our goal is to help you choose the equipment you need to reach your goals. Your health and fitness deserve the best you deserve. Arizona Health the lead it and exercise equipment on

twenty seconds, this quest of will not did you we know? Sports cards at Memorabilia are setting record sales last month of nineteen fifty two tops Mickey Mantle So for twelve point six million, Lebron James Rookie So for five point six Also, collecting cards is a family fun hobby that can be very profitable. If you want to start a collection or expand your collection, check out Showtime Cards. They are one of the leading card shops in the country and have

served our local community for twenty five years. They are located on e Speedway. That's show Time Cards. At Nova Home Loans, we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to enjoy the independence that comes with home ownership. Paul Volpi is ready to help you find an option that best fits your needs. Whether you're a first time or veteran home buyer, or want to get cash out with the refinance. Nova has a variety of home loan programs to meet your unique

situation. Visit voltpeteam dot com. That's Volpe team dot com or called five two oh six eight five six two six Today in MLS three oh eight seven Ariazonna be K nine two nine POT two Equal Housing Opportunity, How to commitment to Lindrixyn credit rates and available loan programs suing to change the come to us. It's awards season for summer sports leagues and time to look at trophies for baseball, softball, volleyball, and swimming seasons for youth and adult leagues.

Summer has arrived and it's time to replenish your promotional products for your company's giveaways. Keep your employees looking great in fresh new apparel, polos and caps with your sharp looking logo. Creative Awards is here to serve your professional and promotional products needs. Visit their Creative Awards Idea Center at two twenty eight West Drackman Street or visit them online at Creative Awards AZ dot com. It's that time

of year summer in Tucson. Time to take control with temperature control for all your air conditioning needs. We'll keep you cool during all the hot streaks. All you have to do is stay in control with temperature Control where we handle everything you need with prompt response, affordable pricing, and sound solutions. We

also excel in plumbing and electrical work. We handle everything you need. Give us a call at five to two oh eight one five five six six five or visit our website at tempdash con dot com and remember, stay in control with temperature control. Need concrete, hard Works Concrete has it. We have more than twenty five years of experience with all things concrete. Installing sidewalks and patio floors are our specialty and handle masonry work and retaining loss. We're locally

and family owned. Just let us know what you need, how you want it, and we'll take care of it. Leave the hard work up to us. We're Hardworks Concrete. Call us at five one two nine six' two five six six zero or visit our website Hardworksconcrete dot com. We'll put the work in for you. Gut bugs, termites, bees, or rodents, Arizona Pest Control will hunt them down. Arizona Pest Control is your complete

desert pest management. Specialist's can't run or hide from Arizona Pest Control they use only the latest and most technologically advanced methods of pest elimination available, which minimizes the effects on the environment. Let Arizona Pest Control get rid of your bad bugs, termites, bees, or rodents serving Tucson and Southern Arizona since nineteen forty seven. Go to azypass dot com to schedule your free evaluation today.

This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Subscribe now to the podcast on the iHeartRadio WIP just Surgeon I on the Bar. Hey, welcome back to our the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. He's Jacob Zaws. Now on the phone. We have former UBAB basketball player Corey Williams. Corey, how you doing. I'm doing pretty good. How about yourself? We're doing well.

We wanted to talk to you about a few things on in your camps that they're going with our camp, but your league is going on right now. We'll get to that in a second, but first up, let's talk about the Hurdy situation. You cover college basketball for ESPN and a number of other people. What were your thoughts that he was gonna leave and then decided not to leave. Well, I felt like he shouldn't take that job. I think anytime college coaches go to the pros, it's always the tricky situation.

It's to completely do for an animal. Success at one level does not guarantee success at another. But I felt like the Laker offered the Laker job in particular was a setup. I mean, Lebron's there, Ads there, Polinka is there, Genie Buss is there. There's four people who outrank you walking in the door. I don't think you leave Yukon for a situation like that. I don't think the Lakers are going to perform any better than they did

this season, so you're just setting yourself up to be the scapegoat. In my opinion, everything would be blamed on him. He's the first year coach with zero years of experience. No matter what Lebron says, he's larger than life in LA and you're just going to be part of the circus that is the Los Angeles Lakers. And I didn't think coach Danny Hurley has had all

that success to become that type of situation didn't make sense. Yeah, well, your thoughts on I want you to ask the question because you talked about area we're talking about he's already coaching prob right, And this was an interesting take. Geno Arima was on Dan Patrick Show the other day and you know,

talking to him. It was funny because there was that at the time that the news came out that Hurley was, you know, talking to to the Lakers, and he said he kind of was encouraging him, kind of saying, look, we're not coaching amateurs anymore in college, We're coaching pros. So why wouldn't you go coach pros who know how to be pros?

