Wednesday, June 25, Hour 1

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

Thank good enough to do and everybody welcome to Eye on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera and with me today is Blake Eager. He ever shows up a little late here at three o'clock, I'm gonna have to make him run some laps because he's late.

He's always kind of late, but.

Today he's really late because I'm the other one in here. But we're gonna talk a lot about the draft today. He starts in two hours from now. Carter Bryant likely to go in the top twelve, maybe top ten. We'll see what happens, and then maybe Caleb Love maybe by the end of the night. I'm sure by the end of the night we'll know where he'll be as a free agent, for sure. Because runs the draft is over, the ones that don't get drafted gets picked up pretty

We'll see what happens.

So here we are on Wednesday, already Wednesday, midweek, so we'll have let me tell you who.

We have a pretty good guest list here today.

We have Jason Gardner, former you of a guard from the good old days, the nighte in two thousand and two and one Final four National Championship team, the Ironman guy. He'll be here at three seventeen, and then and then Corey Williams at four seventeen, a guy who's been through this, the ropes of being not drafted, but you know through what my Caleb Love might be going through at the end of the day.

You know, a guy who was I think.

Picked up somehow in the summer and then he had to go overseas and had a pretty good career and you know, has a pretty good life now with Crest and does a lot of things with the Summer League. We'll talk about that as well. And look, you showed up. Who the hell let you in? Apparently not you? Somebody did.

No, I couldn't get off the bike.

I guess I know where your priorities are now, Steve, too many, too many traffic lights?

What's up with that?

And it's called work. It's this weird thing that we're have to show up to the office and then all of a sudden you just kind of sneak out, and I gotta sneak out. I hate my boss.

I was in his named Blake.

Yeah you got you need a little five every time.

I look in the mirror.

Five more minutes. Yeah, well you've got a hat on.

You must have got another haircut. Oh here we go. Yeah. No, I'm not going back to that barber anymore. Super cuts, no more, no more. To see you, Blake. Good to see you.

Steve had some good shows last few days without you.

That's good. Why'd you ask me back?

Because I need somebody carry me through for two hours. But today we should have a pretty good one with with Jason Gardner at three seventeen and then Williams at four seventeen. Yeah. I don't think you could ask for two better guests. No, No, you know how it is.

Today.

I was like, I don't know, I want to get today. Try to get Murphy. Who's with with Caleb in New York? Given that to given that to Tommy's in Switzerland. We're hit him ready for the summer basketball stuff. Yeah, but it's been good. Last couple of days. We talked a little about baseball. We had the Two Squirrels. I'm sure you're familiar with him.

Have you seen him? Have you seen anything? I haven't gone out to a pretty good there were.

Eighteen and four going into yesterday.

But you know, it's a it's a independent league. Yetta, Yetta, it's a grind as a player for that league. Too. Great word really really difficult? Great, Well, you got to really love baseball. I think I said that before.

It has to be like your number one priority in life, right, and it's it might be a stepping stone to something bigger, you never know, but it's you don't stop until somebody takes your glover cleats away from you.

Right, and you're you know, you're young, twenty two to twenty three, and you say, what else am I going to do besides go to work?

And we know how work sucks? Yeah, we do, yeah, some of us. Do you know? I haven't made I like my boss. His name is Steve. Yeah.

The most difficult part of my job is what do you think waking up every day? That's one of them. That's probably about number three. No, getting the guest list, Oh yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I didn't guess I don't have too good job that you. Oh yeah, thank you. But it's just what myrolodexis. Who hasn't been on in a while, what the topics for today yet? To make it topical, I.

Usually put an alarm at two thirty PM to set off waiting for your text to text me and say.

I did today kind of early. But you know you were thinking like I was thinking.

And we're still waiting for coach Burke from the women's from the basketball team, women's basketball team at ubi H. Like I said, we try to get Murphy on, but he couldn't be it.

He was in New York.

Uh, and he wasn't sure if he'd be available on our time because it starts. When it starts, are they're already starting to head to the the facility where the draft is. So I think it's in New York. Yeah, I think so. When I covered it was in Vancouver, Washington. So what else going on with Glorady? Did you say the draft? The draft was in Vancouver, Washington, Vancouver, Washington back in the day, that's when Bibi was number two, Yeah,

Mecca, the mecca. Have you ever been to Madison Square guard?

