Thursday,November 7, Hour 1

GUEST:Kevin Guy

Episode Transcript

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

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hey, good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to I on the Ball
here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. In
with me today is coach Andy Lopez, Hall of Fame
coach Addie Lopez.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
Great to see you, Handy. Thank you for having me.
It's good to be here.

Speaker 4 (00:28):
Man.

Speaker 3 (00:29):
You if you were good at this thing, im not.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
This could not. That's because you're great in that thing.
If you could run the board, just went, this would
be the Andy Lopez Show.

Speaker 3 (00:37):
Yeah, yeah, from brother.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Yeah, because I'm working the boards, guys, so be patient
with me. I will see how this goes today. I
did it Tuesday, So this is brown two. But we
should have fun. The first time you were on the
show with me, Addie, you were like a hit. You
were like a double up the middle with men on base.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
The bar must be pretty low.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Come on, man, now that you see there must be
be selling drinks. So the bar is a good space.

Speaker 3 (01:04):
Here. We got you covered.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
How are you doing everything Locay since the last time
I saw you?

Speaker 3 (01:09):
Yeah, doing well, doing well, went up to Albuquerque. I
know you're from New Mexico. Visit my son. As I mentioned,
my son's a pitching coach un versus New Mexican. When
did you go? Right before than before? Thanks? Right before Halloween?

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Okay, the weather was party nice? Probably I saw the
balloon deal. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it is such your first time,
first time. I've never seen it.

Speaker 3 (01:29):
Are you kidding me?

Speaker 2 (01:30):
You're busy, too busy. Well, it's too busy here during
the football season.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
And my son's he's been up there five years, I think,
and so he's always described it. So my wife and I, Linda,
went up with one of the kids, my daughter Carrie,
and uh man, it's a it's an unbelievable thing. All
those balloons. I'm just amazing. Nobody gets I hate to
say it, but I'm surprised there aren't a lot of crashes. Well,
they've got that, baby.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
This is a coach Lopez baseball practice, you know here,
ball's going there.

Speaker 3 (01:59):
Going there.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
They got organized, kaos organized, kaos man. Yeah, so did
you go to the actual adventure? You saw from a farm?

Speaker 3 (02:06):
We saw it from his house, saw from his house,
and then they had they were finished up their fall season,
so I was able to go out and watch a
baseball game play. They played inner squad and from the
stadium you could really see it was nice, the weather
was great. Did you actually see some games or some practice?
Watched the nine inning game? So it's okay, did the
kid from here get on the mound at all? The picture? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (02:27):
From cdo cdo? His name escapes me at the I'll
get it to you in a second, okay, But yes
he did. He pitched an inning and pitch well, pitched well.
He's coming back from an arm injury, I think, right, yeah,
and he did well. And then I thought they had
another kid a local.

Speaker 3 (02:41):
Well they got a few kids from Pima, Pema, right, yeah,
they do have a few kids from Pema and uh.
In fact, two of the kids or pitchers. Two of
the young guys are pitchers and pretty good one one
young guy. Names and names escape me right now, but
you know, good breaking ball and good presence on the mountain,
what have you.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah, So there's a nice little there's always been a
nice pipeline from there to here. Did they know that
two sons about baseball place?

Speaker 3 (03:00):
Yes?

Speaker 2 (03:01):
Let me ask you you how many scholarships were you
allowed a year.

Speaker 3 (03:05):
When I was well? Okay, well I started back in
the dinosaur ages, right, Okay, nineteen eighty two was my
first year as a college head coach, and back then
we were able to have eighteen.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
Eighteen not all full, but eighteen full. But you didn't
give them up that way. Well, I was at a
Division II school.

Speaker 3 (03:21):
My university said we're going to give you one point
three one scholarships. Yeah, okay, well because it's basically what
the what the university can Yeah fund working a lot, Yeah,
and we're a really non existent program. And uh so
I had one point three scholarships and everybody else at
eighteen Oh so I was scrambling.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
Yeah, so you had to find talent. Oh man, So
this is where I want to go with this. She
has scholarships, You have scholarships, and maybe not. Ten are
the people you recruited, right, Let's say let's say ten
in a year?

Speaker 3 (03:54):
Whatever? How many how many were gems? How many worked out?
Oh man? Let me just put it. The best way
I can answer that is to say that as I
look back on the thirty eight years that I was
a head coach and recruited way more mistakes than missus
then hits. Yeah, way more mistakes and what would mistake mean?