Because the pros that they're coaching are eighteen to twenty two years old, whereas you know, these guys who are the Lakers or whoever you know, they're pros who have kind of been around and know what it's like to be a pro and how different it's become. He said, because make no mistake, we're coaching pros now, is what he said. Well, I would ask coaches, you know rim Or why he hasn't gone to the pro ranks, And the reason that he hasn't is because he's lord and master in stores Connecticut.

He would never leave that job to go to the w NBA where players can listen to you or are not listen to you, where player salaries dwarf your own end, and they have all the leverage with the administration and the front office. So while it's interesting that he would give that advice that he hadn't followed himself, I would be in Coach Hurley's years saying, look, don't go to the Lakers. If you want to become an NBA coach. Fine, but that is a dumpster fire. You're not going to receive any

credit that the team plays well. You receive all the blame that the team plays poorly. You're going from being in total control at Yukon to the media capital of the world and being one of the most visible spots in a franchise that has been I won't say chaotic, but they haven't exactly been stable. Apart from the win and the championship in the Bubble, Lebron stay in LA

has not been great. So while that is good advice to go coach pros, I think that situation, and especially the low ball offer from the Lakers was pretty much a little bit above being disrespectful. To be honest with you the money they tossed at him was not good enough for him to upflute and pretty much burn down everything he built in Connecticut because you gotta magic. He takes that job. Players want out of their commitments, everything comes crashing down.

It's e leaves Connecticut. So Greenberg tell them also about Greenberg because I don't want to get this wrong either, where if he was going to go to the world, Like, yeah, Mike Greenberg lost his mind talked about he said something along the lines of if Dan Hurley goes to the Lakers, it's the end of college athletics as we know it. And I'm like, come on, no, I think that's a lot of hyperbole, and you know, Greeney gets paid to be bombastic, but it does signal something.

I mean, when the big boys want to play where you're playing, they simply come in and you have to move out. And that's the way it's always been. When NBA teams come calling with NBA pay rolls, a lot of college coaches can't resist. You've seen coaches flirt with the NBA and and go back. So the amount of money that they can offer is alluring. But I think for a lot of guys your personality matters. And if you're a guy who doesn't mind being sitting at the big desk calling all the shots,

being in control, that comes at a price. And if somebody wants you to go from being number one to number four, then they've got to pay you an awful lot of money to come out to LA and be number four and be the media punching bag. And they didn't offer him that much money to make that type of decision. So, you know, is at

the end of college basketball? I don't think so. I think college basketball will return to normalcy here in the fall of next year, when the schools can bring Nil back in house, things will start to kind of realign. But the problem that college basketball has and has nothing to do with Nil, well actually does in a way. They have totally neutered and made irrelevant at

the college coach. They have weakened the position of the college coach to a point where, to a certain degree, you're right, he is just standing there on the sidelines. He doesn't have any authority. He doesn't he's not

allowed to coach and develop young men. And I hate to use a word like leverage, but college coaches have been stripped of their leverage with this new environment, and it's very difficult to coach young people if you don't have any leverage or anything of substance that you can can hold to them to try to get them to be the players that you need them to be. Totally agreed,

I didn't saying that forever, Corey. If you're the coach, how are you going to tell ex player who's making quarter of a million, a half a million, whatever number you want to give me, and say, go work your butt off and work to hustle and all that when the coach, I got this, Yeah, right, Well, well the formula is right under our noses when you look at coach of thea Arms. She took over the Arizona job and she had nothing. She had be covered with bear.