I have?

And what Google? How long ago? It was a long time ago. What were your impressions?

You know, I was pretty naive, but it was I was impressed when you walked through those doors. What about when you walked in the doors. That's what I mean, walk through the doors. I mean it smell like New York to me.

So it was I didn't really I wasn't too impressed.

I lived in New York for a little while. So did you the smell something that? That's why I get used to Yeah, yeah, yeah it is.

I really didn't know in some of my books, you really didn't know that New York, that Medicine Square Garden.

That's like the third or fourth version of That's regard. Yeah, I think, you know.

Would it start off as a library or a bus station for a while and then they built it into they tore it down, built it into the first and I think this is a third.

Yeah, the third? Yeah? Yeah. What what are you doing in playing? Yeah? Playing?

You lived in downtown lived in Brooklyn, Oh, Brooklyn? Okay, not too far. Yeah, it's a suburb. Yeah, I think that's where. I called it borough though. If that's where, that's where. Where's the island? How far is the island? That's not Brooklyn right, No, because that's where rail Roe Moddel lives. I'm talking about Stanton Islands. That maybe he lived in Staten Island, Pico.

I was talking about Long Island, but Long Island is connected, so okay, maybe one of those. I can't remember. I was Raidiro model before Railroam model was raid Romon. Yeah.

If I close my eyes at night, yeah, I had to watch I watch Everybody Loves Raymond.

I don't. I somehow just dislike it I had.

I had the same exact, almost exact same lifestyle. A wife who hated me, and two kids lord me and and you think it's white hated him.

That's great. I'm sure overbearing mother yo and.

A nearby dad's father in law bla, yeah, oh oh me and my mom was a lot like that.

Mom, really, I like, yeah, well, bless her heart. Yeah.

It's wild that you're not still married as often as to talk about it. Yeah, that's for another show, Why you're not married? Go ahead, call in first color a long time listener. That would be you know what we got along summer ahead of us? Right, yeah, keep you on the subject matter. Places to eat in Tucson and why aren't you married?

That's too funny? All right?

So I know you guys already talked about it, probably this week quite a bit asium. But uh NBA finals thought good.

I thought it was a fantastic series, evenly played. I thought it would be. I thought that, okay, so you would win it in six? I thought you picked. I thought you picked Indiana and six no, I picked Okay. See, I'm still waiting to get paid from my guy here. Yeah, because you know, oh yeah, forgot can I veno?

You know I want the cash, give me the cash? Yeah yeah, no, no, no.

But the thing about it was that the Arizona guys were fantastic, unbelievable.

I thought Mathurne stepped up huge in that series. It's great to watch him play.

I think when Haliburt went down, he was kind of the go to guy too and took it upon himself.

But yeah, yeah, it was it was same, we'll call it. It was he was. He was fantastic. Yeah. I had some late turnovers in the last game.

Try to do too much at some point, but I mean, you're down, You're trying to do everything possibly can.

I'm gonna try to get him out the next couple of days. Yeah, send a note to Indianapolis if he can come on. Because he's one of the great guys. In Shawn's time, he was one of the great guys.

I think you have a history.

He's one of Oh yeah, yeah, right, yeah, I just didn't like community and everything else.

Yeah.

The last uh I've been doing thirty seven, he's probably in the top seven for sure.

That's interesting. Yeah. Yeah, is that good or bad? Number? I I mean, I like seven. Do you not like the number seven? No, no, I'm saying the number seven. I'm saying because

No?

maybe you thought he could be higher.

No, I think I think that's a good I think top ten is what I yeah, yeah, okay, that's fair assessment.

I like top ten. All right, So what do we got for the summer? What do we got sports wise going on?

Right now?

Baseball, which is killing me because my Cubbies are terrible awful. Right now they're in first place in Central but the last ten games they look terrible.

Council can coach or manage.

I mean you're saying that, but well, I I we're talking about we were on the council the bus, I'm still on. Uh he's he just got off at the last stop.

So what why what are they doing in the last ten days? Listen? His argument, I think is valid. You're leaving starting pitching in too long.

