Thursday, July 31, Hour 1

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is I on the Ball with Steve Rovera on
Fox Sports fourteen fifty powered by Nova Insurance Services in
sure your most prized possessionets.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Than good afternoon, everybody.

Speaker 3 (00:16):
Welcome to Eye on the Ball here on Fox Sports
fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rovera. Look who we have here.
We have Michael from the Arizona Diaty Star. We got
you out of the office. You're welcome my home office,
your home office.

Speaker 4 (00:29):
I hardly ever go into the real office, but thanks
for having me.

Speaker 3 (00:32):
Yeah, I get you out of the confines of home.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
That's good, isn't it?

Speaker 5 (00:37):
It is?

Speaker 4 (00:37):
No, this is really cool. I'm excited. I'm happy to
be here. I as much as I enjoy going to
football practice and learning about the team.

Speaker 5 (00:46):
It's so freaking hot. Oh yeah, right now.

Speaker 4 (00:49):
It feels nice to be in this well air conditioned studio.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
Did you do this morning?

Speaker 5 (00:53):
I did, of course.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Have the flies arrived?

Speaker 1 (00:57):
Ye?

Speaker 6 (00:57):
No?

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Ause you know what?

Speaker 7 (00:58):
No?

Speaker 3 (00:58):
I think it's hot for them too, honestly, So what's
the ones who are just not?

Speaker 2 (01:03):
A fun? Time to be there with the flies now?

Speaker 4 (01:06):
Look, all credit to the players, though, those guys are
in an amazing shape. Yeah, absolutely amazing shape because it
is one hundred plus degrees, there are no clouds in
the sky, and they're out there doing their thing.

Speaker 5 (01:22):
R The training staff is, they're building in.

Speaker 4 (01:29):
Breaks and I don't know if you know, the practice
fields set up over there. So there's like the practice
field that is adjacent to the Colon Jeanie Davis Sports Center,
and then there's another field a little bit more to
the east that is.

Speaker 5 (01:45):
South Beach they call.

Speaker 4 (01:47):
They're using both of those fields, and then there's this
area sort of a corridor in between that's shaded. So
every like half hour forty five minutes, they're like hydration break.

Speaker 5 (01:56):
Okay, so the whole team.

Speaker 4 (01:58):
Goes in there and they get drinks, get watermelon, they
get refreshments and they just chill for about five minutes
before they go back out. So very you know, they're
they're preparing in the heat, but they're also very consciences.

Speaker 3 (02:13):
So three so some in the shade under the under
the big yeah the dome, right, and then the other
one right next to the dome, and then South Beach
is pretty clever because that's where the beach volleyball.

Speaker 4 (02:22):
Is right correct, Yes, And they didn't always utilize that
that other field last year, but that's pretty much like
where the defense is going now. So when the defense
is doing their defense only drills, they're over there, the
offense is on kind of the main field, and then
you know, at various points they get together and do
actual football.

Speaker 3 (02:41):
So you probably went to the first two practices, right
Yester in the morning, which is still hot, but it's
not as hot as it can be. What did you
make of the press conference? I've asked this the last
few guests in the last couple of days, and I'll
let me ask you in terms of temperament or not style,
but just the feel of it.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
One and then than Brennan himself.

Speaker 4 (03:02):
Yeah, I think he's a little bit more self assured
this year, if that makes sense, Like he's he's got
a plan and he's kind of sticking with it and
sink or swim like this is what it's going to be.

Speaker 5 (03:15):
Where is last year?

Speaker 2 (03:17):
You know?

Speaker 4 (03:17):
I mean we've talked about this when I've been on
your show, Like he kind of came in late in
the in the hiring cycle, right in mid January, and
he's trying to kind of keep the team together and
I don't know if he was really able to truly
be himself last year, whereas now I think he fully
is and like he's really emphasized culture and togetherness. And

(03:41):
you know, I was really struck by one of the
things he said at Big twelve media days, which was
like what they're looking for, you know, they're looking for
guys who love football, guys who are tough, and guys
who want to be here, and if they don't want
to be here, basically like we don't want you here.

Speaker 5 (03:57):
So I thought, I thought, really struck out.

Speaker 4 (03:59):
That really stuck out to me, And it's not something
that he could have said last year when he was
trying to make sure that guys wouldn't just to the portal.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
True, and he actually admitted it.

Speaker 3 (04:09):
You know, he felt like he had to kiss a
little ass to keep him here or keep them happy.
That's what the translation was for us, you know, to
kind of read between the lines. And I thought that
you probably thought that too during the season when things
went awry in moments.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
In a lot of.

Speaker 4 (04:25):
Moments, he look, he is an inherently nice guy, so
he's not going to rip on players. But I think
there are certain points, whether that's on the practice field,
or in meeting rooms or just sort of in the
course of running the program, where you have to be disciplined, right,
you didn't have to be tough, Yeah, and you have

(04:45):
to be tough in his mentor. Dick Tomy certainly was
someone who promoted the idea of family, but he was
also tough, and those teams were really tough. And I
think he's trying to to recapture that in.

Speaker 3 (04:59):
Some yeah, yeah, no question, and he continues to be
in the shadows of dip ptolemy uh for for right
or wrong.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
Right.

Speaker 3 (05:08):
But that's that's what our measurement is because we don't
know any better, you know, with Nakavic and and and rich.

Speaker 2 (05:13):
Rod and Stoops and all that.

Speaker 3 (05:15):
But he's under the same pedigree, so you have to
kind of compare him to Dick.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
Now, he's just got to.

Speaker 3 (05:20):
Be less four and four four four three, less six
and six, you know what I'm saying, because that's what
Dick did too.