She didn't have she didn't have a great run a great she wasn't inheriting a blue blood program, and within a couple of short years she was playing for the national championship. And one of the things that she did is she understood that she had to go out and sell a vision when she talked to recruits. She didn't have stat she didn't have Final four rings, she didn't

have national championships. She went in delivery rooms and all across the country and recruited off a vision and she told each girl how that girl fitted into the vision that she had, and she was able to land some good recruits and turn the program around in record time. And I think as a college coach now, if you don't connect with players in a real way and really align yourself with their dreams and their vision and sell them on their vision, which

includes playing for you, you're not going to be very successful. Because right now it's the wild wild West. Whoever offers the most money gets the kid. The relationships don't matter, and you're seeing the effects in the transport portal. There's so many kids happen from school to school because there is no connection, there is no joined cause between that coach and that player. A lot of times you'll see kids tell their parents, tell their handlers, hey,

this is where I want to be. Work it out. I'm not leaving coach. So and so that's the coach. That's the new challenge for coaches is trying to make a connection despite all the money that's flying around out there. No and that's and that's the that's the tough part as you mentioned, you know, they hope you're hoping the corral this and it's maybe little by little, you know, with this, you know, settlement of the of

the of the house lawsuit and all that kind of stuff. But we're still a long ways from there from this thing being under control, don't you think. Well, the thing about it when you use the word like control, we got to be very careful because what we're really talking about is the return of leverage to the side of the schools. Back then, the schools had all the leverage. We offer you a four dyear deal. You're an amateur where your only path to the pros, where your only path to money,

and the school had everything tilted their way. A lot of people like that model emotionally they want to go back to that model. So now that players can get paid, it is the most Unamerican thought in the world to try to regulate the free market. If a guy can make money, then you let him make money. If a player is if a quarterback or wide receiver or a point guard can make some money, his value is going to be based on his talent and how he plays. You can't put the genie back

in the bottle. But what I'm afraid will happen, and this is just me thinking crazy. Down the line, when everything moves back in house, you have to have some sort of unionization by the players so that the schools can then contract with the players. The reason the NBA works is because players have contracts that they have to honor. Yeah, they can be traded, but their money is fixed their allegiance for however long a period of the contract.

You don't have to worry about a guy showing up for camp because he's under contract. Once contract enter into college basketball, things will go back to normal. But right now, every eight or nine months with the transfer portal, it's going to be absolute upheaval and chaos because there's no contractual obligations for these guys, and coaches are literally if even look at Arizona rebuilding the roster from top to bottom every ten year, every ten months, so twelve months

is insane. So how do we get back to normal. We've got to have some type of unionization of players that contract with the universities so that a kid signs with the school that's where he plays if he's going to play Division one basketball, and then you do have to adopt that kind of a pro model to give the coaches and the schools some leverage back. But the problem

is that it's good old fashioned price fixing. I mean, what's to stop ads from sitting around and saying, hey, if you play in this conference, the most we're playing for a point guard is two hundred grand and they all agree to that. And now you start to see price sticks in where schools agree behind closed doors, this is what we're going to spend. And as long as we all stay in line, we can drive these nil prices back down to some reasonable numbers. That's my fear. Corey Williams for President

of the it's my vote. Let's just move on because you're depressing me. You depressing me. I'm covered this a long time, so you must be Your lifeblood is is doing what you do with the Crest and you and your ESPN stuff. But one of the fun things you get to do is you is your camp. You're kind of in the beginning middle stages right now.

How's it going. It's going great, man. I mean I'm spending the weekend in the gym with middle school kids, boys and girls that love the game, and it's such a great time in their lives because they like basketball and they're starting to develop physically, so you start to see the passions meet with the skill sets and they're learning something new about themselves every weekend, and they're all positive. It's just you know, lots of high fives and smiles,

handshakes. So it's a great situation to be in. For me, it's kind of selfish because I remember being that age and loving basketball and playing as much as I could. So for me, it's just great because I was I was a kid that grew up in the Midwest and the eighties. I had a storybook childhood. Tons of adults in our community opened up gyms

and the parks, and there was we could go play anytime anywhere. And I know that those days are long gone, but we try to create just a little bit of that down at the TSPL for the kids, come in, give them a jersey, let them play, and try to make sure they have fun. Yeah, and how many kids you have, We got about twelve teams of twelve, so about one hundred and forty one hundred and forty five years and fluctuated given each weekend with some kids on vacation or going

to play in club tournaments and stuff. But on any given day we probably got about one hundred and fifteen kids down there in the gym. So let me say, and you could say, Steve, you're totally wrong, but I'm assuming that you're having a good time in parts. The older kids are no longer part of it. And I said this with all sincerity because I'm sure they give you a lot of headaches. Well that's the thing. I

mean. You take a grown man who gives you money to play in the league, all of a sudden, he wants to complain about the rest, the jerseys too type and all of this other stuffcause you're dealing with a dope. When you're dealing with kids, their mind is just focused on the game. So they are much better customer to have than a grown man who, you know, may think he's Michael Jordan, or may think he missed this Shoine at the NBA and he's down there living in a fantasy world. So