(04:18):
You know, it just didn't pan out, just didn't pan out.
In other words, either it was either.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
Emotional academics academics emotional girlfriends. Those are crushers. People don't
understand how those crushes Listen.

Speaker 3 (04:32):
I had a guy that I brought here and he
would have been on that twenty twelve national championship team.
But in the fall he just was he just couldn't function,
and so I figured he's homesick. So we dealt with
that a little bit, and then finally it came out.

Speaker 2 (04:45):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (04:45):
He went to one of my assistants and said, man,
you know, I missed my girlfriend. I miss my girlfriend.
So I sat down with him and had a little
bit of discussion about that. You know, hey, you know,
you know that has to move on too, right unless
you tell me you're going to marry her. This at
the end, at the Christmas you got to move on.
And he couldn't handle it, and he went back home
and he's pitching in the big leagues as we speak. Oh,

(05:07):
you won't mention his name.

Speaker 2 (05:10):
I said, you have your one point three scholarships, get
her on the campus.

Speaker 3 (05:13):
No, it's it's just you know, yeah, it just it's
just the way it works. Yeah, you know. And I
was fortunate. I mean I had some. I mean I
was blessed. I got some. We had some good people.
I mean, you know, wherever I was, I mean we
had God, I had forty one guys playing the Big
League for me.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
And you're recruiting not because you're recruiting because you think
they're good enough to play here without they're not doing
any favors.

Speaker 3 (05:35):
No, no, no, without a doubt, no, you'd go in
and uh. I mean one of the one of the
things I learned in my experience is that if you
recruit either a buddy of your son. Okay, I recruited
my pastor, So did that happen? That happened. I recruited
my pastor's son to the University of Florida. Got it. Yeah.

(05:55):
And this was my pastor when I was in Los Angeles,
needed to get to have it. This was my pastor,
my sister's pastor, my mother's pastor. Our family went to
the church there. I recruited his son to the University
of Florida from LA and he, you know, he backed up.
He was a backup. He was a backup to David

(06:16):
Eckstein fifteen years in the big leagues, MVP of the
World Series with the same Lewis Cardinals and Mark Ellis
fifteen years in the big leagues everyday player, played on
the moneyball team. He wasn't my pastor anymore. I don't
even talk to him anymore. It didn't work out because

(06:38):
how long did you stay? Two years? Two years? Was
he good?

Speaker 5 (06:43):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (06:44):
He was, but just not better than those guys. Well, no,
you had two guys ahead of you that were going
to be fifteen year big leaguers, I mean fifth, I
mean everyday players in the big leagues for fifteen years.
So was that the first and last time you did that? Yes?
I learned from that experience. Well you and I. So
you're still going to heaven, don't worry about no. No,

(07:04):
it's just one of those things for you. You got
to kind of watch, you know. It's just it's a
very delicate situation. Oh yeah, I mean, you know. Every
let's put it this way, Hey, every parent has a
little bit of a different eye on their children, sure
than you. It's hard to be objective with your children. Oh, come, on.
I got four of them, you know what, and they're

(07:24):
the greatest things in slice bread and all your prides. Yeah. Man,
but it's so it's hard. It's really hard. It's difficult.

Speaker 2 (07:30):
How I started with this, I don't know, but uh,
Darkbaul scholarships, scholarship scholarships. No, no, in terms of I
just want to give you, give me a percentage ways
of how many were not, you know, really used because
the talent wasn't there. But you know, I hate let
me tell you something, I hated recruiting, covering that people.

Speaker 3 (07:47):
It's all crap.

Speaker 2 (07:48):
Shoot, and you know, these five stars turn into no
stars and these two stars turning into five stars because
of who they are, who they are and how much
they want to show people or and I'm sure you
saw maybe a guy that walked on and became this star.

Speaker 3 (08:00):
Oh. I had a young man named Eddie Rojas at Florida,
five foot nine, left handed pitcher of New Jersey. A
recruited walk on. We recruited him, but we said, we
don't have any money, but we want you. And then
I and this was back in the day when professional
baseball could sign your player if he was drafted. So
if you were drafted. This was nineteen ninety eight, ninety nine.