Right, you're giving up five runs, six runs, eight runs, and you're still sticking with guys. I think some circumstances benefit those players like Ben Brown, who's a rookie, so they can work through things. I think you've got a guy like Colin Ria who's a VET, and you've got Jamison Italian that's a VET. That probably doesn't benefit them as much. And you've got a pretty good bullpen right now, right, you've got the number one bullpen in the big League

Yeah, between you and Jay with his Dodgers, Yeah, I mean, like, who's it.

If you're a Dodgers fan, you have nothing to complain about. I don't care if you have an injury. I don't care about any of that stuff like you have not. I don't want to listen to any Dodger fan plane. I don't want to hear it like you essentially have the mecha of the baseball universe from a money standpoint, from a talent standpoint, from a resource standpoint.

But I did think it was interesting. I know you don't follow this on deep diving a little bit, but I mean, they've had a ton of injuries to pitching, right to pitchers, so they brought on drive Line with this organization that helps develop arm strength and velocity and spin rate to kind of run and develop their throwing programs over the last couple of years and the amount of injuries they've had since that time, and people are like, well,

And you're seeing a lot of injuries. That is what it is. How would you you've been out? How long?

How long have I been my last professional year? Yeah, two thousand and nine, so.

That's been a while.

How would you fare in today's world? I mean, my velocity was eighty eight ninety two. My top sided ninety ninety three ninety five. But I mean I sat eighty eight ninety two, but I could throw everything I wanted to throw, so I would I would probably be like a middle innings relief guy, which I would not farewell because I was never good in relief.

I was at a starter.

So was there a day when you woke up and said, yeah, or does someone make the decision for you?

I think we had a conversation like the last two weeks so my shoulder, you had that decision for me. I had labor surgery that ended my career. I tried to come back from me. I was never the same, but no nobody ever really said physicality or talent wise that I was never good enough.

At that level.

Now, people told me that all the time growing up. They told me that going into college. Yeah, but when I got into Pro Bowl actually had the opposite effect. So that's why I always have great love for the Mets system, because they believed in you. Yeah, and they gave me opportunities that most organizations probably want.

App Do you find that you do the same now as a person? Yeah, I hope I do, Yeah, because you know what you were afforded or Yeah. I think everybody deserves an opportunity. Okay, that's why that's why you're here with me. Yeah, you need to survive today's show.

Survive right right? There are things going in the real world with the real world stuff. Well you know what I mean. Listen.

I think we've talked about this offline, but you know, with the political realm that we're in right now. From a funding standpoint, the state's trying to get their budget done and we're just hanging on and waiting to see what happens from that.

From a work standpoint, you don't really pay attention until it affects you. I'm not saying you specifically, but people, Yeah, I mean, and why would you No?

I agree, right, I guess I mean yeah, I mean, you're a realist, optimist, pessimist, whatever looks like. But I mean, I think there's some circumstances that dictate that, and then there's other chances that you, like we we probably could have done a lot more earlier on on ours, but at the same time, like, I think we've done a pretty good job of getting things done in the last couple of years.

So great, Okay, let's take a break.

Now we'll go to get ahold of Jason Gardner and talk to him about the team and Caleb Love and Carter Bryant.

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Breaking down all the xs and os. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Box Sports fourteen fifty.

Hey, welcome back to Iron the Ball here at Fox Sports Fortune fifty.

I'm Steve Rivera. In with me today is Blake Eager.

We got any moment now we're gonna get ahold of Jason Gardner. He just texted me he's calling in and now, so that'll be cool. In fact, I think here we go, Jason.

Is this Shue.

Just me?

Jason Gardner? I think I know who you are? How are you doing pretty good? How are you doing fine? Thank you? Are you in town? Are you in town?

I just wanted to talk to you real quick about Caleb Love and mister Carter Bryant and just on the guys.

You know very well you've seen him play.

You've you've been here a number of years now and you've probably seen a one and done time or two.

Where does this guy fit?

You know?

Where is he?

Because we didn't see him a whole heck of a lot, but we knew he had a lot of talent.

I missed I missed a little bit of half the party saying it.