we had some we The men's League was awesome. I loved it. We had the U of A guys mixed with the overseas guys, mixed with the local two signed guys. It was great. The basketball changed right before our eyes, guys stopped playing summer hoops. College guys no longer really hoop in the summer. I mean, the more serious, I should say, the more money that's come into basketball, the more strategic guys are about how they train and where they play and trying to avoid injury. So I remember being

in college playing pick up all the time at home. Yeah, I could have blew my knee during the summer, but we all were playing no matter what, no matter what school you went to, Doke, Arizona, the Lenova, Michigan, everybody who pick up in the summer, it's just what you did. But now guys have an established value coming out of high school. They don't play pickup ball the summer, and they certainly don't play with local guys from the city that they go to school in. So our business

model had to change. And really it really makes me sad sometimes because I know there's a couple hundred guys in this town that really want to play summer basketball. So we're going to try to work and get it back. But you're one hundred percent right. The middle school kid is a much better customer than the grown guys playing at La Fitness, right, right, right, so we have about two minutes. Correct me. If I'm wrong, there could be wrong. Back in ninety six, you were a senior. I

remember going to a Desert Classic watching you guys on all that stuff. Did you meet Jerry West there first at all? And then did you know him? Well? I never met him. I did see him, and I was kind of starstruck, and I kind of just try to play it cool, because you know, at that age you want to you don't want to be starstrucks. You want to keep a cool point. But I did see him, but I never did get the chance to meet him. Yeah,

okay, just your thoughts, your reflections. Well, I think basketball players you're lucky if you have you know, two lives. You have the life of the player, and then if you're lucky, you can continue to be involved in basketball after you hang them up. Jerry West had like four basketball lives as a player, as a coach, as a GM, as an icon, as on TV, a personality like he is if basketball was an

orange, he got all the juice out of it. He's like Bill Walton every level of the game, as a player, as a coach, as an analyst, as a personality, all of famer, like basketball sustained him and he excelled at every phase of the game. Even when he stopped playing, he was still an icon in those other areas, you know, And that's why I do some of the things I do. I love it now, think for ESPN because it keeps me close to the game. I love

working with the kids because it keeps me close to the game. Jerry West is every every basketball player's dream is to have his career and his post career if you're lucky, yeah, and being able to do that. I mean, he had sixty years in the game, you know, in the NBA, right, you know, from the mid sixties on to now and just again, just one of those guys I was saying that, you know, there's very few of the Jerry West in sports where you know, the their

icons across all sports. You know, whether you're a football fan or a baseball fan or wherever you knew of and knew about Jerry West. I think sports fans we all have a radar within us. It doesn't really matter what what sport we'll watch, and if it's football, baseball, basketball, whatever fans can sense and when you're talented, when you're tough, nose and you bring it every night, and that goes for all sports. And he had that it quality people knew when they watched him play. This guy is all

business. He's a professional from head to toe. He's a competitor, and I think he garnered the respective people across all sports just off of his demeanor, his personality, everything I've always seen. He was always a gentleman. He spoke kind of everybody, from Michael Jordan to Kobe Bryant. He was truly an ambassador for all sports, not only just the NBA. Right, Yeah, Corey, thanks a bunch. Thanks appreciate you appreciate it, Corey. You guys have a great one. Yeah you too, Corey Williams.

Great points on the NC double. We'll get to all that. Yeah, on the other side, because we're a little there's so many takes, all yeah, right, and it all makes sense, and a lot of them makes sense. Well, they ain't gonna happen, honestly, how can it? It just can't. It's something that happened, right, something that happened. All right, let's take our last break. We're going to come back. We'll take your calls. Five two zero, four, one six seventy

four forty any thoughts on Jerry West were any other stuff going on? There's been lots of talk about to stick around. If you're an Arizona men's basketball fan, you know it's been successful for nearly forty years. Now. Take a look back at the Ludolsen 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 ninety five at gmail dot com. Hi. This is formal while get Leman Huntley with Arizona hel imagine how home GM can change your health and your time. Arizona Health is everything you need to transform your personal

space in your life. We off a complete line of cardio machines, multi gms and freeway equipment. I'll certify fitness experts and technicians will set you up with Corret equipment and training to get you started to keep you going. Visit our share room today at twenty second in Wilmot, Arizona Health the lead edge and exercise equipment. What's your goal a new career or career advancement? How about transferring to a four year college. PEMA Community College can help you make