Speaker 4 (05:29):
I think six and six this year would be just fine. Yeah,
and you think it's going to be viewed, I think yes,
knowing kind of what you know or what you don't know,
I do, okay, I do, especially if they're exciting and
fun to watch, which I think they're going to be.
I you know, I really like Danny Gonzalez as a

(05:49):
defensive coordinator. He's like unbelievably good with the media, extremely entertaining,
he will give you the scoop on everything. But I
think they're going to be involved in a lot of
high scoring games this year, frankly, a lot of like
thirty eight to thirty five tech games, and you'll win
some of those, you lose some of those, but you
know what entertaining and they were not They were like

(06:11):
not good and also not entertaining last year, which is
a really bad combo.

Speaker 3 (06:16):
Well that would mean that if Danny Gonzalez is good
at certain points and does a good job of the
defensive and he's gonna score thirty some points, his counterpart
will have to be very good on the offensive end.
So you know, it's kind of like, Okay, I didn't
hold up or I did hold up my bargain. You
just have to help me out here offensively.

Speaker 4 (06:36):
Yeah, So everyone is really impressed with Seth dating the
new offensive coordinator. I was talking to somebody about this
and they made a comparison between him and Kevin Vance,
who you know, was the pitching coach for baseball for
a couple of years, and like, you know, it's not
like Kevin Vance was like almost instantly a hot commodity.

Speaker 5 (06:56):
You know, like how long is he going to be here?
They had him for two years.

Speaker 4 (07:00):
Set Daggy is on an upward trajectory as a coach,
so you know, if he does really well, it's probably
gonna be hard to keep him. But that's okay, there's
not really much you can do about that. He is
seems like he's destined to be a head coach at
some point. He's like very confident, well spoken to gather, charismatic.
He's got the look of sort of the modern offensive

(07:23):
coordinator turned head coach.

Speaker 2 (07:24):
He's got the rams guy look.

Speaker 5 (07:27):
He does, Yes he does.

Speaker 4 (07:28):
And there's so many of those guys all around the
NFL now with like the neatly trimmed beard, and they
always just really look together.

Speaker 5 (07:37):
And he knows offense really well.

Speaker 4 (07:41):
And I also get the sense that, I mean, he's
going to spend every waking hour making sure that the
offense is as good as it can.

Speaker 3 (07:48):
Be, so you're as good as your players. I think
he has some players in that group that will make
him look good too. I'm starry with the quarterback, and
I think the question could be the running back situation.

Speaker 4 (08:00):
Offensive I think that overall the skill positions are good enough.

Speaker 2 (08:06):
For that good enough. What would that mean?

Speaker 5 (08:09):
You produced a lot of points?

Speaker 4 (08:11):
Okay, if the offensive line, if the offensive line comes together, okay, Right,
it's just a huge question mark. And even now, I
still don't think we've seen what the starting offensive line
is going to be or what they wanted to be
because Rhino Tapatotai, who was the starting left tackle last year,

(08:33):
hurt his knee midway through the season. He's still not
fully back, right, He's not working in team drills as
of yet. I think they would like him to be
the starting left tackle. They took him to Big twelve
media days, so I think that's usually an indication that
they view this as a prominent piece of our team.

Speaker 5 (08:51):
Right.

Speaker 4 (08:52):
So that's something that's you know, sort of still up
in the air to a degree, like is he going
to just come back and be the left tackle? And
then what happens to Tie Buchanan, which is a transfer
they brought in from Texas Tech. He's playing left tackle now,
does he go to right tackle. We talked to Tie
about this the other day. He said, I've been a
swing tackle my whole life. It's not that hard for

(09:13):
me to go from left to right. And then at center.
They have Kayena de Canberra from Hawaii, and my colleague
Justin Spears had a really good lead about how he's
an Islander in more waste than one. He's from Hawaii
and he had primarily been a left tackle and as
you know, like left tackle that's out on the island right. Well,

(09:33):
now he's playing center and that's the only position he's
never played before, right right.

Speaker 2 (09:38):
So is big enough to be an island I think.

Speaker 5 (09:43):
He's big enough, he's smart enough.

Speaker 4 (09:44):
It's just he's never really done in a game, and
that position requires you know, I don't have to make
the snap, but you got to make halls at the
line of scrimmage, a lot of decisions. You're you're in
a leadership position. They're in the middle, and you're gonna
have to you know. They like his demeanor, you know,
that's one thing they said. He's kind of calm and

(10:06):
cool and collected, which is which is a good thing
for that position. He's replacing a guy in Josh Baker,
who was a steady force for them for a lot
for several years.

Speaker 2 (10:17):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (10:18):
Right, so I don't know something to watch for sure
on that side as how the line comes together, because
it doesn't matter how good your skill position players are.
If the line isn't doing its job, then it's the
offensive isn't gonna work.

Speaker 3 (10:29):
That's Michael lev from the Daily Star. He'll be with
us for the next two hours. Let me set up
this the day. Yeah, we're gonna have Avery Scoggins, the
leading the center, starting center, returning starting center for you
a volleyball. They had a fantastic end of the season
run there, so we'll see how that moves forward here.
And then at four fifteen we're gonna have one of
our good old friends, he's been on a show a

(10:50):
number of times, thanks Michael forgetting him, Yogi Rough friend
of the family here, and we'll see what he's talking
about with the Big ten and maybe his afterthoughts about
the Big twelve.

Speaker 2 (11:00):
Right, let me ask you a question. I don't think
I've ever asked you. I don't think i've ever rested you.
You've been here. I think we talked last time a
bit almost ten years right correct. Ten years you came from.

Speaker 3 (11:09):
A US covering USC with the Orange Kenny Register. Uh,
you were about the same as you're a little younger
than me.

Speaker 2 (11:16):
Kind of both tauruses.