(08:24):
If you were drafted, you got drafted out of a
high school. Steven I recruited you, and you come to Arizona,
they can sign you. The Baltimo Orioles draft you, they
can sign you until you step into your first class. Right.
So I had a young man I won't use his name,
Eddie Rojas. Was five foot nine, left handed through maybe
eighty for eighty five, but he pitched like he was

(08:44):
six foot nine a confidence. Oh man, it's unbelievable. Okay.
I bring this other guy in who's a third round
draft pick out of high school by the Baltimo Orioles.
He's six foot four, throws ninety two miles an hour
with a breaking ball that those baseball people that are
listening to this radio, you can hear his breaking ball. Hum.
You know you can just hear it. You know you can. Okay.

(09:07):
But he had white line fever, that was my saying.
So once he crosses the line, yeah he's a little different.

Speaker 2 (09:12):
Sick white line fever, white life fea.

Speaker 3 (09:17):
You come over with the best stuff. White line fever.
Some guys they cross the line, they get they get healthier.
They're sick in the drug out. They got a cough,
they got a cold, they got whatever. But as soon
as the white lines go down, they get really better,
get stronger. This guy would get sick when so you
couldn't depend on him. I took that guy to movies
all weekend. When he came in to go to school.

(09:39):
I took him, his mom and his sister to two
movies restaurants.

Speaker 6 (09:43):
We ate.

Speaker 3 (09:44):
We did everything to keep him away from the scout
that I heard through the rumors was in Gainesville floor
to sign him. And he showed up his first day
and he walked into class and my assistant called me
up and said, hey, Lopes, almost say his name, Hey Lopes,
Jimmy just walked into class, and I went, all right,
we got Jimmy. Jimmy never pitched for us because he

(10:06):
had white line fee. And you found that out when
when we put the white lines down.

Speaker 2 (10:11):
So you said, damn Baltimore should.

Speaker 3 (10:14):
He looked really good at a bullpen and he looked squad.
Did those white lines affect him for the rest of
his career? He never played in pro ball. Did he
make a.

Speaker 2 (10:23):
Sniff somewhere, Yeah he did, but he was that was,
and he'd had all the talent put the wet lines.

Speaker 3 (10:28):
Oh man, it was, it was, it was. He passed
the eye tests, he passed the smell tests. He passed it.
And he threw bullpens that would give you goosebumps. But
I used to say this all I worked with the pitchers.
I said, you don't, guys, this is the safest place
I've ever known a bullpen. Nobody's swinging a bat. There
isn't an umpire, and your buddy over there is catching you.

(10:50):
So every time he threw a pitch, guess what he says,
that catcher, nice job that pitch. I'm sitting her going,
that's not a good pitch. That ball is going to
be off the moon this week, if you off the moon.
So so he loved great in bullpens. But boy, you
put those white lines down. You put those white lines down, man,
white line fever. So let me ask you. This is
a dumb question, but a fun question for me. Uh,

(11:13):
I've known you for a while. You're one of the
great guys, great storyteller. Do you how many boys you have?
And you have four total? Right, four total?

Speaker 2 (11:19):
Two girls, Christy Carey and Michael. They do they think
they're their dad because they're your dad. You're the mortgage guy, right,
you pay the mortgage when they're every no no, no, no, no no,
you're the mortgage guys. When they were growing up, your
dad's and you know. But but they're they're like to me,
it's just dad. He's you know, he's no exactly. So

(11:39):
when they grew up, I'm sure they have a ton
of stuff that's my dad would say. That is you know,
Lopez isn't where they thinking I had that dad, you
know he is.

Speaker 3 (11:48):
He was a funny dude, one line dude, king of
the one liners. Blah blah. I have a little sense
of that.

Speaker 2 (11:53):
But your your kids think that you're full of the
two or what do they think of you?