Someday today and reach your goals affordably on your schedule. With over one hundred programs to choose from in financial laid available, It's time to earn the degree or certificate you need to prepare for the career you want. PEMA offers free career exploration classes so you can choose the field that's right for you. Learn how at PEMA dot edu. Slash someday. Is it hot in here or is it just me? Honey? I always 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 Pulling, hitting in Plumbing. They have the solutions for us for all your air condition needs, all today by p zero four nine two zero seven forty eight or visit us at Picture Rockscooming dot com tucks and plumbing. Ready to save but not sure where to begin? Take the Pyramid Federal Credit Union ten thousand dollars

saving Challenge and we'll guide you along the way. Save five hundred dollars over six months as a member and you could win big. Watch your savings grow to help you reach goals like buying a car, owning a home, and more. Visit Pyramid FCU dot com Slash ten k challenge to get started today. Bed Really Insured NCUA. Do you want to be part of a winning team? Eighteen Security is looking for friendly, outgoing event security, yards and

events staff to be a part of our team. We've been providing our outstanding services to some of Arizona's biggest sporting events and concerts for over twenty years. We want you to join the Action. A Team offers a fun and exciting opportunity to work in the sports and entertainment industry, with flexible schedules that are perfect for those looking for a part time job or a second income. Come be a part of a winning team the A Team apply online today at a

team security dot net. Steve Rivera and Jacob Salas they have their eye on the ball on Tucson's Sports Stage chef Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. Hey, welcome back to I'm the Ball Hero, Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. I'm Steve, He's Jay Henry with us today. We got thirteen minutes if you want to call us five to two zero four one six seventy four forty who have talked a lot about a lot of things today, A lot of things to talk about. Corey's always good feel starter and then I forget what that well,

you know, because he knows about that. It's kind of he does with with uh uh cresh you know, you know, numbers, numbers, right, he can tell he spends time, you know, kind of thinking and analyzing, and you know, he does a good job with you know, when he when he's doing college basketball. And it's because he does he does the work, certainly more work than you or I do about any of this stuff. If it was work, we wouldn't be doing that. But you know, but he's, you know, just a smart guy with a I

mean, he talked about a lot of stuff that I've thought. Okay, I hadn't thought of that, and I hadn't thought of that, and I hadn't thought of that. Well, it's the what was he talking about the play? The money changed cards? He did with the phrase he used, uh price, the price? Yeah, yeah, we got he never would have thought that. All right, let's take this call. Hi are on the air and on the ball. Yeah, how you guys doing today?

What's going on? Rick? Hey? You know I was just it's it's been crazy, but I just read word chat walker of his seventy six or his way back in the sixth, right, he just passed the way. And you know my age group remember all those guys. But I was talking with somebody and you imagine of Jerry West if the three point line was in play, yeah, except I mean it's something made the comment thought that he

was a mid range jumper kind of guy. But I guess he would have said, yeah, I guess he would have established, you know, become a three point shooter if he if it was around well, and you know, we didn't get to watch the NBA was not like it is now or you get to see it. I mean, everything was stafe, delayed or not at all. And uh so, but I mean you talked about legends

of basketball, and you know he topped the lists. So let me ask you Rick, just I don't know your age, although you're a friend of mine, who would have who is the guy that maybe is still alive that you saw growing up and you said, wow, you know who was the

guy who was? Well, I remember Jerry West growing up, I remember wil Chamberlain, Bill Russell, I met you know, all those guys in the John Hablete those were I mean, those were all staples of the basketball Connie Hawkins, uh and the old A B A right, you know, and uh doctor j of the A B A he was I think with the Kentucky Colonels. I mean, you go back in all those years and now I'm feeling my age, really, but uh, I was fortunate. I

got to see basketball history being made. And I don't think the kids today really understand or appreciate what's really in front of them right now. No, I agree, I agree. Okay, thanks, thanks guys, All right, thanks? Yeah, good call anybody else want to call him with those

type of memories. Yeah, you know, and again, well, you know, you know my guy growing up, and he's much older because he was, you know, on the backside of his career at the same was Johnny United's, right, you know, in the in the in the sixties. You know, Johnny he played into the into the early early seventies, and then I don't even remember when he passed away, but I do remember thinking, man, that's a guy that you know was important to me,

you know as a kid. Uh you know. And then I mentioned Sandy Kofax earlier. You know, I would listen. I loved listening to a game that he pitched because you knew that it won, that it was going to be, he was gonna be he was going to dominate a game. And then you know, you just wondered, he's gonna throw another no hitter today? He ended up throwing four. You bring that up. It's funny because I don't give him my credentials and stuff like that. With with credentials,

