This is I On the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports fourteen fiftyay powered by Nova Insurance Services Ensure your most Prized becaussess yets.
Hey, good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to Iron the Ball. They're on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rovera. You're Henry. You got Troy coming in a little bit. Welcome to Wednesday's show, Henry, thanks for saving me today. Yep, we'll see if you do actually save me, because yesterday was a heck of a show for me reading on the board. I just got to continue to learn how to use that dam board.
Hey.
And by the way, Team Money, if you want to call in, please do. If you're on the show, if you're listening right now, give us a call. Remake your point yesterday from yesterday apparently I was told that the listeners couldn't hear you. I could hear you and answered your questions on air, but they couldn't hear you because of the micro situation. So if you'd like to call back, t Money, thanks for listening, give us a call. Troy
is in the house now, Troy. We have somebody who knows how to work the board, so we should be okay.
And there we go. Yeah, it's a beautiful day.
It is a beautiful day. You know, we'll talk a lot of the things we talked about yesterday in case people missed it. But we're gonna have Chris rats Stadder. We expected him yesterday. We had him on the air and then the air went bunkers and in the first half, so we'll have him back. I had a lead official, I'm the head of lead officials across the country. And then in the second hour we're gonna have Bruce Pascal Pasco of the Arizona Day Star, who was at the
press conference. You were at the press conference, right, Yeah.
I was.
I listed to some of it with with Tommy. We have both of them that Tommy's today, okay. So Tommy's you know, very realistic, He's he's how can I say this? You know, Brennan's kind of just tells you simple stuff. He's not flamboyant. Tommy's that too, just different, you know, he's not He's not gonna give you great quotes, but he does say some things.
There's no sugarcoating in it. Yeah, he's up there. I mean they are what they are.
Yeah, Yeah, and what are they.
I think they're a potential D eight Final four team, and I think he believe that.
I do too. Did you watch the Duke, Jame Henry asked me this thirty Duke Kentucky. I watched the did you? I watched pretty much the whole thing because I just wanted to see the good basketball. And at the beginning I picked Kentucky. Uh And I stuck with Kentucky one because I'm not sure about the quality of coach she Shires just you know, he's kind of presh this this is his third year. He's different than Tommy. I still don't know about Tommy, but I think Mark Pope's been around.
He's doing well at every place he's been. The Kentucky program seems revitalized because kind of party.
Is gone, you know, new face, new chapter. I think that was the best thing for.
And he's good and he's good and he has some good players. You know, watching Kerr is a little painful, but because he's the same player, he's the same player and he loves that kind of uh controversy type of points.
What did you see what he said about Cooper Flag before the game?
I may have refreshed me.
They asked him, what do you think about playing against the potential number one pick? It was like, oh, he has that locked up. Congratulations for him, like I don't care, you know, yeah, who cares? And that's who he was.
You know. It's funny because you've just been on the scene a few years. I've covered it for a long time when I was watching him, and I maybe listened to that and just didn't pay attention. I'm thinking of all the people I've covered here extensively and not so extensively, he he is pretty at the top of the list in terms of being quotable, confident, pain in the neck, all of the three combined. The thing that Seleem was
was pain in the neck, not very quotable. You know, everybody has their different things, but Kurt was like confident, pain in the neck, not as good as he thought he was all that.
I've never seen a wildcat taunt like the fan the opposing fans and stuff like that. Kerk crees that used to. Yeah, in my opinion, he's probably one of the most hated players in the last twenty plus years.
Yeah, we've we've seen some some of the fans here hate the other guys, right, the UCLA players, the Tatasis from California. I think it was the Hernandez kid from Stanford. Uh, just kind of the people they thought were being a little cocky. Arizona fans would have hated.
Okur Oh, they would have made posters like, you know, they would have had everything going out.
Yeah, our head bands, our cur is better than your cur Yeah you know, blah blah blah kurr. Yeah yeah, right right now. But he's a good story. He's a good story. You know. The thing about it too, he's a kid who believes in himself. I believe this obviously when you're a cocky, confident dude like he is. He sold himself at West Virginia and then he moved up to Kentucky and he's played a lot. Not that he started, but he's playing a lot.
I mean, it doesn't matter if you're starting, if you're playing starters minutes nor and he's getting started as minutes. And he even takes a few heat checks every now and then even at Kentucky. Right, that's who he is.
Yeah, no, that's well we all if you haven't learned by now, you are who you are, no matter what the situation, and he's that guy. They pulled off a nice little win last night. We have Duke coming in next week. I'll call it now. I think Arizona will beat him.
Here.
I would have said that anyway. That was the last night because of the crowd, because of who they are, they're not intimidated by Duke.