Speaker 5 (11:17):
I think true.

Speaker 3 (11:21):
When you when you decided to come in, it's party,
family reasons. I think I'm assuming that he went from
USC to Arizona covering Arizona football. What were you initial thoughts?
Because USC is not Oh I should say this Arizona
football is not USC football.

Speaker 2 (11:37):
Yes, and and it was it more of a okay,
I got a drive, but you go now.

Speaker 4 (11:44):
It was I wouldn't go that far, but a little
It was a little shock to the system when you
just kind of looked at the overall talent level again
not quite as evident in the skill positions, but more
so linemen, linebackers, like just sort of what the athletes

(12:05):
look like and how many of them there were, Like
when I was covering USC, and I covered them from
two thousand and eight.

Speaker 2 (12:11):
To fifteen, So give me the coaches was first, it was.

Speaker 4 (12:15):
Pete Carroll for two years the tail end of peak
the Pete Carroll era, and it was Lane Kiffin, and
it was Steve Sarkisian for a little tiny bit. It
was Clay Hilton, a lot of drama. Yes, you think
there's a lot of drama here, there was even more there.

(12:37):
So I mean they were I mean, they were just
sending a ton of guys to the NFL, right, like
the elite of the elite. You know, I covered like
Robert Woods and Marquise Lee at wide receiver. He couldn't
have better college wide receivers than those guys. I come here,
and then there's just like this huge drought of NFL
draft picks in Arizona, like they're not producing anybody, you know.

(12:58):
So it was, like I said, it was a little
bit of a shock to the system, just kind of
adjusting to you know, I guess I hate to say this,
but going from a football school to a basketball.

Speaker 3 (13:08):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course. And I think that those
realistic in this town would understand that. Uh, And that's
kind of why I ask. But it's a different coverage
probably too, just a different you. You you started with
rich Rod, right, rich Rod was your guy when you
first got here, Yes, And and that's a little different
because he brings up different energy to this whole thing.

Speaker 4 (13:26):
Well, it was a different coverage too in the sense
that there's so much more competition for coverage in LA,
even with USC football being so popular and prominent. I
worked for the Orange County Register, but we still covered
the Dodgers and.

Speaker 3 (13:40):
The other things to cover.

Speaker 2 (13:43):
Yeah, not like not cover the team.

Speaker 4 (13:45):
Right, So like as far as real estate goes on
the cover of the sports section that day.

Speaker 5 (13:51):
Right, like you're fighting for it.

Speaker 4 (13:53):
Whereas you know your your football notebook or whatever is
going to be the centerpiece. It's going to be on
the cover every single day, even sometimes your baseball notebook.

Speaker 1 (14:01):
Right.

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Speaker 1 (18:19):
This is I on the Ball on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Want to take part in the show called up Steam
Now went five two oh four, one, six, seventy four
to forty.

Speaker 3 (18:31):
Hey, welcome back to a line on the ball here
on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. In today
with me is Michael liv of The Daily Star. Now
on the phone. We have you have a volleyball setter.
Are scrug and Stuggins?

Speaker 2 (18:42):
How are you? I'm good?

Speaker 6 (18:44):
How are you doing today?

Speaker 2 (18:46):
Great?

Speaker 3 (18:46):
Thank you thanks for joining us. You must and the
group must be excited about the season.

Speaker 6 (18:52):
I am. I'm very excited. I feel like the team
is also really excited as well, ready to get things rolling.

Speaker 3 (18:58):
Well, you you ended the season. How much does that
helped getting this season's ruling.

Speaker 6 (19:04):
I think it helps a lot. I feel like we've
realized our potential and how good we can do. And
just because a couple of seniors left and there's like
as a new team, doesn't mean that our goals change.

Speaker 4 (19:17):
Hey, every Michael here, So obviously you guys won the
NIVC last year. Was very exciting to be in the
house at McHale Center when that happened. How do you
take the next step as a program?

Speaker 6 (19:31):
I think we just put that in the past. Yes,
it's a great accomplishment, but we keep moving forward every
day now we have new goals, we have new players,
new teams, So each practice is a good day, a
good opportunity to really cite for what we want and
just really making sure we take one day at a
time getting better every day.

Speaker 3 (19:50):
I hope I don't confuse you with this, because I
confuse everybody else with this, and I see this jokingly.
I don't really believe in momentum. You can win one game,
you can win two games, but every game is season.
Everybody plays that sway, But I do believe in runs.
I do believe in runs and confidence. So I kind
of replaced the word momentum with confidence. How much more
confident as a team are you because of the late

(20:12):
season success?

Speaker 6 (20:15):
I think I think we had a lot of fire
under us. We are very confident. We learned what we
are capable of doing, and so now that we know
that we can do that every time, there's no excuse
for going into the season and not being able to perform.

Speaker 4 (20:29):
Avery you grew up, I believe in North Carolina, the
town of Newbern. Tell us how one goes from North
Carolina to Arizona's how did your journey come about?

Speaker 2 (20:42):
Well, and let us know how big is that town
of yours.

Speaker 6 (20:46):
I think it is like thirty thousand people. It's a population.

Speaker 4 (20:52):
What is the biggest city that's close to? What is
it the biggest city that New Girl.

Speaker 2 (20:55):
Is close to?

Speaker 6 (20:56):
It's nearest to Raleigh? Okay, yeah, two hours away?

Speaker 5 (21:00):
So how did you?

Speaker 4 (21:01):
How did you become an Arizona Wildcat?

Speaker 6 (21:04):
So I came out here for camp. I really found
the school. I fell in love with it, and I
really enjoyed the facilities. I enjoyed the coaches. It was
really fun. I liked the girls, and yeah, once I
was here, I kind of just didn't want to go
back home and everything changed and I wanted I was
just a wildcat.