Speaker 3 (11:58):
Oh man, let's see, Well, because you gave me. But
first of all, my boys played for me in Arizona. Yeah,
like my god, yeah, I live with this guy once again, exactly.
I used to do little things that at the house
that my kids didn't realize, well, my sons didn't realize

(12:19):
until they got to the program that oh my god,
this guy does this stuff to the players too. You know,
they leave a shirt on the floor and I'd grab
a stop watch at the house, and I said, well,
hold on, ho let me okay already, I'm going to
start the watch and ready go now, and I'd make
him hang the shirt. And then I stopped and said, wow,
that was nine seconds out of your life. You're so

(12:42):
busy you can't hang your t shirt. You have such
a busy life. The response to you, oh, they'd rolled
their eyes. I said, well, no, I'm just I'm just
wondering why you can't put your shirt on a hanger.
You know, I'm just curious about it, you know. Or
I'd walk through the house and the lights would be
on middle of the day, and oh, what is it?
Leave the lights on Tuesday? Yeah, leave the lights on Tuesday. Okay,

(13:03):
I got it. Yeah, electricity grow on trees, you know.
You know whatever. Little did my poor sons know that
when they came play from me in Arizona, that, yeah,
we'd I walked to the clubhouse and see if and
I tell, hey, everybody, well, give me a stopwatch. I
was going to stopwatch on me. And I say, okay, Mullins, uh,
will you pick that shirt up and put it a hanger?
But wait, let me let me tie it. Yeah, Yeah,
my poor boys looking going, oh my god, this guy

(13:24):
does this even here.

Speaker 2 (13:25):
I'm sure they went to your dad is local.

Speaker 3 (13:31):
Yeah, I'm sure they did. I thank the Lord man.
I've got a great relationship with all four of them.
I really do. That was those were the best four
years of my life in coaching, coaching my two sons. Yeah, because,
as I've mentioned, whenever I've spoken anywhere, you know, prior
to that, I didn't see them.

Speaker 2 (13:46):
So let me say this to you, I want you
to be as honest as you can, because we got
we got a good show today. But by the way
we have I hope we can pull it off. We
have Kevin Guy who's going to be on for show
first hour with a big announcement that the Indoor of
Football League coming to Tucson. And then we have a
four seventeen. We have met Reynoldson, former Channel four guys
now in Phoenix. But okay, give me a minute, a

(14:07):
quick minute.

Speaker 3 (14:08):
Got it?

Speaker 2 (14:09):
So you're the you're you're. You gave me your pastor story,
you're your own pastor. You have two your sons playing
for you. Were they good enough?

Speaker 3 (14:18):
No? And I told him that, I told him that,
I said this and here's the thing. You're going to
be backup guys. And if you can't accept that, then
you shouldn't come play. Could they Okay?

Speaker 2 (14:28):
So, could they have paid somewhere else without a doubt,
But they wanted to play for Pops.

Speaker 3 (14:31):
Uh yeah, I guess so, I guess so, Hey, they
made a good choice. They won a national championship.

Speaker 2 (14:36):
Yeah, I mean a lot of those guys walking around
they see the field at all sometimes at times.

Speaker 3 (14:41):
Yeah yeah, they both did. Oh yeah, no, they played.
They played practical, but they they you know, they they
were they were they were short in some of the abilities.
But but there's no shame in that. I mean, you know,
and I used to tell that all the time. Hey,
there's no shame in that. I mean, you know, not
everybody's going to be the superstar. Tell me what was
the good and go? What's the what's the line you
gave me? Oh, be good, be gone, be good to

(15:01):
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That's a new bumper sticker. You gotta be good or
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Down all the EPs is at all.

Speaker 10 (19:00):
This is my on the Ball with Steve.

Speaker 7 (19:02):
Rivera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.

Speaker 2 (19:09):
Hey, welcome back to wind the Ball here on Fox
Sports fourteen fifty.

Speaker 3 (19:12):
I'm Steve Rivera.

Speaker 2 (19:12):
In today with me is Andy Lopez coach Andy Lopis, and.

Speaker 3 (19:16):
I went the phone. I'm hoping I got consistor Kevin. Guy, Kevin,
can you hear me?

Speaker 10 (19:21):
I can't. How you do it?

Speaker 2 (19:22):
Fantastic, Kevin. We got this working. We're doing fine. I
don't know if you know Andy Lopis, but he's like you,
He's an SEC guy, so I'm not sure about that.
Surrounded by sec guys.

Speaker 10 (19:33):
I don't think I've ever met.

Speaker 5 (19:35):
Him, but I know his daughter because she she is
the director of our dance teams, and she does she does.

Speaker 3 (19:40):
A great job with them. That's right. That's a small world,
that's right. What a small world. Yeah, what what are
you doing? What are you going up your sleeve there? Kevin?

Speaker 2 (19:46):
You you pulled a fantastic thing here in Tucson. And
how did this come about?

Speaker 14 (19:53):
Well?