You know what I didn't love is, even though he's a tremendous player, in the last twenty seconds, flag the ball twice the whole time time twice twice, and he flubbed it twice. No ball movement, there's no trying to get him open off of a screen. It's let's give him ball, everybody clear out of the way. Yeah, and that doesn't work.
Well, it doesn't work. And you have a guy that's like that here. Yeah, they do, Caleb Love.
Yeah, but the difference is they're having him play off the ball more this season.
Yeah. They dried that last year, right, right, So we'll see what happens. I really like Arizona in that spot. We'll see what they do on Friday. You know there's still that Friday game. Okay, Well, welcome back, Troy. I'm trying to remember your name, Troy. Yeah, there we go. I just said, Troy, I forget you. Uh no, and anybody want to call, We have the guy at the control, so you guys can call in today five two oh four, one, six seventy four forty. We'd love to have you call in.
So again, we're gonna have uh, Chris rass Stadder at the first hour three seventeen, and then we're gonna have Bruce Pasco at the four seventeen hour. So if you'd like to call us, please do tomorrow. Just a reminder, we're going to be at Casino del Sol, Jy and I for the two hours. We're going to have a maybe a guest or two in house. I know for sure a one guest, and then we'll see if we get a second guest in there. Apparently we were trying.
I was trying to get to Candrea to come on, but he's out of town, so we'll try to give at another time.
You know, speaking about football real quick, Uh, just listening to that press conference, you notice how it's been the same. Yeah, the whole entire last three four weeks. Same same words, same message, same you know, we got to evaluate stuff, same. We'll had a great week of practice it's gonna turn around. Well, that's the funny thing I heard. Listen to the same thing. You listen to very mundane, very same same thing. And when he said that, you know, I love the way
they're practicing or going after it. I can't remember what he said, and I'm thinking, you said this four weeks ago, So what's the difference. It's the same old stuff. I mean, change has got to happen at some point. And what's he gonna say? Right, he's not very good with words in terms of quotes or he tells you what's happening.
But it's okay. I cooked you another great another another grilled cheese sandwich. What's tomorrow? You want another grilled cheese sandwich? You know what about peanut butter and jelly? Now I think I'm more comfortable with it. Can I get some tomatoes seat next time? Cheese sandwich? Yeah, it's mostly the same stuff. I'm glad I don't have to cover it on a day to day where you have to write stories and you know, come up with stuff because it's all the same stuff.
And I think it's you're at the point with the fan base they're tired of hearing it. Yes, especially when you're three and six and the results are what they are.
Let me let me ask you this, because we talked a little about this yesterday, how the fan base has stirred up. They deserve to be there, but it's I think it's still a few pockets, not a bunch of people. Because we hear, we hear the loud and typically that's what it is. The squeaky wheel gets a good degrease. So we have one hundred percent of people surveyed, how
many are actually really upset? Really upset? Because you know, you have fans like me power a fan who Okay, I'm just gonna go watch a game, I don't really care.
I think thirty five are upset. I would say about thirty something disappointed, and then the rest of them it's football who cares?
Yeah, right right, No, I think that's a good thing. The thing about it is you're thirty five percent that the hate or the dislike or whatever are very loud.
They're loud, But at the end of the day, what is the realism of it. You're talking about a head coach that just got hired. You're having a financial deficit within the athletic department, within the university that has a ten million dollar buyout, So how are you going to change? Yeah, and how are you going to change with with it looking good to the rest of the university, especially when you're in this stuff. You're going to take a call now?
Yeah, yeah, we can. Thanks, Hello, We'll get him. Okay, cool? Good, you got a call real quick. I hope we get a lot of calls today after yesterday.
Yeah.
Great. Hey, you're on the year and I on the ball. What's your name?
Brian?
Hey, Brian, how are you? Brian?
Pretty good?
Pretty good. I'm just kind of wondering what you guys think. I'm going to the football game Friday night. Yeah, I'm a glutton, glutton for punishment. I guess, well, I wonder if we'll even have thirty thousand people there.
That's funny you said that. Didn't we talk about this yesterday? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, So my guess my guestimate would be thirty thirty, No more than thirty realistically, no more than thirty, uh and maybe a tad below.
What did you say to twenty seven?
But Brian, this is what we were probably both gonna agree on. They're gonna announce forty something.
Forty two thousand.
Probably thou'reily gonna go by tickets sold.
Yeah, right to know what's your what's your gifts, what's your guests?
Thirty thousand?
Yeah, yeah, you'll be one of them that you'll be one.
I'll be one, and I'll be interested to see how many fans pollen. Let's say, if it's closed and you have a ticket after the end of the basketball game, if they're watching it at the tailgates, saying, you know what, let's go on in now the basketball game is over. If it's close, right, if that, if that helps the attendance at all, could be, could.
