Wednesday, May 7, 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 possess yets.

Hey, good up to here, everybody, Welcome to Eye on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. Got packed house today. The interns are all getting ready to pack it up, say goodbye. But I got Blake with me wearing his hat. No haircut problems today.

No, not yet.

But I do have to go to the barber tomorrow, so see what happens to go full mohawk.

I'm just gonna let it go. I like it.

I like right, Yeah, why not? I think I got a board meeting tomorrow. They'll love seeing me with him along. You know these jokes, you know, nice haircut, kill your barber. You didn't kill your barber, but you're gonna get a different one.

Yeah.

I'm just making the change. Yeah, I'm taking my mother's approach. Where every two weeks it's a new hairstylist. Yeah, you used to call it in the bullpit. Yeah, I got a clipper sign up in there. We got a Dujuan with us, We got mats back in the house. You got Ray got of control, so it should be fine.

How you doing, man, good man. This is a great crew we've got today.

Yeah, Juan does my things, Ray does my things, Matt does my socials. Yeah, everybody, what do you do? I just I was about to ask, I pretend I know what I'm talking about yesterday. I didn't know what the hell I was talking about, Like today and tomorrow. You know, try to get baby, do you get you? Try to get some calls and get me through the day. So what's going on? How about that Warriors?

Yeah?

The NBA Playoffs had been a little while man. Yeah, all the underdogs, the Inderducks coming through.

It's crazy. Yeah. Yeah, that was such a shock for me.

Honestly, I thought the Tea Walls would blow out the Warriors, especially just coming off of Game seven.

Yeah. Uh and then I.

Didn't watch it, but I feel like what I heard was the Warriors controlled it for the most.

Oh yeah, start to finish without and then Curry was out for you know, two quarters, two plus quarters. Yeah, I don't know before more. I don't know if he's gonna yeah, I don't know if he's going to.

Be no day. He's out for a week at least a week, I think, didn't.

They Yeah, so we'll see can they do it?

Can they do it?

And all the other games are pretty Look at the Indie Indiana.

Indiana up to zero. Who would have thought that? No? And then the way they've done it coming back.

That's their style though they always come They're always a comeback team. Can't count them out.

Do you think.

Just tying this into the community, do you think Matherin still has a long has a place long term with the Pacers.

Oh?

That I don't know, but but I mean absolutely, just mean long is his long term plan with the Pacers?

I would assume so long term, give me a seven years.

Do you think he ends up becoming a star with the Pacers or do you think that he has to change environment abuse? That's tough, I'll say yes, but yes. Do you think he's taking a step back from his key season?

That's it. That's why I'm asking.

So that's why I'm bringing this up, man, is that well, you need to go somewhere else to get the minute?

Team.

I asked about this coming into the show, and you talked that he's getting some minutes, right man?

Yeah, I feel like if he has a future for the Pacers, it's depending on what TJ McConnell does.

His age.

I feel like a backup point guard between him and.

And he's not really a back point guard. He's a shooting guard. He's a guy who's but you're just talking about.

Yeah, he's like the first playoff the bench, so.

Moving him up on the bench. No, the guy could play. I don't know. Answer your question.

I think two things can be true at the same time, right, I don't.

I don't know.

I haven't really seen him play that much this year. But to your to your point, he has not saying his play no, no, no play the situation.

Yeah, such a situation.

And the way they're playing right now, you can't argue that their style of play is wrong.

No, no, no, he would be change. Why you fix that? It's not broken? Right whatever?

Yeah? No, good, good question. I don't I don't know. I don't know. We'll see and Tej is getting minutes too, right, Yeah, we have doing what TJ does.

Yeah, and then fifteen he'll get fifteen minutes, ten points, two rebounds, five steals and burne Yeah, burnees and dives and things like that.

Cool.

Cool, Let me tell you to today's show, we have Fred Harvey. We hadn't had Fred Harvey on the show in a while. You a track coach. They've been pretty pretty good this year. We'll talk to him about that, see what's going on moving forward at the end of the year now, and then at the four to seventeen hour, we're gonna have a mistraining Chapel. Yeah, Brenon Chapel. I hope that's the way you say it. I'll ask I think that's what you say, all.