Speaker 4 (21:22):
How old were you when you participated in that camp.
I was sixteen sixteen, so was coach Stubbs. Was she
an assistant coach still at that time?

Speaker 6 (21:31):
Yes, she was.

Speaker 3 (21:33):
So what struck you about the campus or the city?

Speaker 6 (21:38):
I really like McHale. I feel like a lot of
schools don't have a facility that volleyball gets to play
like mckill and I think that's super cool. I really
like how it's sunny a lot, and probably ninety percent
of the year it's sunny, and which is really nice.
Nobody likes to freezing cold winter every day. So it
was just different from home.

Speaker 2 (21:58):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (21:59):
I know I complained about the weather here at the
start of the show, but I also spent some time
in North Carolina in June and the humidity was just
absolutely brutal.

Speaker 5 (22:09):
So we don't have that here, and that's nice, right.

Speaker 6 (22:12):
No, he really, the humidity does get you. That's a big,
a big difference for sure, and something that I enjoy
a lot about Arizona.

Speaker 4 (22:19):
So your mom and your aunt were college volleyball players,
is that correct? Yes? Okay, So were you kind of
like destined to become a volleyball player.

Speaker 6 (22:28):
Because of that, I wasn't really introduced. I was always
like a round volleyball at a young age, but I
never really played until I was about twelve, just because
I don't think my mom really wanted to force it
on me, but she really wanted me to do it,
kind of like secretly, if you know what I'm saying. Yeah,
but I wouldn't. Yeah, I would probably say my mom's
always been like pushing for.

Speaker 4 (22:50):
It, so she was happy about it. Did you play
other sports growing up?

Speaker 6 (22:55):
I did. I was a big swimmer and I also
played soccer.

Speaker 2 (22:58):
So where did they play your aunt and.

Speaker 6 (22:59):
Your Well, my aunt played at the University of Nebraska
and my mom played at the University of Georgia.

Speaker 3 (23:05):
Oh so those aren't those are big time schools?

Speaker 6 (23:10):
Yes?

Speaker 5 (23:11):
Were they?

Speaker 13 (23:11):
Were?

Speaker 5 (23:11):
They setters like you are.

Speaker 6 (23:14):
My mom was a setter and then my aunt was
the right side Huh.

Speaker 4 (23:17):
Okay, tell us about that position. What what does the
setter do? What do you think makes a good setter?

Speaker 2 (23:23):
And well?

Speaker 3 (23:23):
And is it also the like the leadership, is that
where the leader goes because you have so much, you're
so involved.

Speaker 6 (23:31):
Yes, I would say it's a lot of decision making
for sure, and really knowing your teammates and like having
their best interests for setting them up for success.

Speaker 5 (23:42):
Yeah, that sounds like a point guard, yes, exactly exactly.
Is that a good distribution?

Speaker 6 (23:47):
That's similar similar to a point guard and similar to
a quarterback.

Speaker 2 (23:50):
Yeah. So is there a lot of pressure there although
you've played it all your life?

Speaker 6 (23:56):
I would say there's pressure, But I feel like there's
pressure with everything that you do. So it's just like
my position. The hitters have pressure to kill the ball,
and I have pressure to set them, and then the
liberos have pressure to pass it up to me. So
I feel like it's definitely gotten more comfortable as years
go on.

Speaker 4 (24:12):
Was there a certain point in time where that became
your position.

Speaker 6 (24:18):
Yes. When I was about like sixteen years old, they
are like, you need to be a setter.

Speaker 5 (24:23):
And so I said, is that because of height or
lack thereof?

Speaker 6 (24:28):
Yes, lack thereof And all my friends were growing there
like six four, six two, and I just was just
like five ten. Didn't make it to the sixes quite yet,
but yeah, it's just like, yeah, you're gonna have to
be a setter.

Speaker 4 (24:44):
Did you expect to have as big a role as
you ended up having as a true freshman?

Speaker 6 (24:47):
Of course I did not. I just really wanted to
do what was best for the team and whether I
could be like the best team player as possible. So
whatever my team needed me to do, I was going
to find a way to do it.

Speaker 4 (25:02):
So Coach Stubbs obviously has the program on a good
track here. As we mentioned at the top, you know,
the postseason birth that you guys were able to achieve
and then winning a championship. What do you like about
playing for her? What are the kind of distinguishing characteristics
of her program?

Speaker 6 (25:23):
So I really like the I feel like the team
has a good general bond. I feel like a lot
of times the coaches are separated from the players and
it's like you only see them from the coach from practice,
you only see them during lists. But I feel like
here it's more of like we're always intertwined. We're comfortable
talking to each other outside of just volleyball. I really

(25:45):
like that. I feel like Rita and Specific is really
good at pushing us mentally every day and physically every
day and making sure that we're really taking advantage of
what we're doing.

Speaker 14 (25:56):
Right, So you had avery, you had you talked about
a little bit like kind of the atmosphere that you
have a mckel. Obviously, you guys went fourteen and four
a home last year. You know what kind of like
confidence do you guys get from like being at home
obviously knocked off number eight Kansas and BYU last year
here too.

Speaker 6 (26:17):
Yeah, there's nothing better than sleeping in your own dead,
that's for sure, and just being able to wake up.
Kind of staying in your same routine that you have
is an advantage that you can't really get when you're traveling. Obviously.
So playing in all the fans, I love that in Tucson,
everybody's an Arizona fan. I feel like it's like ride
or die Arizona. Even if they don't know volleyball that well,

(26:40):
it's like, Damn, I'm going to be at the game.
I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to
support Arizona. So I feel like a lot of other
schools that I went to, it wasn't always like that,
but that's what I really like about home.