Yeah, just about about Carter Bryant. You know, you've seen a number of one and done's uh, where does he fit in that ones that you've seen?

And we didn't get to see him a heck of a lot, but we you know, he's has a lot of talent.

I mean, you know, first off, I mean, you know and talk about the kids character, I mean, he has unbelievable character. He has unbelievable work ethic, and I think half the battle to even get to that level is one is your attitude, your work ethic, and you know, how you take the game seriously. So he does do that. And so athletically, I mean, he's just as athletic as

Yeah, It's funny. Yesterday he was doing the interviews in New York. In that twelve minute interview, he said, yeah, he's he intended to be a two year guy. And I'm thinking, really, I thought you were just going to be a one and done guy. And you know, it turns out to be a one and done guy. But when you first saw him, whatever, maybe a year or two ago or even just now, did you see one of anne guy?

I mean, I think as far as you know, you see the trend of the NBA, as far as athleticism, guys that can play multiple positions, you definitely thought that he definitely has the opportunity. Now it depends on you know, where does he see himself, you know, where does he see himself in a year to two years, But definitely, you know, body style, you know length, you definitely could say that, you know, you know he has the opportunity to do that.

Yeah, did he do anything initially that he said, Oh wow, this guy's got some talent because we saw him at the Red Blue Game and I think he won the three point contest. There was this dude, say, winning the three point contest one and two.

I think the dunk contest too.

Well.

I mean, I think you know he did things a practice as far as you know, getting a high level offensive rebound, chasing somebody down, getting the backside block, you know, making you know, making them move, getting off into rebound, tip dunk, you know, running in transition, making a high level athletic move to where you know Big Tom finished at the realm. So there definitely were Tom's early on where you saw things and in your mind you're saying he's a pro. Is just a matter of wind, Yeah.

The win, not the f right, Yeah, of course. And you're right.

You talk about you know, you talk about people like him or kids like him, and you say the first thing you say, you know his character and his personality and stuff like that. And I said this on the show a number of times, kind of like you and your mom.

Uh.

You know, good kids are good kids because of their parents, and you see that often because they come in right.

I mean, his family is an awesome family. I mean, you know, you can tell he's been raised right, you can tell. You know, you know, he has two sisters that are awesome as well. So just as far as like mom dead, both the sisters, you know, family, very supportive family. You know, they're at his events, He's at their events, so you can kind of just tell that, you know, just as far as just family wise, that you know they're they're they're a complete family.

Hey, Jason is Blake eager as a two son in man, I just want to say thank you for everything you've done and the ability to what you did while you were here playing wise, and then what you're doing from a coaching standpoint. So I'm going to ask you a homer question. What was it like for you when you came back to Tucson. Was it just completely open arms. Were you excited to be here or was it like a transitional phase where you had to get used to being back in Tucson again.

No, it was It's like my second home. It was. I was. I was excited. Uh you know, I didn't know, you know, as far as like being back in community, I didn't you know, you know, you've been away for a while. You know, I wasn't in the NBA, and so you know, I didn't know how many people, you know, I didn't really realize how many people would recognize me, you know, still giving me love. So that was just

Man, what an incredible journey. That's that's amazing. How would people not know who you are? You played the most minutes of anybody ever.

Yeah, you know, you know, you don't know. I mean, you know, you're gone for twenty years. You know, you don't know how it's going to be.

And so you know, play the most minutes, won a lot of games.

Yeah, you got to you know, got to the championship game and all that stuff.

I mean, you're you're putting Jason up on Mount Rushmore. We talked about that, like he's he's pretty close to be on that. Yeah yeah, yeah, Steve says you're not. I say you are, so just you just remember that Jason better, Hey, Jason, so on an another note, it's been unbelievable to watch UH Caleb Love grow over the last couple of seasons, especially becoming a true wildcat from that transition in from UH from North Carolina.

What what's uh? I mean?

I don't think there's a doubt that he can play in the NBA. Where do you think he falls? And having gone through that process, what do you think he's going through right now?