Right, I mean, let me say it because if it's wrong, it's just natural for me to be wrong when people's names.

But by older intern, it's going to say Chapel. He said, did you call me an older intern?

Yeah?

Yea, I used to learn, So I'll take that. Yeah, it makes it makes a situation a little bit easier to digest. You left the argy. No, I wish I would Okay, yeah, you'd still be playing. No, I wouldn't be playing, Okay, I just have a lot more money, okay, yeah.

Yeah, So yeah, we'll have him at the four seventeen Just how you know the job, you know his expectations, you know, how does you know Tommy?

Uh?

You know he knows.

Murph, so you know, we'll go with that and then just see maybe you know how long has he been in Tucson or how many times has he been to tuc soon before?

So okay, cool, that'll be that'll be that. So what else is going on? Guys? You busy with yours? Your job? Do you have a job?

I do?

I do have a job. I need one of those hats. By the way, still I can't get you in. They sold out on the first day. I had to buy him before the first game. Yeah, you should have come to the first asked you.

Did you go no? Huh, nobody went look at this movie. Nobody supported me. No, No, I'm good.

Kobe is the two thousand? Kobe and Henry went, yeah, I got I got the whole.

I got the whole.

The second the B team, you got the B team going to see Yeah, yeah, I got quiet.

Kobe went yeah that was his cheering.

Yeah, okay, Uh, what else is going on today? Before we get into the stuff Golden State?

Yeah, you've get some You've got some baseball softball stuff coming up. How did the tennis team do and didn't follow the bens?

Then the women's out.

The men women women lost the first round matchup against Illinois. Think it was like four one man swept both their opening matches.

They go to Virginia. Yeah, I think that's it is not tomorrow or this week day for sure. I think is it like a super regional like the softball and it's sweet. It's a one say and then the women the softball team plays tomorrow.

Yeah right, you win? Yeah, okay, and.

It should more than likely be uf there there and there was almost the number two seed in that in the in the big Tilter, in the Big Twilter.

That's just one player of the year for you. They're taking all His thunder was so exciting. Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Listen.

Listen, listen, listen, nobody listens. You're gonna be okay. One time I say somebody's name right too? Sorry, Ray God, bless it.

You see. These interns needs to learn. You should have hit the bleek button. You should still but still do it every time. Are you talking? Get this.

If there's a lot of because that's when Blake spoke every time I'm on a zoom called the automatically mute me.

You have any you have any breaking news? For us on your end going on business the city. Yeah, I mean we're working.

I mean we work closely with the county too, so obviously the county a lot. We're working with Major League Baseball right now on a couple of different things. Yeah. So hopefully I'm gonna give you a six week timeline. I'll be able to report twos like last time. Yeah, but it came to fruition to not yeah.

Yeah, yeah, Okay, I eventually you told me what was going on. I can't tell you right now. I can't tell you.

I can sign the NDA's. I don't want to screw something up. You can imagine that it's bad enough. You guys don't go to the things that I get here. Do you imagine if I actually screwed them up bad enough that they didn't come?

You're right? Touche?

Yeah, okay, So wait, can real quick? So into school for the three of you guys, right?

How many? How many last last day of classes? Today? Was today?

My last class? Holy con You finished on all your smart but Gray's coming back is not finishing. But one is one is that you're you're graduating. That's amazing, guys. First off, congratulations, Okay, are we excited to go into the real world. That's an absolute no. I see the look on your faces. I think one beat himself.

A little bit. We'll check that diaper afterwards.

But uh, it is it's a monumental, uh event that you guys are graduating college.

Man, that's that's amazing. You got a motion.

Today, for sure you should the last time walking out of the journalism building at the U of A.

Yeah, did you kiss the ground like a pastor? Did you kiss the ground?

No?

Not that, not that clean? It is pretty?