Speaker 2 (26:52):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (26:53):
I've covered volleyball only a handful of times, but every
time that I have, it's really exciting. If you want
to compare it to football, it's like there's just one
first down after another after another after another. But avery
if you were to kind of try to convince a
new fan who'd never been to a volleyball match that
they should come out and see it, what would your

(27:14):
pitch be to them?

Speaker 6 (27:17):
I would say, I, oh, this is a good question.

Speaker 10 (27:22):
My pitch.

Speaker 6 (27:24):
My pitch would probably be Come to a volleyball game
if you want to see someone almost like it's I
don't want to even compare it. Yeah, high energy, quick plays.
You won't get bored, that's for sure. You can come
to this game and there's not a dull moment. Yeah yeah,
maybe a timeouts right right?

Speaker 2 (27:46):
So did you start right away or no?

Speaker 4 (27:50):
I didn't.

Speaker 6 (27:51):
I did, but I also didn't. It was kind of
off and on in the beginning of the season.

Speaker 3 (27:54):
So was there like an aha moment for you that
you said, Okay, I can play at this level and
I can play well.

Speaker 6 (28:00):
Maybe early on, I feel like I got a lot.
Are you talking about during season or.

Speaker 3 (28:08):
Like as no maybe the first week, maybe first two weeks,
three weeks during.

Speaker 6 (28:14):
Season, I feel like I got a lot of confidence
from my coaches. I was still I was trying to
take everything with an open mindset and trying not to
shut down. So since I never played at this level,
I was just trying to learn as much as I
possibly could, and so I feel like during those first
couple of weeks, it was like saying, like that, maybe
that didn't go the way that I wanted to, but

(28:35):
I can learn from it. That way, it doesn't happen again.

Speaker 5 (28:38):
Yeah, Yeah, and I try.

Speaker 2 (28:40):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (28:41):
Most of the good athletes at this level too kind
of have a mistake and they kind of brush it
off and have short memories to be good. Are you
one of those or do you kind of maybe even
maybe attach yourself then can get rid of those bad moments.

Speaker 6 (28:54):
I try and brush them off my shoulder, but I
try never to forget them, because the moment that I
forget it, it will always happen to me again.

Speaker 2 (29:03):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (29:04):
Right, And you don't have a lot of time to
really to think about it, right, Like, It's kind of
on to the next point. In every whether you're serving
or not, you can earn a point, which was I
don't think was.

Speaker 5 (29:14):
Always the case in volleyball. So they all matter.

Speaker 4 (29:17):
So you guys have your Red Blue scrimmage on August sixteenth,
You have an exhibition match on August twenty third. The
season opens on August twenty nine, so that's pretty soon.
You when do you kind of start the process of
preseason training when your season.

Speaker 5 (29:34):
Starts so early.

Speaker 6 (29:36):
It actually officially started today preseason. I know a couple
of the girls had individuals. I have an individual tomorrow
and Monday, and Tuesday is back into team practice, which
is like double Day's lists every single day. And then
of course we have our golf tournament sponsored FIP thing
on Friday, which I'm excited for, and then Saturday we

(29:59):
have practice and then it's damn right in it.

Speaker 5 (30:01):
Tell us about the golf tournament.

Speaker 6 (30:04):
I'm super excited I get to play in it. It's
going to be so much fun.

Speaker 2 (30:09):
Are you?

Speaker 5 (30:09):
Are you a good golfer? Ye say, I have.

Speaker 6 (30:13):
A handicap it's pretty high, but I enjoy doing it.
This is going to be good. I've never golfed out
here in Arizona, so we'll see how it goes.

Speaker 3 (30:21):
I was just gonna say given that you're an athlete
because you've played other sports, right, that golf could be
just normal to you or natural to you.

Speaker 6 (30:29):
My family is a big golfing family, so we always
do that growing up. On like a Sunday, just go golfing.
So we're really my dad's coming out to play in it,
which will be super fun and we'll see how it goes.

Speaker 3 (30:43):
So I'm assuming that they didn't have very good Mexican
restaurants out in North Carolina. I'm just assuming that. So
what's your favorite restaurant here? Have you found one? And
what's your taste for Mexican food?

Speaker 6 (30:55):
I really love a good acp is what they call
it back home by. I think they call it polo
a la crema here, okay, and it's just chicken, rice
and caeso like a creamy sauce. It's my favorite. They
have a really good one at Guadalajara.

Speaker 2 (31:10):
Okay, Okay, that's good to know.

Speaker 6 (31:11):
Yeah, that's probably my favorite go to. Do you recommend
any Mexican restaurant?

Speaker 3 (31:15):
There's so many good ones, right. If you want northern
New Mexico, Northern New Mexico food, I'd go to Poco
and Moms that's my favorite.

Speaker 5 (31:23):
So good.

Speaker 3 (31:23):
I'm from Santa Fe, so that's you love it. It's
an acquir it's not a choir taste. It's a different taste.
And I got your endorsement.

Speaker 4 (31:31):
Yeah yeah, I'm big hot take here. They have better
Mexican food in Albuquerque than they do in two I
love you, Michael, I love you. So that is new
Mexican style Mexican food at pocon Mom's really really good, right.

Speaker 3 (31:44):
Okay, Yeah, and there's another one. What's the one next
to the TCC on the Mendito Mendito that one too.

Speaker 5 (31:55):
Cacos EPs Son is super good too.

Speaker 2 (31:56):
Yeah, so you can't.

Speaker 4 (31:57):
Lacosson is a good one too, Avery. If you want
like real street tacos, there's two locations.

Speaker 6 (32:04):
Excellent, Okay, I'll have to go. I'm excited.