You know, I think I think you know for a kid that again, you know, I will one thing about Tommy is I will say that Tommy doesn't really bring any knuckleheads. And so again to go back to a great character kid, a great family, very supportive family. And then when you look at a kid like Caleb Love, I mean in three different think about this, in three different conferences, he's been a top five player ACC PAC twelve, Big twelve. So it was no doubt that, like in

It's funny you talked about knuckleheads and stuff. You were with the Loot for four years. I think now you've been with Tommy for four years, and we can kind of compare and contrast. But they're a lot alike because of that, you know, coaching styles, letting guys play within reason, stuff like that.

Yes, yeah, I would say, you know, I mean one is always calm, always thinking of head, you know, never really reacting to certain situations. Great, great with the players, great with the families. Allow guys to be who they are, and very similar to Hey, you know, just play to your strengths and in your weaknesses you have all some of the work on those. So very similar I think.

Yeah, no question in his demeanor as well, Like you said, yeah, back to Caleb, are you surprised? I think I asked Tommy two weeks ago about his chances for Caleb, and he says, Oh, he's a pro, he's gonna be He's gonna make it. And you know, we kind of you know, there's not a lot of teams or or mock drafts to have him up there.

What is he gonna have to do? Be just more consistent offensively or what is it?

No, you know, I think everybody's process is different. I think and then for him, I mean again, you know, from the differ the different defenses he's faced, from a box and one to you know, trapping him off the ball screens, to you know, putting three four different guys on him.

You know.

You know, I just think he has to stay of the course. And I think that's just you know, being ready when an opportunity comes. I mean, he's an elite scorer. I mean, he can he can attack the rim, you know, he can shoot the three, you know. And actually, I think what people really don't know is because he's been a scorer his whole life, is that, you know, he's actually a really good passer off the dribble. So I

Do you have you you were with Gilbert and some of these other guys, Richard, I know he's not them, but do you have a comp that you can compare Caleb to.

M You know, it's tough.

I mean it's tough, you know, I mean, I guess, you know, I'm kind of thinking more of a calib Reeves, right.

Yeah, a big, strong body, yes to the hoop, can score.

Yeah, you know a little in between a Dickerson and you know Dickerson Reeves, you know.

Yeah, no in between, yeah, because he's not a big body, but he's a strong body.

And Dickerson had that first step.

Strong body and a guy and a guy that you know like Reeves. I thought Reeves could really fill it up and in Caleb and you know, on any given night, I mean, he can literally take over any game.

Yeah, you know what.

The one thing about Caleb, he had this fantastic year last last year, his first year here, first team All American, and then this year he kind of started off slow and then he built steam. He's one of those guys that I think people were saying, I don't know, I don't know about Caleb. But then in the last month or so, maybe a little bit longer, he endured himself and the fans just refell in love with him again. Well.

I just think though that you know, you know, when you go through this process, and you know, last year, I think he came back and I think he was trying to prove to everybody, you know what, you know what he needs to do instead of sometimes I think that you know, just not overthinking you know, different things and what people think and how people feel about you. You know, again, people are gonna love and hate you,

Jason, from the from the time you were here to the time you got back. What's something that you've learned along the way and along the road that you try to pass along to these young men stepping into this program.

I think probably just enjoying a moment, I think you get so caught up and just you know, you want to be on the go, You want to be in a hurry, you thinking about the next you know, game, the next practice, the next month. You know, what if this,

You know, as you as you talk and as I remember, I'm probably incorrect with this.

You you do you declared for the NBA. Uh I think after your junior year or sophomore year.

Did you declared twice or one sophomore year software year and you came back? Do you do you look at it? Does Jayden Bradley, who's a different guard than you were. You were more of a facilitator, well, a leader type of guy, and Jayden's that too, but more of a less of a score. Is your his situation similar to yours where he's gone to see and he came back, and then he's gone to see and came back.

Yeah. I mean I think I think it's good, you know, to get out there challenge yourself. I think it's good to get feedback on you know, what you need to work on.

Uh.

I think it's good to kind of be in these workouts and you know, in the summertime, you're going against NBA guys and you're you know, trying to figure out, you know, how can I guard them, how can I get by them, how can I get my shot? What can I learn? So I think all that's a positive and I think that, you know, and we even talked today and I told him, hey, you know, uh, you know, seeing him seeing him in practice, is that this is this is the most you know, Uh, this is the

Yeah, No, so do I.