I've only paid a ticket price for like one big dude. I think we've talked about this, Noel Ryan when I paid fifty bucks for a ticket back to that and I think I want to see him pitch again. Yeah, so him in when I was my dad took me to to Anaheim Stadium in the seventies and I went to He's in Texas obviously, and I, yeah, my friend of mine said let's go, let's go watch him. I mean, I don't spend I'm a cheap dude, you know that. So I went and paid the ticket to see Yeah. And you know,

and then and there are very few guys I'm the same as you. There are very few guys. I mean, I like going to baseball game and stuff like that, but there are very few guys that I said, I've got to go see this game because this guy is in right, well, I was going to do it with Showy well, yeah, because we I

don't know if I have told this. It's actually a funny story. So when the day that the day that show Hey got signed by the Dodgers, you know, we were at a working to a basketball game and it happened the signing hit social media during the national anthem of a game. Right,

my son testaments got show Hey. All the national anthem is playing. So anyway, so then we at that at the table that day, we said, hey, we got to go to one of the games when they come and play the Diamondbacks, and we also got to go see him in La. So we got tickets to the Wednesday night game. I remember that with the with the having Backs. I got sick, so I couldn't go. So my son Adam goes and he takes a friend of his and Show Hey didn't play, So I would have been really upset, you know, had

I gone. And it was the first game he sat out for the entire year. It was a Wednesday night game, you know, get a getaway game, and he didn't play. So he still hasn't seen him play. We did go see him as an Angel in Anaheim two seasons ago, and uh, you know that that was cool. Show he's that guy right now, right, you're gonna pay money to go go see show Hey play,

you know. For Christmas one a few years ago, I bought my daughter and Adam tickets to go see Steph Curry up and uh, you know up in Phoenix and crossed my fingers that he played that day and he did. You know, he's one of those guys. And and Jerry West was one of those guys. But there are you know, there are a few guys like that that that that you would want to go see just to see them play, right, So we went to see Cincinnati with till a cruise, you know, yeah, yeah, uh, two three weeks ago. I

think it was but you you had something. You've showed me a picture before the show started. It was Elie delablehead night in Cincinnati. And how long? How deep was this? The line was out the door like people all around Cincinnati. Yeah, yeah for a bubblehead. I don't know if I'd go crazy for that, but because they're gonna be on sale two days. Yeah, well I've told I've told George. Minus our showtime cards, guy said, I, as soon as you can, you need to get me

a show Hey card. I just want a card, any card. Didn't you have to be a valuable card, Just a show Hey card in a little case. What say? And he said, to get me one. And and I want to get one for my grandson. And I want to put it in his in his room and have it be there until he grows up and realizes would show hey man to the game. Yeah. So at some point I got to get that card from George. But you know, and you know again, a few guys like that. You know, you

you you know you wanted to see some of these places. You know you'd want to see Aaron Judge, right, Uh, you know, I know there were some people who wanted to see Barry Bonds, right, not me, but there were you know, there were a lot of people who would go to the game Bonds, and I saw him a few times during that troubled time with some just go up and I don't know how this happened, but I saw him a few times. And you just see how hard can

these ball guys hit the ball? Yeah, I mean, honestly, sitting with Fox tickets and blah blah blah, these guys just crushed the ball. And if you're a third basement your ticket, please don't. I don't want to get in the way of that. Oh god, no, yeah, I don't want to get in the way of that. But you know, show he hit a homer last night, one hundred and fourteen miles an hour off the bat. One hundred and fourteen miles an hour off the bat.

Yeah, I mean, they they, they they're they're doing a great thing with baseball. The homeplate umpires wearing cameras on the top of their mask, and so they showed the angle the pitch coming and then how fast how fast it left it left O'tanni's bat. I mean, it was just gone in a heartbeat. And you go and you a human beings do that, you know right away to Yeah, Like do you like when they show the arm camp during the game or like when they go to the camp during the game.