Speaker 2 (32:08):
Well, good luck to you. Good luck to you and
then the team.

Speaker 3 (32:10):
We'll probably talk to coach later on this this next
month or so and some of your other teammates.

Speaker 2 (32:15):
Thank you, thank you.

Speaker 6 (32:17):
I'm super excited for the season. Hopefully everyone comes out
and shows out and cheers us on.

Speaker 2 (32:22):
Great.

Speaker 3 (32:22):
Well, thank you, thank you, thank you, Avery much appreciate it.
That was fun. That's fun, Michael. I'm surprised you're you're
a Pokemon mom's guy.

Speaker 4 (32:31):
So okay, my first assignment really when I came to me, Yes,
when I came to the Arizona Daily Star, Zach Rosenblat
and I got in a car like two or three
days after I started. We drove up to Phoenix. We
flew to Albuquerque. We spent like four or five days
in Albuquerque for the New Mexico Bowl. And what an
eye opening culinary experience that was for me?

Speaker 2 (32:56):
Yes, well, were you with me? With Blake?

Speaker 5 (32:58):
We talked about listen to it. I listened to it
later and Blake was.

Speaker 3 (33:02):
Buyant that don't know no one, no Sathan. That's a
different tasting, and it's to me, it's the world.

Speaker 4 (33:07):
So yeah, Well when you can anytime you can put
a fried egg like on top of that is a
that is an excellent combination. And then they would give
you the free dessert to yeah, which which with honey,
yeah and again like just included with the meal.

Speaker 2 (33:27):
Oh man, we got to go one of these days
because it's my favorite.

Speaker 5 (33:29):
No I'm geting hungry.

Speaker 2 (33:30):
Yeah, well with that we'll.

Speaker 5 (33:32):
Take do I get do I get a meal with this,
I'm trying.

Speaker 3 (33:35):
To get them as a as a sponsor. Maybe we
can't eventually say that we.

Speaker 5 (33:38):
Talked about talking them up and maybe they will.

Speaker 2 (33:41):
Uh, let's take a break, come back and take some calls.

Speaker 3 (33:43):
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(34:05):
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Speaker 1 (37:40):
Com breaking down all the xys and ohs. This is
I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Box Sports
fourteen fifty eight.

Speaker 2 (37:52):
Hey, welcome back to us.

Speaker 3 (37:53):
About here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty I'm Steve Rivera,
You're Michael leb from the data start. You've got Ray
in here taking calls, so you got want to call
five two zero four one six seventy four forty. Good
to hear from you. Whether you like our food choices
or not. It is what it is, Michael. There was
something I wanted to say. We were talking about your
time in California. Yeah, with USC, but there was also

(38:14):
something that like, oh, you get older and now you're
you know, former beat guy, now you're the columnist at
the paper. Your your style of writing, and I don't
sorry to say I don't read you all the time,
so I don't know really the grasp of the style
did it? Because to me, you're more of a storyteller
rather than a bitter man.

Speaker 5 (38:32):
Does that make sense? I think that's accurate.

Speaker 3 (38:34):
Yes, But so some columnists are that some columnists or not.
I'm kind of in between. Depends on the mood and
depends on the loss or it depends you know what
I'm saying. That's when I write my columns totally different.
So it's accurate and how what determines what?

Speaker 4 (38:47):
Yeah, I would say like as far as my writing
style goes, it's much more minimalist than it was when
I was probably in my early twenties. I know some
people still do certainly appreciate a clever turn of phrase,
but I don't try quite as hard to come up
with those like ultra clever lines anymore. It's more about

(39:10):
the substance of it and trying to connect ideas or
express an idea. Clearly, I would say that's probably no,
there's not there's not at all. No, And I get it.
I definitely get a compliments here and there. Oh, that
was a great line. This made me laugh, et cetera.
That makes me feel good. It's really hard to write
funny in a in a sports column. But I would

(39:33):
say that's the biggest evolution that's happened, is that I
really try to write without a lot of fat.

Speaker 5 (39:42):
You know, it's just like all meat.

Speaker 3 (39:44):
Yeah, And like I said, there's no right or wrong
in it, just we all we all have our own
fingerprint right of our style s.

Speaker 4 (39:51):
I'm just glad to be able to still do it,
and I'm glad that people still read it.

Speaker 5 (39:57):
When when I'm sure we'll talk about this at some point.

Speaker 4 (39:59):
But when I went to the women's basketball meet and
greet event that they had on Monday, at the racquet club, like,
there were I don't know, half a dozen fans who
actually recognized me and came up to me and complimented
me and all, I love your work blah.

Speaker 5 (40:14):
Blah blah, which is always really nice. It's really really nice.

Speaker 4 (40:17):
Yeah, to hear that from people, just to sometimes you know,
you're sort of like, hey, is anyone out there? Yeah,
and it's nice to know that there are some people
out there.

Speaker 3 (40:24):
Sure, but most of your stuff, I'm assuming in suff
it's positive, it's not.

Speaker 2 (40:30):
Solacious, it's not blah blah blah. It's okay, cool, nice
story that.

Speaker 4 (40:34):
That is an interesting observation on your part. I think
it's true. You know, even though the athletes that we
are dealing with now are most of many of them
are being paid. Yeah, okay, so you could make an
argument that they are professionals and that they are subject
to criticism, they're still young people.

Speaker 2 (40:57):
Sure.

Speaker 4 (40:57):
You know, I'm not going to go out of my
way to ever make it personal. You know I might. Hey,
I wrote a piece about nofa Fita this week in
which I was critical of him from last year. I
also asked him about it, and he said about himself,
like extremely poor to sum up like his twenty twenty
four campaign, and I kind of broke it down, and

(41:18):
I think there's a way to do that that's fair.