So do I Because you be older, he'll know whose teammates are. You know, it's after playing all these designment you're gonna have a fantastic guys group coming in.

Uh.

And you know he's gonna be a leader. I mean you know he's this is gonna be his third year in the system. Uh. And so the balls in his hands, you know, he's our you know, he's our leader, he's our tapping, he's our PG. So you know he's you know,

Kid Jason was this was this new team coming in, new recruits coming in. Uh, some of the returning players be on the floor. I know it's a small sample size, but what what can you talk about this with with this new group?

I think, you know, we we we can we can play big, we can play small. I think Tommy can throw a lot of different lineups out there, you know, I think we I think we have. I think we're gonna be a really good shooting three point team, you know, from all all different positions. So I think that I think from just throwing like a small lineup out there, big lineup out there, and also to being able to shoot the three, is gonna be I think it's gonna be good for us.

So I would hate to ade you a little bit, but it's been twenty four years since you and Gilbert were rowing the back court back in the day. Does it feel that long? And who would have thought Gilbert's goofiness and craziness has got him to be a podcaster that's very successful.

Well, you know, it was crazy, you know, Gilbert, Gilbert actually has he actually had a couple of businesses that he sold. He was always you know, he's just I just think, you know, I just remember him telling me that, you know, people in life should just be happy and enjoy life. And so I think that's how he takes life.

Yeah, I'm sure you get. We had some crazy times and back in the day, those were the fun times. With what I think, and I still say to this day, the best team that Arizona has ever had, would you Gilbert, Luke Richard and Michael Wright, Lauren Woods. We had Lauren Woods maybe a three weeks ago. He's fantastic and those guys, I'm sure you won't argue that.

I mean, I mean, come on, I mean, Lauren Woods is the best shot blocker in the country. I mean I remember at times where you know, we just denied the wings and we got beat. We just send you to Lauren. I remember he told us one time, like, hey, just get by the elbow and when I block it, just pick it up. And so, you know, being young, I'm thinking, I don't know about this, and I'll be darn. I mean, the dude literally he raced every shot. And then Michael Wright, I mean he was a monster on

Yeah, we'll talk to you, Okay, I still have the number one and maybe final question, uh with uh. With Williams, you've seen him a number of times. I think he even took a took a Selphie with him not too long ago. He admitted that it was a foul, but it wasn't called. Did he admit it to you as a foul?

He did admit it was a foul.

Clearly it was a foul just for me straddling me, you know, And so third foul in the first half. You know, who knows how that game goes. So it's just crazy. You know, you walk in McHale, you see those banners, and you know, it's just crazy.

I think.

So, you know, I don't know what's that twenty four to twenty six years ago. You know, I'm replaying He'll straddling me in the game thinking that should be not row runner up, that should be a championship manner right there.

So it's just crazy, right, no question. Jason, Thanks a bunch, man. It's always good just to talk to you. We'll see you soon, all right, thank you? All right, Jason Gardner, you ve no need to say much more. He's one of the great ones. Yeah, absolutely, yeah. I mean you can't deny I mean what he was able to do. And you know, going back on I know we talked about the different teams of my favorite teams and all those things. That two thousand and one team was absolutely sacked.

Crazy yeah, crazy stuff. What's your what's your fondest memory of that group?

Like not not the games, but like just being in that because you were so close to that group.

Yeah.

So so two that was that was a strange, difficult, fun time. And I'll say the difficult part that was the year Bobby passed. Yeah, Lute stepped away. Uh, Lut stepped away for a while. May two, three weeks after her passing, Jim Rosbell took over. Struggled a little, but you know, kind of had him on the right path.

I mean that's where they were.

They were the it was Duke or Arizona, Arizona or Duke in the polls, and eventually they ended up playing each other in Minnesota. Just just Gilbert was always getting into trouble, so you know, we always had something to write about, and we didn't have the media access like

A family there. You wish you wish you were kind of part of.

Well when they when they're going through that process, they're talking about like you know, because he all you think about with Bill is that he's just as a happy, go lucky guy. But to the point where he was so depressed, it was like this is it and you wouldn't think that, you would never think that about But then hearing his children talk about the different circumstances going through the NBA, just being around the family and the.