Be, you know, I it's just it's very disappointing to watch what's going on. And and it's one of those things that like everybody talks about AYESU is the Bowl game. But that could be pretty ugly too. But but it's gonna have to hold out of the year and just see what he can do. I don't want him fired. I'd be the one thing. I think I'd be the biggest.
Mistake perment thing.
You couldn't afford to fire him anyway, So do any matter. I don't think you're going to find a booster who's gonna pay that kind of money to pay buy them out.
No, no, I agree with you. You were in Tucson. Here here's the problem of Brian. And then let me if I can ask you some personal questions. You can say, I don't want to answer it, Brian, because you're you're a fan. You call in here often and you have some good thoughts. So you're a fan, right, What level of fan are you? I'm talking one to ten? One to ten? You care?
Oh?
I close to ten? Nine?
Okay, okay, So I'll just have a host of question. Nine do you do you give to the program?
I'm buying tickets, that's it.
Okay, buying tickets. So you don't give any you don't help with the nil.
No, I never will. For the fact that I because I'm old and I don't you know, I think these and I nothing wrong with the kids getting money, sure, but I think this whole NIL thing, the way they have it set up, is so messed up that I don't know if it can ever be directed. You know, they talk about, well, you know, having these people as employees of the university. Well, to me, they are employees
of the university. If you're on a scholarship and you're getting money, you know, to go to school, and I just don't feel that, you know, I I have a hard time handling today's athletics, athletics knowing their basketball, football, whatever.
Brian. I'm with you there, I'm with you there, you know.
And I don't think it's a you know, I'm older thing. I've watched this for several years and now it's changed. I mean, you know, I'm twenty nine years old. I remember going to games as a kid, and yeah, it's a different vibe and it's a vibe that I personally don't like. But you know what it is, what it is, and you got to roll with the punches. And I think one thing you're going to see moving forward is
potentially a salary cap. Yeah, you know, rather that be three, four or five years down the line.
Right, Well, well don't forget that next year or two years that the twenty million dollars thing comes it comes into So, Brian, I don't know where you live, Bryan, but expect the UA athlete to live near your area or be your neighbors sometimes soon you know, can get me tickets, I get I have a barbecue. Yeah, you're going to say something.
Yeah, yeah, you know, I just have a hard time with today's sports only for the fact that, okay, we have this.
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Roster of players we have right now in football. Okay, next year we're gonna have fifty different players on the roster.
It's just it's just.
Hard to take this team in like any that's any school about that. Every year the roster turns over and it's not like it used to be where guys were around two three years so you got to know them and and everything. And now we don't get.
To right and right. So that's problem. Problem in the next Brian, that's the problem. But I've always had that problem. Uh, we're we're you're giving the money or you know, you fans are giving them money, but what do you know about the kids given given they don't make them available.
And especially especially at the basketball level, it's gotten so bad at the basketball level and the football. At least this season they kept about eighty eighty five percent of the roster. But you know, after a season like this, you just never know what's going to be from one year to the next.
Yeah, it's it's just it's just difficult I think for I think for every fan you know, and I think one of the big problems when they joined the Big twelve. As much as we complained about the Pac twelve network at least like on Saturday nights they had midnight whatever, they had that midnight football show. We got to know players on other teams. I don't know anything about other players in this conference. And the season's almost over.
Yeah, you know, unfortunately the Big twelve doesn't have Big twelve network. You know they have a Lawnhorn network back in the day, but maybe that's something moving forward.
Hey, Brian, we gotta go. We gotta get out of here for commercials. Thanks Bryan for the call. Ok, yeah, yeah, we gotta go. We're gonna get ahold of Chris rest at her here on the other side.
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Breaking down all the exs and ohs. This is I on the Ball with Steam on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Hey, welcome back to winding the ball here, I'll Fox Sports fourteen Cookie, I'm Steve Rivera, you're Troy Hutchison now and if on we have Chris dress dat Er, the NCAA men's basketball coordinator. Chris, how are you today compared to yesterday?
Still doing good? One day closer to hitting the road?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, tell me how often are you on the road. Are you on the road all the time because of your position?
Yeah? Quite a bit. Quite a bit, Steve. I'll go. You know, it kind of depends on the trip. I kind of plan it out based on mostly, you know, the referees that I want to watch. Yeah, and so I'll plan out a trip and I'll go for I don't know, anywhere from five to nine or ten days and then come back for three or four and then head back out.
So last night, we all know there was a huge game out in Atlanta with Duke and Kentucky. Do you have do you have the skinning the game with that in terms of putting the the people or the principals involved with that, who does?
Yeah? Those two games are not my assignment. I signed the Hall of Fame series games. Okay, So like tomorrow night at Talking Stick is my game, So I'll be up there for that.
Okay. So how many are there more of you than we know?
No, it's just me.