Speaker 3 (41:21):
Well, at the very least, that's what you have to be.
I mean, at the very least as a journalist, right,
because you're still a journalist. Columnist is one thing, But
let's go back to the they're getting paid, and they're getting.

Speaker 2 (41:31):
Paid very handsomely, some of them are.

Speaker 3 (41:33):
In fact, I'm assuming that the player's parking lot is
a lot better than the professor's parking lot and the
beat writers parking lot. But there's some wiggle room for
the criticism, if not a lot of wiggle room for criticism.

Speaker 4 (41:47):
Yeah, And Dannigan Zalez today was talking about one of
his defensive players, Dannigans also a defensive coordinator for the
Arizona football team. One of his defensive players kind of
being a little lot of control and practice and knocking
into them guys. And he his and he said, like,
that's a you know, quarter of a million dollars worth

(42:10):
of player that you're knocking into or potentially injuring or whatever.
And it was just an interesting little note that he
threw in there, and I've heard other coaches mentioned this too,
that you know, you might be a little more, even
more reluctant than the sort of the current atmosphere in
football to hit and tackle, yes, in practice, because this

(42:33):
is a literal investment. Sure, sure, and you don't want
to get these guys injured. That is a major change
in mindset from the time that you and I first
started covering college football.

Speaker 2 (42:44):
No question.

Speaker 3 (42:44):
And I'll go back to Dictomian whenever they lost two
ninety four, I think it was to Penn State and
there was no hitting because they didn't want to get
hurt before the big game or whatever the reason was,
and they didn't know how to tackle Penn State and
got blown out, and the rest of his history of
that year. So no, to your point, a quarter of
a million, that's about accurate, right, with maybe two hundred
thousand dollars a player.

Speaker 4 (43:04):
I don't know if it's per player, but if you
look at you know that twenty million dollars that the
teams now have or the schools can pay in revenue
sharing to their athletes, and it's twenty point five million dollars.
If football is paying seventy five percent of that, that's
roughly fifteen million dollars. Right, So then if you divide

(43:28):
fifteen million by a roster of one hundred players, what
does that come out to?

Speaker 5 (43:33):
Is that one hundred and fifty thousand? Am I doing that? Math? Right?

Speaker 2 (43:36):
I think?

Speaker 4 (43:36):
So?

Speaker 2 (43:37):
You probably did a major in math, but that's a
place I used.

Speaker 5 (43:39):
To be really good at math.

Speaker 2 (43:40):
But yeah, your spreadshe and put it in.

Speaker 4 (43:42):
The Yeah, I shall have a calculator here so I
can try to figure that out.

Speaker 2 (43:46):
That's about in a room full of journalists.

Speaker 4 (43:49):
Yeah, now it's actually fifteen thousand per it's actually fifteen
thousand per player. Fifteen million divided by one hundred, Yeah,
it would be fifteen thousand.

Speaker 2 (44:00):
So that's just that couldn't be right, is that? No? No,
I think you know what. Okay, it's just a great ratio.
Fifty thousand dollars.

Speaker 5 (44:08):
I was right the first time I had I didn't
have enough zeros in my calculator.

Speaker 4 (44:11):
It's one hundred and fifty thousand in revenue sharing per player,
roughly savage, right, that's average, Like Noah Fafida, gennisis Smith.
They're going to get more than one hundredth player on
the roster. So yeah, roughly one hundred and fifty thousand
per guy.

Speaker 2 (44:26):
What do you make of that?

Speaker 3 (44:26):
Because I know we talked about this when all this
was being projected out there four five years ago, and
Jay and I talked about it. And this is my philosophy.
If I'm the center and I'm blocking for Dolaura now Flafida,
and I'm making seventy five twenty five thousand, whatever, and
these guys are making a ton morement than me, and
not that I'm going to be a bitter jealous man,

(44:46):
but I'm creating success for you and I'm not getting
paid a third of what you're making. That's just I'm
just throwing out the spitball there and now it could
be more, could be less here. But you know what
I'm saying, how would that? Ben?

Speaker 5 (45:01):
You would like to.

Speaker 4 (45:02):
Hope that those conversations are not happening in the locker room,
that that is not part of the thought courses. And
I think, to your specific example that with offensive linemen,
they are inherently selfless individuals. They know that this is like,
this is my job. My job is to protect the

(45:23):
quarterback or set up my teammates for success. And I
am probably not going to get a lot of credit
for that, and if I mess up, I'm probably gonna
get some blame. But they have a certain mentality, right,
They're like they're like bodyguards, So I don't think that
thought ever crosses their mind. But this has been going
on professional sports forever, right, I'm sure there are jealousies.

(45:44):
I'm sure that information is way more public for the
college players, right right.

Speaker 14 (45:50):
I think a good point too is that I remember
a couple of years ago, no Feeda and Teamac were like, hey,
but like, don't just buy our jerseys by like these
linemen's jerseys so they can get some money from them.

Speaker 3 (46:02):
You can correct me if I'm wrong. Didn't he kind
of sharing his wealth too?

Speaker 2 (46:05):
Kind of? I could be wrong, you know something.

Speaker 3 (46:07):
They some do that where they you know, I'll buy you,
you know what I'm saying, But offensive line was very
good to me.

Speaker 2 (46:11):
I'm gonna buy this.

Speaker 4 (46:12):
Yeah, I mean, I've already heard guys talk about going
over to Noah's house.

Speaker 5 (46:17):
I don't know like how nice.