Yeah and the problems. Okay, let's take a break here and come back for this last segment. 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 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

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

Hey, welcome back to Wine on the Ball here on Fox Sports for four fifty. I'm Steve Rivera, and today with me Mike he here from.

Southern Arizona Sports Tourism in film Authority.

Yeah, a lot of things going on to replacement, right, Yeah, lots of stuff. We just took a call earlier about a potential My mom would love to hear this reality show. So cool, see what happens cool Tucson. I was, I don't know how you'll depend this because you're probably half two, but Mike and like, uh, Chris, Chris, my crazy better guy came in here and we're talking about food and

Yeah, I'm always going to choose two Song. I think it's an orn. Mexican food is my favorite that I've ever had in the world. So, but cases can be made for others, other things diplomatic. I mean, look, you're a homer for Albuquerque, and I'm going to be you know what.

Maybe maybe you correct in the sense that I don't get to eat it very often, so I miss it that way. But but the difference is very pronounced. Yeah, it's the same argument. I think we all can get on the board that tax Mexicans shouldn't even be considered Mexican food.

Uh.

And then Baja is a different category in itself that California's will never emit any other, like dealing with I don't know about you, but dealing with nor Cal or so so cow guys, Like, nothing is ever going to be better than what California has, right, But our Mexican food and in New Mexico and in Arizona is better than Baja. It's just different. Sure, I like last CRUs is more like Alburquerque. That's just my own.

Okay, it's kind of the same. Let's say I'm.

Northern New Mexico's a little different. Yeah, okay, I won't go into that. But do you agree with me? Like overall food Tucson is much better. Uh, I don't know because I don't eat. Albuquerque is not a favorite place for Mina pis.

Uh there next week, you are too, right?

Uh?

Oh no, I'm going to Denver. Oh yeah, that's right, you're going to I'm going to stay. Oh are you to do what?

Well?

I want to drive by your your home, your childhood home, so I could ate it, and then I'm going to go relax, and then I'm gonna do the same thing the next day.

Yeah. Yeah, you have no idea.

I was there two years ago and now we're getting off well with you and I get off the road here, do we have a specific sepet? No? No? So I went home, uh to visit some friends, and I went home and blah blah blah. My mom sold her house a while back, and I went back and they sold for unbelievable price. And I'm thinking, Mom, why I had you was staying there a little while longer. But I'm thinking, there's no way I would have bought that at my

That's what I'm doing for I would if I had I known that, I might have gone. Maybe maybe not. But you'll have fun. It's a small town. It's a yeah fun.

I spent some time with a woman from Albuquerque when I was in college, So yeah.

Okay, no, good for you. I'll give you my list of restaurants and I'll make sure, I don't go there. It's venture my name, they'll show you double, they'll throw me out. No, yeah, definitely do that. I'd like to like just places to stop by. I mean, I'm not gonna be an Albuquerque much. I think we're gonna drive.

You're driving.

Yeah, we're gonna stay. We're gonna stay in TRC. For people that don't know who that what the acronym is that it's two or consequence. Uh and do the hot springs there?

Okay, Yeah, that's about four hours away. Yeah, it's a it's like halfway way between here and there. Yeah, so I think it's about seven hours of Santa Fe or so from Tucson, Gordon moderate at least. Yeah, you know, city five whatever. No, you'll have a fun time. And it's it's you don't want to if you haven't been there. It's a different hot it's a different because you're seven thousand feet I know. Yeah, and those sun's right there and it beats you differently.

Yeah.

I mean I lived in Denver that kind of heat. I mean, seventy nine degrees outside, but it feels like it's one hundred and twenty.

Right right, So that's where I'm going for the few days. Yeah, what are you gonna do in Denver? I'll just visit relatives and hang out. Yeah, maybe go to Cripple Creek. Maybe pizza at Two Fisted Marios.

Is that downtown? Yeah, Okay, I guess they the fond memories in college of that place. I'm going to a place where you don't really like it. Think I said Aurora, I.