Is that even the journal the journalism building is some other person's name, and it's not just journalism, it's a bunch of other people.

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, not until.

There's an actual journalism building.

While I kiss the floor, yeah yeah, well one h she graduated. We're under U.

We need some money for us to renovate and clean the floors.

Can you help us?

I just do it myself at that point, and then Matt is going back to l A.

He's an l A kid, West Coast kids. O, cal, what are you gonna do in l A.

Joy?

Yeah, be out of this heat like it call it a gap year. Yeah, camp here, all right.

Let's just check it in. It's exciting that time yere.

Right, right, Okay, so guess some NBA stuff out of the way. Is there a game tonight? Two games? That's the other guys, Right. Boston was a Boston and that was another upset. Oh, that was another upset.

Yeah, Aaron, Yeah, we had the last second shot to win it.

Right.

What do you feel about Aaron Gordon's dreads? How do we feel about he had? He had more dreads than I know, But they're like evolving and they.

That's true.

Yeah, here's a question because I asked Jay this yesterday and you guys know this. You guys are young kids. When he played here ten years ago, what do you know about Aaron Gordon when he was here? Not much, exactly exactly. That was our discussion. When he's they're here, they kind of isolated him. We never really got to tell their stories. Yeah, now that they're out, you kind of hear more and more. And I don't want to get on my soapbox for yesterday show, but we just didn't know who they were.

Do you think that was more because of Miller? Yeah? And had arms length off, Yes.

No question, And that's kind of the way they've moved it because because Greg Byrne was the ad, he didn't mind that, which makes no sense because he's kind of a publicity guy. Yeah, and you know, you know you're in that business. Did did media hound you guys? Probably not? Because you were in a small market, probably and in the second second string team.

What do you mean when I was playing? Yeah? No, I mean New York is a beach.

Well yeah, but but you're not. You're not the Yankees, You're not the Mets. We were the Mets. Did people care?

Yeah? You weren't with the Mets when we played in Brooklyn? What are you talking about?

You?

Your team that? Did you play for the Mets? Yeah? What level? Did you not know? I played for the New York Mets? Are you in this discussion?

Like, no, I don't know? A thousand times on air? Who are you kidding me?

Who are no? No?

No, No?

You didn't make the majors, did you? I did not know? My point?

Yeah, but you were saying I didn't. My checks were signed by the Mets. Jesus, what I played in New York?

Do you know.

Exactly what I'm saying? Where in New York's in Brooklyn? You ever heard of Brooklyn? Yeah? My point, did they ever cover? Did teams cover you? We had like a few thousand people in the locker room in Brooklyn. It was wild. You had thirteen thousand fans. It was nuts.

Every in games. Yes, it's still New York.

People are gonna go watch you with the double Hey, listen, man, I had to pay people to come watch me, especially, I'm not even trying.

To be funny. No, yeah, you had that many people going.

Yeah, but now when you're talking about like when I played in Hagerstown, Okay, hagar'stown.

Now there was barely maybe too. That was low a.

I was Florida State League, which Ports Saint Lucy wasn't nobody, but that was home. So did you mind so in Brooklyn? In Brooklyn? Did you mind the media? I love the media. I always have loved the media. I love the I mean the interaction. I mean I love the interaction piece. Some guys can't stand it right, people hate it and some people are jerk about it too. Yeah with you so, no, I mean what you hate I'm allowed to talk about for two minutes.

Every time he's been accurate because I've said that baseball players were you know, if you give kids out of high school the major bonuses, they're kind of jerky.

I mean they know you have to have this fake confidence anyway to be a professional athlete. And once you are able and have the capability of believing it, yeah, and it comes true. You can't blame them.

You have a chip. Yeah yeah, I know you well too. If they're they've been cocky all the life, they're not going to change. And now that they have two million bank I mean you're gonna get humbled at some point, no question, no question. Eventually that's what happens. Yeah, kicked in them. Yeah, what do you mean, I'm not good enough? Ty five?

Yeah?