There's just you. So, but you have those farmed out or how does that work?
No, the the that's good question. The tournament directors will okay, yeah, that's who they'll They'll get to assign game. So a lot of the times it's the coordinator of officials for the conferences or the consortions. Now they'll they'll get hooked up with ESPN or you know, whether that group to put on that game last night, and and so that's
how they assign referees. And then a lot of times in those games, uh, you know the you know, so you got interconference, right, so you'll you'll have the coordinators from you know, there was the SEC and the a SEC will communicate and make sure they get the right guys on that on that game. And then the same thing with going prior to the Big ten and a Big twelve.
So how many games do you kind of direct that's the right word.
Well, I assigned probably I think maybe twenty nine games in the Hall of Fame series. Okay, okay, and all those happened in November December, right, you know, and and a lot of like like at the end of this trip. Next week, I'll be in Connecticut at the Mohigan Sun Casino because there's a MTE there for three days. So I'll go there and hunker down for three days and watch, you know, a bunch of referees that I assigned. So you know, my assignments are intentional. You know, some young
rest that I want to see mixed. It made a couple of veterans and sit back and watch.
Yeah, So a couple of a couple of questions. One when you are like looking at the officials and assigned to a certain official, what is it exactly you're looking for in terms of progress and just what are you keeping your eye on?
Uh?
Yeah, that's good. So like for last night, those two games, those veteran crews, those are al tournament guys, are Final four guys working that game. But I still watch. I want to see that there, how we are in our positioning, that they're working, the mechanics that they're We have a thing that's that's really important to me that you know,
the fundamentals you know, in the system we work. So on each play, every referee has a responsibility depending on the ball and the players and that changes, you know, throughout that one half court set. So I want to be sure referees are looking at their matchup. They're supposed to be in the output whistles on plays that aren't theirs.
Yeah really yeah, you.
Know you don't want to fire one across the key when you know your partner stand are right there looking at it. So you know, we call that discipline, having whistle discipline, coverage discipline. I watched for that, and then I just kind of watch how they managed the game and go up and down. And last night's game were really good. I thought, really well played and really well officiated.
And then a lot of people, obviously not only coaches and fans are are tough on officials, but what they don't understand. I was looking at a schedule for officiating crew and whatnot. They are traveling NonStop. What can you just share the life of an official during the college basketball season.
I tell you the life. There's a four o'clock wake up, get to the airport, get your play, first flight. I got to have the first flight out because you know, haven't forbid something goes wrong. Get you where you're going, grab a by t eat, close the shade, and.
Grab a nap. Yeah yeah, but yeah, get up.
Yeah.
Sorry, it was It was a life that you chose, and it's a very enjoyable one. Is that one of the reasons why you got out because of the travel? Yeah?
Yeah.
Well.
The funny thing is is I do pretty much as much traveling as I didn't, right. The only difference is is I don't have to take that first flight out, you know, and at the point doesn't go and I don't make it.
Oh well.
They're still going to play the game. Yeah, I mean, you know, so that's the difference. But uh, you know, and we talk about that though, you know, we talk more and more. We've always talked about, you know, taking
care of your body physically. You got to get your rest and you got to eat right, you know, and these types of things, but we also talked about you know, mental health, you know, making sure you're fresh, and you got to be able to unplug for a day or two at a time, you know, and then come back, you know, recharge your batteries. That's really important, especially January February, I know. And the thing is, and here's the rub, though, is we get paid by the game.
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Yeah, referees. So so the more games you work, the more money you make. Right, so when you're off, you aren't gonna make any money. My job, you know, I'm a salary so matter.
Yea.
So there's that, you know, right right right. Let me ask you, what are your thoughts on today's world of instant replay or going back to the film to see if you made a right call. Back in the day, we didn't do that. We just kind of went with it. Now now in baseball, with everything, it's just you know, well, you know, here we go go to the monitor.
Yeah, yeah, there's there's good and bad. I believe because it was fun back in the day. Dude, it was you know, we had the guidelines and you know whatnot. But on a Thursday night in Court Vallas when they're playing Wazoo, there's you know, nobody was watching. It wasn't the game of the week, right, you know, in the past, so it didn't really matter as long as we were consistent and we were calling it, you know, on both ends of the floor. Coach has never said a word,
you know, so it was really cool. But now there's so many guidelines and and like you say, every game is on TV, and you know, you know, we thought you know that, you know, it's the fishbowl. You know, it's just so much scrutiny that you got to get them right.
So I was told, I guess earlier this week that you were on a conference call with a bunch of writers like like me and enjoy here. What was the message and did they go to you or you going to them?
They reached out to me.
I don't know, if you know, Stu student around it reached out and I was happy to do.
What they kind of want. They wanted to get a work. Was it a story, was it a what was the reason?