Speaker 5 (19:53):
It started. It started with me and Ali Farhank sitting
in his in his office having some some vodka and
we were we were in his in his office drinking
and and and kind of planning out the Sugar Skulls
for this.

Speaker 15 (20:06):
Year and and what we were going to do. And
I told him, you know, I'm on the executive board
at the at the league level, and you know.

Speaker 5 (20:13):
And I told him, I said, I'll leave. You know
that the championship game has been in.

Speaker 15 (20:16):
Vegas the last three years, and you know, obviously I'm
in a very unique position. This is really my wife's team,
and you know, I'm the president and head coach of
the Rattlers. But you know, we just won the championship.

Speaker 5 (20:28):
This past year in Vegas in the Championship game.

Speaker 3 (20:31):
But it was a three year deal. The deal was up,
and you know.

Speaker 5 (20:35):
I said to him, I said, we got an opportunity, uh.

Speaker 4 (20:39):
You know, uh to look at trying to get the.

Speaker 5 (20:42):
National Championship game. And of course you know Ali.

Speaker 15 (20:50):
With Rio Nuevo, edvan Marquez and and and Fletcher McCusker
and and then you know, we went in front of.

Speaker 10 (20:56):
The board and he got a proved we were proposed.

Speaker 14 (20:58):
It to him and.

Speaker 3 (21:01):
KEI when you're in a bad spot, apparently you're coming
in and.

Speaker 15 (21:03):
Out and it's gonna be you got me and and
and so uh it's gonna be in in August in
a great space for uh, you know, entertainment because there's not.

Speaker 5 (21:15):
A lot going on in Tucson in.

Speaker 10 (21:17):
August when it's hot outside.

Speaker 5 (21:18):
But you're gonna be able to come in their tradition and and.

Speaker 3 (21:21):
Uh watch football.

Speaker 15 (21:23):
Game and what's all the entertainment and and you know,
we're gonna make it very fan friendly. We're gonna have
some some uh tail getting you know parties. We also
have our home during that time, uh that fans will
be able to go to and they give out league
awards and things like that, and you.

Speaker 5 (21:40):
Know, all the owners come to town. Uh, all the teams,
you know, the dance.

Speaker 15 (21:45):
Teams, front office, uh, football players, coaches, I mean, everybody
comes to town.

Speaker 5 (21:50):
But uh, you know, it's our super Bowl, right, so,
and I think it's gonna be it's gonna think it's
gonna be great for too sign.

Speaker 3 (21:56):
It's gonna be great for.

Speaker 15 (21:57):
Downtown the Rio Duairo district because of the hotels and
and the dining and re fans.

Speaker 5 (22:05):
Are going to come in and buy.

Speaker 15 (22:07):
You know, we're we're probably looked probably three to five
million dollars worth of of of revenue in downtown during
that weekend.

Speaker 3 (22:17):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (22:17):
Well, no, nice, I think that there's now that I
hear you talk about it. I mean I'm also hearing,
maybe just in my mind, that this could help the
Tucson team where teams can or people fans to go
to the game and see, Okay, this is what it's
supposed to look like. Let's make it happen during the
regular season.

Speaker 10 (22:37):
Oh what ever, say?

Speaker 15 (22:38):
I mean, you know, we're obviously still trying to build it. Yeah,
last year was a We've been pretty.

Speaker 10 (22:44):
Successful in Tucson this past year.

Speaker 5 (22:47):
Uh, you know, we you know, just three Frank we
had a couple of corporate partners that didn't honor they're
into the deal, So you know, it didn't you know,
it didn't go from a financial standpoint the way we
wanted to go. But we've we've out got that turned
around and uh, you know, everything's looking good moving forward.

Speaker 10 (23:05):
So we're gonna be here, uh for years to come.

Speaker 15 (23:08):
And uh, you know, we're excited about the product that
we're gonna.

Speaker 10 (23:12):
Try to put on the field.

Speaker 14 (23:13):
Uh.

Speaker 10 (23:14):
You know, we were competitive last year. We just didn't
win a lot of games.

Speaker 15 (23:18):
You know, we had a long, a long meeting with
our coach and and laid out a plan for this year.
But you know, it was really the first year that
we didn't really win, you know, on the field.

Speaker 5 (23:27):
And uh and you.

Speaker 15 (23:28):
Know we've've been in the playoffs for for several years
and and uh, you know, but we lost ten games
by less than a touchdown and that's that's frustrating.