You know, and you know those guys. Yeah, I looked at my you know, in the mirror about fifteen years ago.

This is not me.

When you were playing in Brooklyn. Hold on, I cannot believe we just had this. No, no, you know exactly what I feel. Just a you didn't support the WBC, you didn't support Major League Baseball. Now I've been on the show I don't know thirty times and you didn't know I played for the Mets.

This is wild, too bad.

No one's understands you because I just hit the did you really better that way?

That's gonna break good? To get hold of Fred Harvey now.

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Streaming live on the Ihearts Radio while this is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.

Hey, welcome back to my I on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. In with me today is Blake Eager and now on the phone we have coach Fred Harvey, longtime friend and longtime track coach at Jule Fred How are you, Oh.

I'm bowing?

Well, no, I'm just getting ready for a great Big twelve championship.

How has this been for you the first year? A lot of the other Spring sports have done fantastically, Well, I know, you guys have done well too.

Yeah, well, you know, and that's you know, when you look at the off the board with the different sports that we're talking about, and I know the big thing was and we get fixated on it, and I appreciate that is that they you'll look at how, you know, the football conferences comparing them the State twelve, you know, to the Pac twelve, the basketball conference, and everyone gets fixated on that, and so the you know, the perception is that we're moving into a conference that is a

Yeah yeah. So how do they handle it nicely?

Well?

Well, you know, I mean, well, you know, let's not you know, a situation, it's really more you get driving that driving that message into you know, athletes, heads and you know, just general people you know, you know in the public, and you know it wasn't hosting, bragging or anything of that sort of. But you look across the board, you know, you know, from sport to sport and think, okay, there's that conference really that.

Much better than where we came from.

Uh. I love the conference. I love the diversity of it, you know, so that's a lot of fun. I've missed, you know, the whole the traditional Pac twelve. But you know, we have to see some different things now.

Hey, coach, have you have you seen the opportunities grow from a recruiting standpoint now that you're in the Big twelve and opening you in different markets?

No, because because you know, and I'll speak just for our sport only ran how we get to the national.

Championships, you know why we? Uh?

How you get to world championships? Nothing has changed for us in that capacity.

Uh.

And you know, for example, you take we completed our indoor season and you you think about what does it take to get to the NCAA Championships. You have to be in a sixteen in the country. It doesn't matter what region of the country. That you're in, you have to be in the top sixteen. So from a competitive standpoint of view, if we ran dual meets every single week and we had to run duel meets against you know, the schools in the conference, it would absolutely affect us

Yeah, yeah, no, no question.

So you started the season kind of you know, so it's a new landscape or new board that's empty. Did anybody surprise you coming into the conference? Who's excelled really more than you'd expected?

Well, you know, I'm really proud of we have a number of people at me athletically, you know, you know, from the men's women's friends, jumps, throws, we you know, in the hurdles, we've done an amazing job. Where you look at you know, our rankings, you know, going into this final week and this is these are the rankings.

To me that means more than anything else.

One week first regranking, okay, whatever, people maybe haven't jumped, thrown, or done whatever they.

Need to do.

So you start getting into this time of the year. So now everyone's going.

Into their conference championship now.

And so I uh, you know, going in you know, uh into the conference. You know, our our men's team has ranked number six in the conference. Uh, the ladies are number five in the conference, but the men are ranked number sixteen, you know, in the in the country. And so we're you know, from a competitive standpoint.

Of view, you know, we're you.

Know, we're we're we're one of these so be there. So that that didn't necessarily surprise you, but one of the one of the I think, you know, good surprises for us. You know, we we have you know, nine teams or nine events in our track and build events that are all ranked in the top twenty five, ranked

And here we are.

Now the you know, the biggest you know, you know, you know PTOs to this group here is that we have you know, eight top fifty performances in the world, you know, on this team, which is huge. And two, if you have to answer your actual question or any surprises, well there's the biggest surprises. What I like to call the buy in, and the buy in is we are this good, kay, and then we start putting marks on the board. You know, I just called that to crossover.