Uh?
You know what.
They just let me talk for a little bit and and I kind of talked to them about the same thing I mentioned with you guys a little bit, kind of my philosophy about officiating. You know that that I'm not a I'm not a gotcha I was never a gotcha referee, and I'm not a gotcha supervisor. I mean, I'm not running up and down the floor going oh yeah, got you You know.
What I mean.
You know, let's get the obvious. Let's get the obvious and and look, I you know, I understand it's about right and wrong at the end of the day, But but I don't we'll get to the play. I'm more worried about working as a crew, sticking to the fundamentals, working the mechanics, because if you're in the right place at the right time, I'm looking at the right thing, we got a pretty good chance of getting it right. So I don't. I don't sit there and overanalyze every little call. I just don't.
Sure sure the one thing that happens, the one thing that I think that happens a lot. At least it's and maybe maybe a lot a lot anymore. But the anticipation call, I'm sure you hear that. You but your reaction it seems like you know what I'm talking about.
You got I've lived it.
So how do you how do you fix it? Or you can't fix it. It's just.
Well, there's such a thing as an inadvertent whistle. I remember a game I was an a issue and I'm resn't and and we are kind of half court and the guard was putting pressure, you know, on the ball handler, and something happened recent and I just cracked my whistle and it's it did not happen the way, you know. I was like, oh, here comes, so I hit the whistle and it just didn't happen. And I turned around, I looked at both coaches out of my bad introvert,
and I grabbed the ball. We put it back and play just kept going.
Yeah, well, good for you, for you.
But there's other times where you just you just got to eat.
It, you know, yeah, and just want to say sorry, apologies or whatever.
Yeah, you get over there, you get on front of the coach and said, dude, that was not good. Yeah right, let me ask you.
Yeah, because you know they're thinking every play is crucial to them. Let me I don't know if I asked your school field this. But when you're doing your job and you're running back and forth and you're covering a game like last night's and some of ariss on those games, like you see other big games, and you're you're watching
your you know, your job is to officiate. But there's a time maybe or two or four when you're watching uh, Mike bib play or some guy playing and he says, hold in your head, say, holy crap, look at that play or how did that? How do he do that?
Oh? Oh bro, that's oh, that's the part of it. That's a great part of the game. I mean, when you're doing your job right, we're you know, we're ruber focused. But when a tremendously bloody player.
Are good dunk or things like that, Oh.
We're running down the poort looking at each other, our eyes get all either like wow, and we just keep them they just keep resting.
Oh oh no.
If you're not enjoying that, then you're missing the you know, you're missing the boat. That's remember Dan get Zurich.
Yeah, of course, the la oh.
He dunked the ball harder than anybody I've ever seen.
Wow.
Great, I mean it was incredible. So he would dunk cook me and I remember him was a cow and ad Ran Delkourt look at our partner and we both would just just in awe and enjoyed the moment.
Yeah, yeah, back in the late eighties, early nineties, I think it was.
And you know what that that brings me to my question is you know, talking about the moment, talking about the player, but the moment of a game, in that big time atmosphere, how hard is it not to get caught up in the moment? I know fans sometimes talk about that where they feel like an official gets caught up in the moment of the game. The crowd's going wild, so you let some things slip that you don't see. But how hard is it not to get caught up in a moment.
Of the game, you know, when you're really focused and this takes time, by the way, I mean, this is experience. That's why you don't throw, you know, a first year referee into Arizona UCLA, you know, because they're not ready for it.
Right.
So, but but you you just build those muscles and you learn to concentrate. The key is just having a level of concentration and you're so focused and you're so into it that you really don't hear the noise. Now when there's twenty thousand people and they're screaming in the places, rocking, of course you're here. But again that I enjoyed that. Whether I was on the you know, the yeah or the boo side of it, it was still It's just part of the game, and I enjoyed it. So we all enjoyed that.
So you've been doing this a long time. I've covered a lot of games over my time. The thing that I noticed, and this might be funny to you, because it's kind of funny to me, But the more I watch the games and more I wantch the refs. You dudes are no longer heavy and you guys are in shape? Is that true? I mean, you guys you don't have your guns and you've got your uniforms, and now you guys are less unless probby we're at hockey.
Yeah, yeah, no, there there are more and more flat bellies in today's industry. It's it's a different thing, man, I'm telling you. You know, like back in the day, there were no cams and you just nobody knew about officiating and it was just yeah, just kind of you know tex athletes, you know. But now kids tune into this so early. And and the physical skill set and and look, when we do evaluations, I am four regional advisors. They work for me or with me, and we evaluate
referees live in in UH and on video. And so the first the first category that we that we grade him on or just evaluate is physical skill set. So how do you look in your uniform? Are you athletic? Do you run athletically? You know? Are you given an effort every play? So we look for those things. Absolutely, it's and look at the app So, I mean, these kids are big, the stronger, faster than they were ten
years ago, you know, twenty for sure. But there's just you know these kids last night, that kid for Duke, I mean, dang six ten, I.