Speaker 10 (23:37):
And you know, uh, I'm sure coach Lopez can.

Speaker 5 (23:42):
Can you know understand where I'm coming from that, because
for me, you know, when you start losing King King
games by lesson a touchdown, you know, you start trying
to identify why that's happening, right And you know, is
it is it logistics?

Speaker 14 (23:56):
Is it?

Speaker 10 (23:56):
Is it? Is it coaching? Is it the players?

Speaker 14 (23:59):
You know?

Speaker 5 (24:00):
Are we not good enough?

Speaker 3 (24:01):
You know?

Speaker 15 (24:01):
And and at the end of the day, Uh, you
got to go look in the mirror. You got to
evaluate yourself and and uh uh and and you've got
to be true to yourself and and and and be
honest and and and go attack those areas that you
got to get better at.

Speaker 5 (24:14):
So we had a long talk with our head coach.

Speaker 10 (24:16):
He understands the expectations.

Speaker 14 (24:17):
And and you know.

Speaker 10 (24:19):
We feel like from an ownership group that.

Speaker 15 (24:22):
From a facility standpoint, and they're housing and the meals
and everything that the players get when they come here,
they really don't have anything to worry about.

Speaker 10 (24:29):
But concentrate on football.

Speaker 15 (24:30):
So we got to get better in production and uh
we were We expect to win more games this year.

Speaker 2 (24:36):
Now.

Speaker 15 (24:36):
The West is extremely tough. You know, there was a
lot of parody in the league. The owners have done
a great job of creating rules.

Speaker 5 (24:45):
That creates that those that those parody.

Speaker 14 (24:48):
Uh.

Speaker 15 (24:48):
So you know, obviously, you know you got to kind
of try to figure out way to win within that
with that parody.

Speaker 10 (24:57):
So you know, uh, hopefully this year we're gonna bounce back.

Speaker 15 (25:01):
I know we're gonna bounce back because we're attacking things
a lot different going into this season. So but you know,
we're looking forward to it. We're happy about this National
championship game.

Speaker 10 (25:13):
Uh.

Speaker 15 (25:13):
You know, and listen, if Tucson could have a good
year and and and win some playoff games and have
a chance to play it here and in front of
our own crowd, would love to see that.

Speaker 3 (25:21):
Happen, you know, Kevin, As you mentioned, my daughter's involved
with you guys in terms of running the dance Girl.
The girls, they are the dance team. So I've gone
to some games, and I'll be very candid with you.
The first time I went was a couple of years ago.
I'd never been to indoor facility, you know, indoor football,
gat never and watched it a couple of times on TV,
but it never really paid much attention to it. You know,

(25:42):
to those of you that are listening to this broadcast,
you need to go. I mean, I had a great time.
It's it's fast paced, man, It's it's there's excitement, there's
a there's some there's a there's a few wrinkles in it.
Uh that that you know, you kind of have to
ask yourself, now what exactly happened here in this and that?
But man, I enjoyed it. I really did.

Speaker 13 (25:59):
I was.

Speaker 3 (26:00):
I was. I know last year you guys had a
pretty good year right before. I know, this past year
was a little bit rough, as you mentioned. But but
I mean I was a little surprised that there weren't
more people because, as you mentioned, it's warm in the
summer here, right, But men, you go in the facilita,
it's air condition, you're watching an athletic event. It's very entertaining.
I mean I would first, I'd be the first. I

(26:21):
walked out of the first time and turned to my
wife and went, hey, man, that that was okay. I
could I could come back and do this. So, yeah,
I wish you nothing but the best.

Speaker 10 (26:28):
Man.

Speaker 5 (26:30):
Yeah, I appreciate it.

Speaker 14 (26:31):
You know, the the.

Speaker 15 (26:33):
You know, with my day job, you know, with the Rattlers,
you know, we averaged probably nine ten thousand games up
in Glendale, and you know, we've been trying to build
that here.

Speaker 10 (26:43):
It's kind of been you know, hitting miss miss with
being consistent with the fan.

Speaker 15 (26:49):
There's been games that we had forty five hundred and
five thousand at the game. Then there's games that we've
had where you know, it's it's two thousand fans in
the building, you know, So we got to get more consistent.
And you know, I think it's a great event to
go to on a Saturday night when it's hot outside
and you can bring your family and have some good

(27:10):
family entertainment. Uh, you know, And and it's all about
fanning baby. As as you know, Christy does a great
job with the dance team and she has them ready,
and I really I.