Coach A couple of months ago, we got to talk before the Indoor Championships and you you had high praise for Trevion White. Austin Keyes kind of talked about what he's well, legacy he's going to be leaving with the program and what you're that connection between you two, Well.

I mean, I think the number one thing is going to be that, you know, talent definitely has always been within him, but his legacy is really going to be, you know, again that that buy in to you know what you know, Coach Green, is doing with him, you know, and developing the young man, and you know, in his belief and that's I think when you look at you know, the level that we compete at the Division one track and field, it's the I mean, it's the best of

The two hundred, you know, uh, you know, and so that.

Really was, you know, I mean, a great, great legacy.

So let me ask you.

I don't think I've ever asked you this over the years. Uh that block A has has you know, people know the block a basketball, right sometimes in football you know recently on enough. But what does it mean to detract people when you recruit?

Well in ironically, I mean the block A means a lot. But the number one you know thing is and you can't call it a block okay's to cactus logo, right, But what the you know, what the what the program means to people, you know throughout the country or throughout the world, is that they've seen athletes come into this institution and train, get focused and then compete at a super high level, you know, and so they're much better, you know, uh leading, and they did when.

He came in.

And you know, uh, you know, real testament that we have a few people but right now and you know, he's pretty topical right now, which he should be. Is you know, is Zach Eckstein, you know, the the high.

Hurdler and he's he's he's a young man.

That was you know, was a good high school Arizona High School hurstler and you know, he kept dropping and he was competitivest freshman year and now he's he's one of the top three guys in the you know, one of the top three guys arguably in the country. He has a number two mark, you know, in the country

Don't take any detours. You me, if we're going you.

Know, if we're going to southern California, going to l A, don't deturn, head off you go to New Mexico. You know, just you've got to we have to stay off, stay focused. And that's you know, I think that's what the you know, the block a, you know, bear down. When you talk to a lot of coaches and athletes throughout the country, they'll tell you that that's what you know, you know, they they work and they and they just get better.

So when you were talking about zacht in the number two in the country, in number nine internationally, those the international model. Is there a high level of recruitment internationally for you and if there isn't, are those international athletes competing in world Championships and Olympics and then coming back as.

Well, Yeah, you know, we definitely, uh you know, are are recruiting high level you know, you know, you know throughout the world and you know, again high level. For a perfect example, you know, you know, a freshman coming over you know, uh say, you know, you know to our program, like for example, you know, uh, you know a Vogan Uh you know did Kovich. I'm gonna screw his name up as I do it every single time, but he's he's my high another one of my high hurtlers.

And what what it does.

When you see people like Zach be able to excel like that, It gives you the credibility that you know, I can you know, uh, I in the program can develop these athletes that are at a high level. And so yes that them competing having that many athletes you know, in the top fifty in the world, you know they will you know they athletes look at that as we're recruiting, and one of the recruiting you know, it's not a pitch, it's who we are.

You know.

We have to you know, prepare our international athletes as well as our national athletes, but more so when you're recruiting internationally, we have to prepare you to be at your highest level, you know, competitiveness for your country. And that's not necessarily the philosophy in a lot of places, but if you think about it, if if We're getting them ready to compete at the World Championships for their country,

So, fred uh, I got here in eighty seven. I think you got here right after me. I think it is you must be the longest tenured coach at u A. You've seen a lot of people come and go.

Uh.

You know, we've talked to Candrea Lopez, all these coaches who've come and gone, and some of them and you probably know they are glad they're not in the business anymore. Given the situation. How have you been able to deal with the ni L and all that stuff.

Yeah, and it is difficult, you know, in that capacity because you know, you know, there's so much out there and you have to just stay focused on, you know, on your personal why and and my personal.

Why you know, has been.

You know, I'm I'm a teacher, I'm a coach, and for as long as you know, I have the you know, the you know, the the respect of the athletes who are in our program and why they are actually competing, then it makes it easier on you know, on me. So track and fill in terms like n oli and

Of nil dollars that you know, getting.