Yeah, yeah, I think it's cool. I think it's cool because if you've ever watched up close a major league pitcher warming up throwing a pitch, because it's even hard to tell from the seats how hard they throw. But I remember being at a spring training game where the bullpen was, you know, just up the first base line, and I just went and stood at the fence to see how hard. And this was years ago before they were not throwing a hundred miles an hour, And I'm thinking how fast that

was and how incredible and how how does anybody hit that? But they do, you know, And I mean, what's his name the guy that throw? Oh, he played for the Yankees, and yes, or one hundred and three miles. He threw one hundred and three miles in our pitch. Yeah, and somebody you hit it a mile? Yeah, that's funny. How do you do that? I'd be like me waiting for Randy Johnson to throw. I'd be more scared about being hitting the head than anything else than

getting the ball. These guys throw crazy. Yeah I don't, yeah exactly. I mean if you stood in the box and that picture is coming at you, you got no chance. Well, the thing about it, they're not you or me. They're just not you. We're not They're they're who they are for a reason. They're getting paid millions for a reason. But it's like, what was that was that? Uh? Who? Yeah? I was asking about how do guys? How have guys become hard throwers like

that? Oh? Yeah, yeah, yeah it was the Francona or who we're talking to? Yeah, I think so, I remember who we're talking about. How you're just an average college pitcher now is throwing in the mid nineties, right right? You know when it when before a great major league baseball pitcher, Nolan Ryan, he threw high nineties and people were like, holy hell, you know Nolan Ryan would be average now these days? Yeah,

you know what, And that's crazy to think about that. Yeah, but their careers are going quickly too, because they're burning out, their arms are blowing out in in a hurry. Yeah. But nonetheless, you know, it's it's amazing. You know, I remember somebody, so I heard

a rant. This was years ago, a rant from by Tommy Lesorda when somebody in the media or I don't know if it was a golfer or whatever, tried to say that hitting a golf ball was harder than hitting a baseball, and Tommy went on a rant like, you're out of here exactly. The ball's not moving, you set it on the tee, you take this big, big hammer and you just whack it. And they try to hit a baseball. So you're telling me there's no more Kent to Kolbe's anymore pitching.

Yeah seriously, Yeah, yeah, I mean, but that's not true though. The walks their Buwer Walker Buwer looks like he weighs about one hundred and forty pounds and they got there one hundred miles an hour. Huh Okay, Now he's blowing his arm out twice doing it. But you know the Dodgers picture, right, Walker Buller. He's a little guy, right. You know the other guy, the guy looks like Carra top Dustin May right with the with the with their big red hair. Again, he's all from

Yeah, well, he's bowing his arm out twice too. But you know some of these guys that they're not that big, and you see them now the picture of the Dodgers have now Tyler Glass. Now he's six foot six. He's letting the ball go right on top of you. You know it. It's and he's throwing one hundred miles an hour. It's crazy. Yeah. No, these guys are huge, too huge. Like I said, they're big. Dudes. Are all legs upper body. Can you imagine what

have been like to see Randy Johnson coming at you. Nope, especially if you're a bird. I couldn't imagine going up to him and saying, can I give two minutes of your time and insince sorry Son, because that happens a few times. It was the nice guy. No, it wasn't like him. He was an old guy. He was no longer in baseball. Oh yeah, he still playing well because you were on the baseball field, you were, we were on the golf course. We were at the time

in circumstance, time and circumstances. Hey, he's a pretty good golfer too, But again, six eleven guy to you know hitting a two iron and like that couldn't be all that easy. No he is. He's a big time photographer. Yeah. Yeah, he's actually become quite a personality. Yeah, he's like talkative and you know, he does interviews and stuff, and he's like before it was like he's all graduate. He was remembering peanut in

New York. He nailed the photographers taking a picture of it. And I remember he got very pissed off when he was when when he killed a bird. He got very pissed off that people are laughing about it. And yeah, because thought it was cool because I killed a bird. What the hell it wasn't funny. There's nothing funny about that at all. Funny? Are you laughing at me? Or? Thanks? Good show today again we pulled one out. Yeah, a lot of fun. Thank you to Corey Williams

uh for for jumping on and Mark Wicker, legendary sports writer. Uh still, you know, go look for him on on what's it called Substack Substack because he's a great writer. I'm sure he's got some cool stuff to say, and I'm gonna go look him up. I didn't know he was doing that, so I'll go look him up as well. So hey, thanks everybody for being here, right Steve, see tomorrow, all right, see you all tomorrow.