Speaker 10 (27:20):
Was really upset this past year.

Speaker 5 (27:22):
That they didn't get the Dance Team of the Year
because I felt like they did the best job. Uh
They've improved every year.

Speaker 10 (27:28):
That she's ran the dance team and and.

Speaker 15 (27:30):
Uh, I've been really proud of the product that she's
put on the on the field there. But you know,
it's it is about fan engagement. It's about you know, the.

Speaker 10 (27:40):
Fan experience, and and.

Speaker 15 (27:42):
Uh, you know, we're you know, we've obviously got a
tic A ticket sale staff. Uh they work and as
you know, I mean you can look at the u
of A. It's not always the easiest market to sell tickets.

Speaker 5 (27:54):
And I wish Suson would get out and support and
be known as the sports team because this market can
be one of the best sports markets out there. A
lot of people want to move to Arizona, they want
to live in Tucson.

Speaker 10 (28:06):
So, you know, bringing this national championship to the game.

Speaker 5 (28:09):
We have the Arizona Bowl already here. Uh, the road
Runners are here.

Speaker 10 (28:13):
So this could be a great sports market. But Tucson
hass to decide, Hey, that's.

Speaker 15 (28:18):
What we want to be and and you know, uh
so we're we're here, We're committed to the market and
we're going to continue to work to make it grow.

Speaker 2 (28:26):
So tell me, Kevin, who did you piss off to
get the game? Because you must have had a comp
some competition out there.

Speaker 3 (28:33):
Well, you know we did.

Speaker 5 (28:35):
So it was between Tucson, Vegas, uh, Nashville, and then
obviously we made a run at it in Glendale and
to be fray, uh real Nuevo District moved so fast
it blocked out the competition.

Speaker 13 (28:52):
Uh.

Speaker 10 (28:52):
You know, usually when you go and have these conversation conversations,
it could take a while.

Speaker 5 (28:57):
To put together uh these proposals. But on the Wayboat
District knew it would be great. Uh, they were making
an investment and visit Tucson and vin to Tucson, making.

Speaker 10 (29:07):
An investment in our community here.

Speaker 5 (29:09):
In Tucson and driving uh those dollars downtown.

Speaker 15 (29:14):
And I think it was a great decision. So we're
really excited about it.

Speaker 5 (29:19):
Uh.

Speaker 10 (29:19):
You know, Ali Farhang is my my partner here.

Speaker 15 (29:22):
Along with my wife Kathy, and you know, we're we're
excited to get that opportunity and and it's gonna be
on national TV. It's gonna be on CBS Sports, and
you know, we'll kick off on a Saturday afternoon and and.

Speaker 5 (29:36):
We're gonna use a lot of our the Tucson Sugar Skulls.

Speaker 15 (29:39):
As a partner with the league on this, because a
lot of our game.

Speaker 5 (29:42):
Day staff, uh will participate in the game and have
an opportunity to perform, you know, on national television. And uh,
I think and then you know, we're you know, just
all the business.

Speaker 15 (29:56):
That we're gonna drive downtown. It's it's just been a
great and.

Speaker 5 (30:00):
That's meant for the Rio Nuevo District and visit Tucson.

Speaker 2 (30:04):
So let me ask you, having been part of projects,
you know, like the Arizona Bowl, it takes takes twelve
months to get that ready tour things like that your season,
So when do you start with this?

Speaker 3 (30:13):
Is it like already?

Speaker 15 (30:17):
So we're recruiting and uh and doing.

Speaker 5 (30:21):
Sales right now. I mean we're in the sales season
and recruiting season.

Speaker 15 (30:24):
So uh, the players will come back in town in
March and we'll get ready to go from there.

Speaker 13 (30:31):
You know.

Speaker 3 (30:32):
But what we're.

Speaker 10 (30:32):
Planning on doing for the National Championship Game.

Speaker 15 (30:35):
The league itself will have a committee of.

Speaker 5 (30:37):
Owners that uh are are that will.

Speaker 15 (30:41):
Give us, you know, a lot of ideas and direction
of things that they would like to see. But our
plan UH with when me and Ali talked about it,
we're gonna put a Tucson committee together. And we're gonna
we're gonna put a committee together of people that you know.