Mean come on, right. And plus I think your second and probably think on your list is you have to be really headstrong, h don't let things get to you because you have fans. It you just have to be a I don't know what the word is but not a pain in the neck because you have to you dealing with pain the necks, you get to be very sturdy, like a wall just yet.
Oh yeah, yeah, mental strength, mental toughness. You know, we brought a sports psychologist in to speak to the referees at the regional clinics this year, the preseason regional clinics. So I I really like this guy, doctor Joel Fish. So he talked about mental toughness. He shared a story about Kobe who were his first year the NBA top
Mental toughness was a subody, talk trash. He talked trash back, but by the end of his career, mental toughness to him is there's nobody in this arena that that is going to get into his head and make him doubt himself or you know, anything along those lines. And I go, that's mental toughness. So it's a level of concentration, a level of focus, and you develop those skills and the mental muscles right to have that mental toughness. That that takes time for sure.
So I got a quick one, real quickly at Troy. So somebody sent me a note earlier before you came on ass rush at or what the toughest thing about reving games at the jccverneties.
Dude, that's where I've made my bones. Man the thirty three and over Sunday mornings does the Jay you know, I tell you the toughest thing. Look, you can call plays, that's right, it's it's it's I don't know if getting.
Along is the right word.
But managing those games. Anytime you're talking about a rect league, you learn survival. That's what I used to call it. You just learn how to survive and manage and get your way through a game, and you work good. That's what. That's what those games are out those the best teaching tools. And here's just you know, just an observation. The younger
referees don't do that as much as we did. You know, we went and made our twenty bucks a game, you know, but that's how we honed our skills or learned all of these things. It's just reps. You know, it's experienced. The more plays you see, the more conversations you have, the more situations you're in. Nowadays, everything is you know, it's organized, you know so and not that that's not good, but you know, we'd referee poo, you know, four or
five games a day, just surviving. Yeah, the jay. I know, one guy, one guy, he was upset about a call or something. It consists. H go, I go, it's the Evan flow of the game, Billy, and he goes, all right, now it's Evan know. Okay, it was pretty good.
Yeah, one hundred twenty bucks a day. I guess back in the day it was pretty good. Yeah.
Hey, twenty five started nine bucks. Nine dollars is what I used to get the river around.
Well, now now you're flying all over the world. That's cool.
Man. I'm not bad.
Huh no, not bad.
So I'm wondering, especially back in the Pac ten day, with all those coaches like lud Olsen and Gravels, Montgomery and so on and so forth, what is your favorite story involving a coach during the game that you could share on air, some appropriate funny story.
You know, Black.
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Uh, I've got I've got it. Quite a funny Montgomery. Montgomery was the peach. So I learned one look funny, then one I learned a really valuable lesson. So it was he was when he was that uh Stamford. And so now we got a game of cow and I'm kind of the younger referee on the crew. I think Tommy Nunez, you guys, was working the game and he
was a veteran. So we're running up and down and Mike and I could call to Tommy head and he's yelling at Tommy across the floor, and so I run by him and I'm thinking, I'm going to help out my partner.
I go, oh, no, he.
Got that right, Mike, And he stopped and turned out a dime and goes, who the hell asked you?
And who are you? And who are you?
For the next five minutes, man up and man, he just wants to know every time, and I going, okay, let's have learned keep your mouth shut right.
Well, thanks a bunch, Thanks a bunch, mister Chris.
Appreciate it.
I appreciate Good luck in the road. I'll see you at the game soon, I think, right, I'm sure you will.
I'll be around. Okay, I'll come to that great Thank you, Thank you.
Give Ustress Statter one of the great refs. We saw him the Final Four a number of times. Okay, let's take a break. We're a little late, so we'll come back. Take some calls for an Arizona Man's basketball fan. You know it's been successful for nearly forty years. Now. Take a look back at the Ludelson 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 you insight to the coach and the man
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This is I on the Ball with Steve Rovera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Subscribe now to the podcast on the iHeartRadio app just search I on the Ball.
Hey, welcome back to my on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera, your Troy Hutcheson with got Henry with us. That was a lot of fun with mister rash Dadder. Yeah, yeah, a lot of knowledge there, Yeah, cool dude too. Okay, anybody want to call, please do five to two zero four one six seventy four forty a team money. If you want to call, you can go back and talk to you real quick about yesterday's called you came in. I don't think that
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Yeah, you know, And I think that's pretty clear.