Now we have to in our sport be able to uh do a better job of being able to build that foundation for in io because that's going to really help our you know, help.

Our based product.

But we're not losing kids because of money. And we're certainly you know, you know, not acquiring kids from other institutions, you know, uh, you know, for money. And again with coach Harvism here when we when we talk about you know, whether it's our our throwing events, you know, these these athletes that are coming in there, it's such a specific way of training, and they're going to make those moves, you know, for the ability to be able to get better because that coach can help them.

And now the biggest question, No, I just want to I mean, this is just because there's such a vast array of athletes a you coach, which is significantly different than any other sport. What's the new what's the nutritional resident like routine for your your teams? Do you have a nutritionist on staff that pretty much maps it out or do players just instinctively know how to try to go about it? Because it's such a big part of sports these days.

So we use our nutritional foundation here, you know, in the department more for guidance because it's you. It's it is such a vast variety of athletes from you know, the distance group to know to our throwers. You know you're talking about the protein intakes and things for each of those you know, those different event areas.

It's vastly different, you know.

So what we we have a you know, a pretty decent system in my mind where we're able to you know, help write menus. Uh, they're taking them on shopping sprees, if you will. And the shopping spree is the this is how you shop this, you know, and just really making sure that we have good guidelines, you know, to be able to do that now in my perfect world.

So well, I just checked my pocket. I've got a dirty napkin and kleenex and we'll say, you're it out. We'll get you. We'll get you some dollars. Don't worry. Now.

The most important question that I want to ask you, what the hell are you Steelers going to do at quarterback?

Oh, we're gonna get going to figure it out as we do.

Then you've changed that you changed about the Steelers.

But now I'll tell you what And again this is just one man's opinion. I love the way that they drafted. I'm really excited they did not take a quarterback, you know at number twenty twenty one.

I don't know.

I think there you can get the same productivity if you go later rounds. And I believe that it's the thing. Will Howard, you know, I remember at Kansas State, but he's the Ohio State guy now. But I really think that within two years that guy said, be are starting quarterback.

Okay, you can.

I always have hope, coach, can always have hope.

Hope is hope of the positive thing you know about I do?

I do?

I never have it. That's my problem, coach. Thanks a bunch, Fred, appreciate you.

Hey, my pleasure hand.

Thank you guys on bear down.

Yeah, to get Fred Harvey with the Ubay track team, we got to go a little over. 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 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.

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This is I on the Ball with Steve Ravera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Subscribe now to the podcast on the iHeartRadio app just search I on the ball.

Hey, welcome back to Mining the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera, your blake, eager DeLong list, got ready with us, I'm met with us, packed house today as we finish up the semester. Can I ask a dumb question?

Most my questions are pretty dumb anyway, Well, put my ahead of the buzzer. Really, can I keep those headphones? I mean, you're gonna wearing him since nineteen ninety six? So, so the question is track and field coach. So Fred oversees a program, right, so he's got to have specific coaches for every single sprinters, long distance, yeah, hurdles.

What is he like? Is he more of a manager in that sense then, or is it does he have a specific area that he's an expert? I think yes to all that.

He's kind of like jetfish, kind of jet fish kind of manage it, but also coaches them.

And those coaches in those areas have to have at least I would assume one assistant coach, yeah, or do you have you have assistant coaches?

No?

No, no, I think some do, right, Yeah, you don't.

So it's just a group of coaches that guys are specific and specific area, but like a football program.

But not as many coaches as you think.

That's what you How many kids are on track and field A bunch of twenty forty, Yeah, it's gonna be more than twenty forty on.

When they sixty they had that preview before indoor eighty, are we just doing twenties?

All my responses were not good enough for today. My earphones aren't either.

No.

When they had that press conference before the indoor championships, I was expecting maybe six athletes and six spoke, but then you had the rest of the team fill up the rest of the room.

I mean, do you think they were as big as a football team? Close to Yeah?

For both for both yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, so forty and forty.