Speaker 4 (46:19):
And big Noah's house is, but they were talking about
going to his house and going swimming over there. So
I'm sure it's a pretty decent setup. But those two
guys in particular, they were just special individuals, like really
not about themselves at all. Like one of my favorite
columns that I've written Steve was after those guys went

(46:40):
out on the court, oh yeah, at during halftime in
the UCLA game and said they were coming back, and
I just kind of wrote that they're like, you know, legends,
like you just put them. I call it Mount Passmore
instead of Mount Rushmore because you know it's a quarterback
in a wide receiver, but like.

Speaker 5 (46:56):
Just put them on there, share for it.

Speaker 4 (46:57):
No matter what they do from this point forward, Like
they will be beloved in this town for the decision
that they made. Like I know for a fact, team
at could have left here and made millions of dollars
at Alabama or Washington or Georgia or wherever, and he
decided to come back because he was loyal to this town,
this program, his teammates, et cetera.

Speaker 3 (47:19):
Sure, no, and that's that's great to see obviously. Okay,
let's kind of go back to what we were talking
about with you, And there was something else I wanted
to talk to you about, but maybe they'll come to me.

Speaker 5 (47:28):
Was it about Chicago?

Speaker 3 (47:29):
No, No, No, just about the USC in this place.
So but you now you're you're you've covered the team
for six years. It's covered the team specifically for six
seven years now in this role two or three, right,
and you must like the transition or the movement to
doing what you're doing now because you're still covering. You're
still a general guy too, covering another thing.

Speaker 4 (47:50):
Yeah, I mean it's okay. No, I'm going to a
basketball press conference tomorrow Friday. And they wrote about women's
basketball earlier in the world.

Speaker 3 (47:59):
We'll just go the school there, the women's basketball. Yeah,
how was it?

Speaker 4 (48:04):
It was crazy, like they had way more people come
to this than they were expecting. You know, the estimate
was about five hundred people really at the racquet club.
And I kind of described the whole scene and the
column that I wrote you can you can find that
at Tucson dot com right now.

Speaker 5 (48:22):
But they had it in kind of one room.

Speaker 4 (48:24):
This this uh thing it's called the court side Kitchen downstairs,
and they're kind of like this is not gonna work,
Like we gotta split we gotta split the team up.
So then they use the bar and grill upstairs as
well to just create a little bit of breathing room.
But like it was like a crazy scene and I
can't I have to imagine that Becky Burke come in
from Buffalo, or Nora Francois from New Orleans or MICHAELA.

(48:50):
Perdue from Cleveland, state that they've never experienced anything quite
like this, right, you know. And it said to me
that the fans who were you know, there was definitely
some bitter feelings right about idea and the breakup and
all of that, that they've kind of moved past that
and they are ready to embrace Becky Burke and the

(49:11):
new era of Arizona women's Do you.

Speaker 3 (49:13):
Think it's gonna Do you think it's gonna take time
to keep them there?

Speaker 2 (49:17):
I think she's gonna be very good.

Speaker 3 (49:19):
It might take a little while to get her people
in and move forward. But with all due respect to
the ideas, she did what she did, but it had
to happen. I mean, the separation had to happen. Now
we'll move on to this.

Speaker 4 (49:34):
Yeah, I think ideas time here had run its course. Yes,
and she did an incredible job. And if it wasn't
for her, there would not have been five hundred people
at the rackety right like she built it. And she
has now passed the baton to Becky Burke, and I
think what fans want to see is is the team

(49:54):
gonna play hard? Is it going to be an exciting
brand of basketball?

Speaker 2 (49:58):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (49:59):
I was talking about this.

Speaker 4 (49:59):
Early with football, that they were bad last year and
they were boring. Yeah too, right right now, all credit
to a deal like she did an amazing job here.
I don't think she was a great offensive coach. She
was much more defensive oriented. Everything's going to start in
the defensive end. Becky Burke has talked about that too.
She's said, we want to play fast, but it starts

(50:20):
on defense. You know, you can't be taking the ball
out of the basket on a regular basis if you
want to play fast. But I think, you know, based
on some of the players that they brought in what
I've read up about Becky, they're going to be have
a more aesthetically pleasing offensive scheme. Right I think we're
going to see more outside shooting, hopefully those shots go in,

(50:43):
and maybe a little bit more of a structured offense
instead of it felt like a lot with idea that
you know, we get down to the shot clock would
be getting down to the end and the point guard
would have to just sort of improvise and make something happen.

Speaker 3 (50:57):
Yeah, I don't know. I haven't public the women's game,
if at all, has that game transitioned to you know,
the men's game has obviously Steve Kerr kind of did
that many years ago when it's outside looking in if
you look in at all women's game two now with
Kate and Clark doing what she's just done to the
game page as.

Speaker 5 (51:14):
Well, thousand percent.

Speaker 4 (51:16):
I love how you give Steve Kerr the credit for
this instead of Steph Curry, who's really the one who
kind of reinvented the game of basketball.

Speaker 5 (51:22):
Well, he's in a lot of ways.

Speaker 2 (51:24):
Steph is the painter. Steve is the painter.

Speaker 5 (51:28):
Nice.

Speaker 4 (51:28):
No, there's no question about it that like everyone's looking
for three point shooters. Everyone wants to shoot from outside.
Not everybody's Caitlyn Clark. I mean people aren't, you know,
pulling up and making logo threes. But you know what,
if you look at like the NBA and how that
sport has evolved, Like, yeah, more and more three point
shots are being put up, and more and more of

(51:50):
them are going in because those guys are practicing those
shots more. I laugh at people who scoff at like
Michael Jordan's three point percentage. I'm like, if he played today,
he'd be practicing that more and he would be better
at it.

Speaker 5 (52:03):
He also hit six in a game against the Portland Fry.

Speaker 3 (52:08):
Was not a three pointer until he until he went
at the time, it right, let's take the break and
come back and get some breaking news and come back.
But you'll get roth after that.