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I don't think any of the fan bases blaming now on more than the coaching staff. And you know, a little nugget from today's press conference. You know, we talked about Jacory Krossky marrit a couple times on this radio show, if he's going to play or not. Yeah, the eligibility issue, right, Brennan today said I don't think that makes sense for him to play the rest of the season. But that's all he said, saying basically, no, he isn't playing the rest of the.
Season, right. I wonder if they would give him if if whatever needs to be.
Cleared up, it's cleared at the end, right, and then he's able of them another year.
I don't know, but yeah, but would you play it here?
Who knows? Yeah? You know it's a running back that's been at what now three different schools.
So well, if you're a player that wants to play, why not play? Right? If you're not good enough for the next level and you need another year, why not do it? What? How old is what's his name? From Utah? Quarterback?
Quarter from Utah? Oh oh, you're talking about Cam Rising.
Yeah's like thirty, he's got your beer, twenty three, twenty four. Yeah, he's asking for sixth year, right, six seventh year? But is I think, yeah, so one of those Yeah, yeah.
I mean you have at Miami that's on year number ten.
Yeah, I remember I saw that story. Yeah, And if you want to play and you can't play at the next level, and you're gonna get some nil. But I think that probably something like Utah would probably say, yeah, maybe not, you know, time to move on. Yeah, we love you.
But but you know what, it's hysterical when you get and I'm sure you get asked this from Vans too, is how many years of eligibility does this guy have left?
Right?
Well, technically three? But who the heck?
Well did you see that the kid from New Mexico who's now the quarterback at at Vanderbilt. He was a two year player at a junior college in New Mexico, went to play at New Mexico State, brought him back to pretty prominence. Decided to move with this coach to kill to Vanderbilt, has turned them that program around this
one year. Now he's gonna fight there. He's fighting. He's soon in the NCAA for for more years because the junior college kids are being treated differently than Division one, so he wants a couple more years to play.
He'll probably win it. I mean, it's just how it's been going.
Yeah, and they'll win, right, I mean, what, you haven't taken any losses, I don't think. Yeah, hey, you're on the air and on the ball. Who's this.
Hello, Steve?
Yes? Howard? Yeah, how are you doing fine? Howard? Are you gonna see us tomorrow at the casino?
I don't know, we'll see I probably should. I want to sort of go.
Now I know Vic. It's only me and Vic.
Did go to everything now that I know?
Well, yeah, cause you guys, you guys went to our to our dinner thing at at the restaurant.
No, I didn't go to the dinner.
No, no, you saw you went to the one on northwest side to uh one of the first ones.
Yeah, yeah, I never saw Vic there.
Where I saw Vic was at the card shop and then then I saw him again at the of the casino.
Okay, I thought he was at high five to two, so okay, my bad.
Yeah, well he probably was, he said he was, but I just we didn't worked there at the same time.
Okay, what's up?
Anyway, I'm excited about the Wildcats basketball team. You know, they're persona do on Grada the football team and because I'm never a football guy no matter, even if they're good. And then of course I'm excited about the Suns, even even though we have a setback with the with the Slim Reaper for two weeks, where I think we have plenty of.
A deep bench up where we're gonna still do good.
So what are they seven?
They're nine and two now, and then.
They have a back to back tonight they're playing the Kings, and if I could go down and casino, I put some money on them. They're seven and a half point undertok I.
Mean that's probably you know, back to back and they just played the Kings recently.
Well, yeah, I get I get it, but I still don't buy them.
I still don't buy it. They're not gonna be get beat by that much if they lose.
I didn't realize, Howard, and you probably see this because I don't want the NBA all that much. But I do have a team, and of course it's it's Steve's Skurt team. They're very good. They're playing well well. I think they're eight and one. They beat They beat Dallas last night in a great game with Thompson coming back.
Yeah, you know, they're playing well defensively, and Steph Curry keeps on doing what he's doing. But you gotta wonder at a eventually in point of time, can this be enough for Golden State with Steph Curry playing at the high of a level at this age, you.
Know, they don't have enough too young players.
And you know that.
What's his name Green is gonna probably have a meltdown at some point and he's just not good.
And he's just not good anymore.
Their last championship, daven said, they go, yeah, they won the championship, but Green didn't play good.
Yeah, you know, we see.
So he's done. He's really done this time.
He plays defense.
That's the only thing I think I like about Green. But they're not gonna get anything from him from anything. I guess that's all he has to do. But he can't score.
Anything, he can't really assist.
He's just gonna get worse.
That's why.
The same with Klay Thompson. You know that sometimes that dynasty is to end and there's been nails in it.
They're not going anywhere. Okay, but oh and the last.
Thing I wanted to see say, I didn't hear the conversation, but you said Carl Watson was on.
Yeah, Carl Watson was on.