Yeah, that's a world I have no idea. I almost said that for it, by the way, I almost softly said that that.

Yeah. I literally don't know. I was I've always just been here's the issue with this program.

Here, it's good, but it's not like elite level, which of course it'll you know, it's Arizona, but you have you can pick your spots with some elite level type of people. They maybe the Olympics, they have gone and done well. And yeah, yeah, Harvey's Fred's done a heck of a heck of a job here over all these years.

Oh yeah, absolutely, I mean longevity, sustainability, all those things he's been able to accomplish there. And yeah, yeah, you're he's been here almost as long as you've been alive. Yeah, so twenty eight years, twenty years? Are you still playing in Brooklyn?

All right?

What's next? What are we talking about? Uh, Pittsburgh? Are you guess you're not a Pittsburgh guy? Right, you're not a like in general?

Like?

Do I like steel momentum? Momentum? Right, trouble? Yeah? Yeah? Double? I mean are we talking about the Steeler? Yeah? I have no idea. Who's their starting quarterback next year? Possible?

I mean possibly Aaron Rodgers who that happens, He's they're done.

Yeah, yeah, but they did, they drafted that kid, Will Howard out of the house.

Yeah. But eighty four, thank you? And you did the maths on there.

So did you have to add forty four plus forty four thirty six there?

And that's more women than men? Probably?

Yeah, that's sexist title titling yeah, of course because of that. Ye can we get back to the Pittsburgh Steelers, So you think Howard's not going to step in and start this year?

Right? Maybe? Possibly they have no one else? Why not? Yeah?

And I mean you were able to see what they were able to do on the other side of the ball last year. So if they can at least have a running game, which they already have kind of a two headed monster.

Dealers don't like the Cowboys just back in the day teams. They haven't really done much the.

Last year.

That's listen, you're today, how old are young?

Twenty seventy seventy? Yeah? Was that when last year rock?

No? No?

He was like when they were undefeated and they were still bad?

I think, ye, I listen, I'm not gonna you can't compare them to the Cowboys. Cowboys haven't been super Bowl ready and since ninety four, uh no, ninety five, wasty six one. The title ninety four ninety five was the Niners. So you people keep talking when they want to talk about the Cowboys, but they they haven't accomplished anything.

Little Field.

The Steelers have been relevant for the last I mean you have Mike Tomlin leading his ship and Mike Tomlins arguably the best coach in the NFL. I'm not saying year by year tenure wise, who's better than him?

Right now?

Is he the longest tenured coach outside of Andy Reid? No, I think he gotta be. Just said no, and then then you threw read there.

I was to say he's the longest tenured and then you threw and you read I think he might be.

Yeah, I think he is.

Oh, No, Tomlin's been there longer than yeah, and Andy Reid's only been with us.

To the point that they let him go, it'd be like, holy crap, because he's been Tomlin.

Yeah.

I think that's one of those things that like would like make the spark though, to like get him over the hunt, because it's like a lot of people always talk about it. They like in this kind of limbo situation where they always do good enough to make the playoffs but never bad, like never like great to like yeah.

And that's just calling card Tomlin who has been in the playoffs blah blah blah.

But and then has two Super Bowls. Yeah, but but.

Yeah, we're bad enough to like do like get a star draft orything like that.

And I think the amount of respect that he has from the players still is pretty impressive. But you're I mean the turning, the coaching turnover. The coaches turnover rate in the NFL is ridiculous, and it's getting that way in the NBA. You're singing in soccer. I've talked about that before. Uh So, to commit to a program is pretty substantial when Mike Tomlin's done it for so long.

But you're right there.

That's a really good way of putting it right, is that they're they're always good enough to make the player playoffs, but never good enough to make get a championship game or go. And I don't know what you know they Their identity in the past was you know, your defense was a steel curtain, right and tough, and you had

What's their identity right now? Just defense? In a running game, i'd say, yeah, maybe coach, Hello, you're back on the air. Hello, Hey Steve, this is done. Hey don just help us.