Lived in or I hate a Yeah, but that's on that's on my own personal Yeah, I lived in so I'll and give you a little background there. So I had I had roommates my junior year in Denver, and then I didn't think I was going to go back for Metro State. Okay, yeah, I didn't think I was going to go back and then end up making that choice to go back.

Were you a sophomore junior? I was going.

I was a junior that year, So sophomore, my freshman sophomore year, I played at Eastern Arizona. My junior year, I'm I'm in Denver Metro Uh. So I had roommates anyway. At post junior year, I played summer ball in the north Woods League again, and then I just didn't for some reason. I wasn't going back, and or if I was going back, I was gonna I was gonna have.

Your funnel year, my senior year, right, So the only place that we could find from an like in a price range that was affordable enough was an Aurora and it was this little apartment, which they were great.

I just didn't like. I was like thirty minutes away from my friends and even farther from campus.

Uh.

So I didn't even buy a bed. I just me and my buddies went and bought a couch. So I slept on a couch for like the first month I was there, and then I ended up.

Uh.

We had these three guys that were juniors that year, two of them, uh, one was from Douglas, one was from Tucson, one was from Las Vegas, and we ended up just becoming best friends, right, so I ended up moving into their house, lived in there. They gave me their dining room. I threw a bed on the floor, really classy, like this place was super do your dude's we had any greatest apartment though, So yeah, yeah, so I wasn't fond of Aurora, but I was super fun.

That's that's like one of the greatest.

Ye.

Whyouldn't you have gone back if you want you get to play ball.

I think I had in my mind that I was probably gonna transfer somewhere else well, because when I was in the Northwoods League, you had access to that Midwest so University of Annoying some other schools that I just wanted to go to that I had a lot of friends out and.

Nobody came calling.

They did, But I even at the end of the day metro Plate, I mean I should I guess I can say this now. They paid me to go there, right, it was the best scholarship you could ever imagine. And I was going to say that because you it's fine school. Is it twenty thousand people, it's a huge It's it's a D two, but it's a huge school.

It's downtown Denver. That yeah, and if they're going to pay your school. I mean, come on, there's no better thing.

No, they paid me too, Okay, am I putting on anybody on blast by saying that it's pretty hard to find. But yeah, so they paid for everything and then they paid me too.

Well look at you.

Well that's good because you know you when I come from the same background in the middle class people, you know, we have to figure out how to get to college and and stay there.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, I think so. Okay, yeah, what's your Okay, let's we have it, had this conversation. Unless you have something that you really want to talk about, I won't answer.

No.

No, I'm not going to ask you a personal question like that bedroom bores clothes. I'm not trying to go in there, Steve. Outside of Mexican food, Yeah, what's your favorite food?

Oh?

Good question? Seafood? Okay, what's your favorite seafood plays in Tucson?

Oh?

Man, Well, there's kind of expensive. We bought cheese is pretty good. That seawood soup is fantastic.

Yeah.

Uh, I don't you know. My guy Ray works at at the King Fisher pretty good. I don't fish very good. Yeah, but I'm not I'm not that dude, because I'm not dude. I'm a I'm a burger king ten dollars lunch dinner type of guy. Because look at my body. Come on, I'm gonna die early because of my heart. It's not like you're making choices that are gonna elongate that you're happy with those choices.

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm like my dad. I want to live now and figure it out later. What's your what's your favorite fast food place?

Whatever? Water burger? Yeah, all right, I think that's my pops too, So it's a good burger. That's a good burger. I'm just not pricey. It's nice good yeah, number one. All right, next subject, let's go Okay, well at me, you're gonna watch it. You're gonna watch the old draft here, You're gonna watch the NBA draft.

Yeah no, no, you're you're like me.

You're kind of even different this stuff stor I mean, listen, I think we had this conversation before. It's the same thing with the NFL draft, where people like literally plan their whole year around that. Yeah yeah, yeah, going to the draft when you can spend that money and time actually going to see your team play, like it doesn't make sense to me, right.

That's true. That's true. God that we b through that time pretty quickly. Here.

You gotta take a break here and come back in about four and a half minutes.

I'm not gonna have break the news.

We'll just gibber jibber, maybe take a call or two, and then we're gonna have Corey Williams on talking about a lot of the same stuff that we talked about.