I know why you talked about horses because, believe me, we're real family with the Watson family. We remodeled their big house that they had. Ye, so, and I just know he's we I know just from knowing that he was into horses, right, that's why he had him on because it was the Breeders' Cup. Yeah, you went to It was funny to have Carl there because yeah, we know him pretty good.
Yeah, no, good guy. Good got him and mister Webman. Okay, all right, thanks, we'll see you later. We still got time for another call too, We got we got about five minutes, six minutes.
But you know what, even though Golden State I agree with Howard, I don't think they're going to last long term this season to make an NBA Finals or Western Conference Finals run. This is one of the more impressive coaching jobs in the NBA right now by Steve kirk Right. You don't have that legitimate number two. You have a bunch of guys that are young, like Kaminga and other
guys that are coming together. But they're playing great defensive league and right now they're riding the offensive wave of Steph Curry. So it comes goes. But an impressive job by Steve kirk.
Right, Yeah, no question. There's a lot of good teams in the West too.
Yeah.
I mean they went to Boston and beat Boston in the return game for what's his name, the one he didn't play for the Olympics, the one Tatum. Yeah, Tatum. I didn't even know the score until he looked at it yesterday, and they won that game. So we'll see what happens. But Oklahoma, there's a lot of good teams in the West, west of stacked viena maker case.
I think about five teams in the West to win an NBA title and then the rest of them to at least get to a Western Conference finals.
Yeah, we don't talk about the NBA much here, and I'm okay with it. But yeah, no, it's it's it's good to see, I mean, Steve doing really well. Okay, anybody want to call We got about four minutes of five to two oh four one sixty four forty. If you can't get in, you can call us during the breaking news segment or the final second, our second, third, third segment. Okay, we're okay right here. Okay, So anything else with the Brennan stories? Nothing today, I think, No.
I mean again, it's the same old story of you know, we had a great week of practice, looking to change over some coaching stuff. We got to change some stuff here and and we've seen we're seeing the light and we're going to improve.
Do I ask you this all the time? What I see?
What's up with Justin Flow? He just doesn't play? Does he even special teams anymore? Does a special team? He still does on special teams he is And I think that's where you need to play. Honestly, I'd play low, probably on the edge as an edge rusher.
Seaball hit ball. It's the biggest thing with him is he's athletic, he's strong, he had creates a motor, he's crazy a little, but he doesn't have discipline. And that's why they really can't play him out there on the field is he struggles in zone coverage. He can't he can't cover in zone and he'll hit a quarterback without the ball being in his hands games like against the USC last year. Yeah, he's just an undisciplined player that they've tried to reel in and yeah, they just haven't had.
Since you are who you are, man, you are who you are.
And this was the nineties. He could be an All American, an All American linebacker right in the first round.
Right, He's he's impressive, liking and he's got that energy. But you know, there's you gotta still play the game.
Wwe still got.
To play the game, right, right, Yeah, we'll see what happens in the second hour. We're going to have Bruce Pasco talking a lot about basketball. He goes to Wisconsin this weekend, and then Duke of course here on the fifteenth fifteenth. Yeah, nope, twenty first, twenty first, twenty first, twenty first, that's right, No, twenty second, second, twenty second, fifteen is this weekend? Yeah, I'm like, dates are domestic we have the Al Tour and next Saturday, the twenty third,
and the Duke game of the day before. So I'm going to get three hours of sleep and then go.
To and don't forget about the football game. Football game on the road.
See you? Is that on Saturday?
It's on the Saturday? Oh never, what football game?
Is that a night?
Do we know yet?
That's a day game?
I believe. Oh okay, so I'll miss that. That's okay. That was like the Utah game last year. Remember when they played the Utah and they played did the tour and it rained a little. Yeah, so it was a good day for football. Okay, are we good? We have one another minute or two trying to get get like two minutes. Okay, anything from you, mister Henry. You're saving it all for breaking news, I guess, so yeah, yeah, okay, Okay. Volleyball we got, we got a lot of things coverage. Oh,
women's basket he's got. I don't want to. I don't want to mess up his his breaking news stuff. Did you didn't go last night? Did you?
I mean?
Impress is showing by Arizona. They you know, played very well and he got to the w against say you know v team that's been a top twenty five team here and there over the last several years.
Yeah, yeah, I watched a little for press conference. She she she talks a lot about one question. She talks about not that, not that it's a bad thing, it says. She explains a lot.
But she doesn't answer the question right away, and then circles back and then answers it.
She explains and then tells.
You yeah, exactly. So it's a long quote of wait a minute, where's the answer to what you know? But it's better than a yes.
And no, which is great, right, no question, no question. And she's as popular as all hell. I guess she was a big turnout last night, which of course they always need. Okay, I think that'll do it, Henry. Let's go and come back with your breaking news.