Your Hey is Mike Tomlin. That good or the Rooneys don't pull the trigger. I think they've had three coaches. They've had three coaches in the last what fifty years.

I think that kind of fits into the narrative we just talked about, Right, how do you pull that trigger when he's got a pretty good resume?

How many super Bowl championships they have in the last fifty years? He doesn't suck? Right, the Steelers have but five or six super bowl But.

How long has it been? It's been how long has it been since they won? But the last four of them were in six years in the seventies. But I mean, Tom what Tomlin does is he does not suck.

Well, that's the headstone. That's the headstone, you know.

Yeah, he he doesn't suck. He wins games, and and lately it's been mediocre. And he was he's he had been in he had been in a weak division for a long time too. And I'm not trying to talk against him, but his longevity I think speaks towards the towards the organization as well, not just him. Yeah, because because I'm a fan of the quick trigger of the quick Trigger club, and it's just it's downright exhausting. Are you you a Raiders guy?

Yes? Yeah, okay, I can't remember you getting on Jay a couple.

Yeah, because he taught j Jake talk smack. I'm not used to it. I don't like it.

Well, I shouldn't say that I'm not.

Used to it.

I'm I'm I'm I'm surprisingly used to it. And now we got an old guy, so he's not gonna be there long. He might be there long enough to write the ship a little bit.

Do you think they already had the ut guy who the Raiders. We got Pete Carroll, so he's.

What seventy two or whatever, So yeah, so how long is he going to be there for? I mean they they may have a plan as well. Pete Carroll might have a plan for long term. But I don't think if as soon as this thing doesn't work, they're gonna they're gonna do him too, and we'll be back on the Merry go round. I think that's the that's the bad part for the Steeler fans is they can't get off of it, and for whatever reason.

They haven't been able.

I mean, you got to have a trigger man, you've got to have a quarterback, and in the NFL. There's probably only eight or nine NFL quarterbacks. All the rest of them are journeymens.

So is that the coaches fault or is it the fault of not having the front office of not having a quarterback at that position? Well, it's not being able to find a quarterback if you're in the playoffs. You're drafting too late and do you want to mortgage the rest of your draft to move up for something that you don't know is going to be a sure thing because there's no such thing as a short thing.

How many people passed on the homes, you know?

And then and then the Browns, you know, drafted a couch from Couch out of Kentucky and he was absolutely nothing.

Yeah, but the.

Cleveland Browns right now, man, they've got a great quarterback room.

No, if you have five quarterbacks, you don't have one quarterback right now?

Yeah, you they have too many, We'll see.

You know, it's not a pitching staff, it's a quarterback room and you only need one. And that's the that's that's the hardest part for for for most teams because you know, the Steelers they have everything else, they have everything else except for an elite quarterback. And they can't draft high enough to draft one, and who wants to pay for one?

Who's their elite offensive weapon because if they you've got to have d k or Jalen Warren.

I don't I don't know their rosters, so I don't know.

But I mean, what is having.

I mean, I think he's a good I think he's a good first punch, like in a in a stable.

You know what, what, what's what's good about having a top three receiver if you don't have a quarterback, they can get it to them.

No, that's a great point. I think that's a question the NFL is trying to answer, right, That's what they're.

Trying to do.

That the NFL has gotten so technical. When I was a kid, you saw how teams lined up and you knew they were going to run the ball or you knew they were going to throw the ball.

This is a.

Throwing down no matter what. Now you have no idea what's coming. It's it's so technical. It's it's all combination routes and choice routes and everything else and audibles at the line that you know you got to have. You got to have an IVY League team on the field. With NFL type talent to be successful. Yes, that's why the.

Team still still upset that they're not wearing leather helmets.

Yeah, I wanted one sign. Hey, we got to go down. Thanks man, than thanks guys.

Thanks. You've now coming.

Into the covering the Pittsburgh Steelers beat here, so we're gonna take a break and come back to your breaking news whatever's left.

Yeah, I'm going to ruin that before you get there.

The Steelers