Speaker 5 (30:55):
It's our opportunity to sell the history and the.

Speaker 3 (30:59):
Cold sure of Tucson.

Speaker 15 (31:01):
And and uh and and put Tucson on the mouth
as a as a sports destination. And you know, you know,
I grew up in Alabama, and you.

Speaker 10 (31:11):
Know, when I was growing up, my high school was.

Speaker 15 (31:14):
The you know, Chelby County Wildcats, and and we would
sit up as a teenager would sit up late at
night and watch the teams on the West coast. Well,
always watched a Wildcats because my.

Speaker 5 (31:23):
High school was the Wildcats.

Speaker 10 (31:24):
So that was my team growing up.

Speaker 5 (31:28):
Uh in Tucson now, so you know, but Tucson, you know,
watching the Desert Storm. You know, I can remember the
Desert Storm football team back in back in the day.
And and I can also remember some.

Speaker 15 (31:41):
Great Arizona baseball teams and and uh and basketball teams.
You know, so you know, we we would stay up
and watch those games. And you know, for whatever reason,
people in the South always liked, you know, Arizona. And
here we are out in Susone and uh, you know,
we of it here.

Speaker 10 (32:00):
I plan on retiring here at some.

Speaker 5 (32:02):
Point, you know. And and and you know, so for me.

Speaker 15 (32:07):
It's about support my wife and in this company and uh.

Speaker 5 (32:11):
You know, Uh, so I come down and.

Speaker 15 (32:12):
Do business here, uh in the off season and and
I I I'm very involved on the business side. Now
I don't involved so much on the football side. I
do advise my wife when I see things that need
to be fixed.

Speaker 5 (32:24):
But and and if the coaches ever have any questions
or anything, they can certainly.

Speaker 15 (32:29):
Pick up the phone and and Uh, I'll take their
call and have the conversations. But you know, but we
have to have some integrity in it because I do
run the Arizona Rattlers in Phoenix and Glendellen.

Speaker 5 (32:41):
And uh, so I stay out of the football and
that's between Captay and the coach.

Speaker 10 (32:44):
But if they ask for help.

Speaker 5 (32:46):
I'm there to help. But I really stay out of it.

Speaker 15 (32:48):
But I am very involved in on the business side,
and I have relationships all through down here with different
business people and and uh, you know, and and and
everybody wants to see.

Speaker 5 (33:00):
You know, this happened, so you know, again we're excited.

Speaker 15 (33:03):
About it, and uh we're gonna get to work on
it and really try to grow the sports culture here
in Tucson.

Speaker 2 (33:09):
Well, Kevin, thanks congrats. How many wins do you have
in the indoor now? How many?

Speaker 10 (33:15):
You know, I've been lucky.

Speaker 15 (33:17):
I've had a lot of good people around me. But
I did become all the time winning as coach in
the country. Uh, this this past season, and I don't
know what I'm at. I'm two hundred and sixty something wins,
whatever it is. But you know, I've always you know,
you can't be a Hall of Fame coach without having
Hall of Fame players. And I think we've always done
a good job recruiting. I've always done a good, pretty

(33:38):
good job. It's around to myself with people.

Speaker 10 (33:40):
That are smarter than me. That's the trick of it.

Speaker 15 (33:42):
And uh, you know, we go to work at it
and and you know, and we've always put a good
team together. And you know, the plan was when we
put the team down here, I was I was really
planning on you know, well I shouldn't say I was
planning on, but I know that they were trying to
get me to come down and also coach the team.
But with some things that were going on with my

(34:03):
family and the relationship that I got with the owner
up there. Uh, even though he's the owner and I'm
the president and coach, we get a really.

Speaker 10 (34:09):
Good relationship outside of work.

Speaker 15 (34:11):
And I kind of got a little bit of a
lifetime contract up there with him, so it's.

Speaker 10 (34:15):
Kind of hard to walk away. Uh, but we got
such a good Yeah.

Speaker 5 (34:25):
I looked at this, you know, you know, I had
I had three or four opportunities to go to the NFL.
But you know, my thing was, I love you know,
I played arena football. I came out of college and
played in Canada, and then I played in the Arena League,
and uh, I just fell in love.

Speaker 10 (34:39):
With it, and I just decided, Hey, if I'm going
to be in this, I got to expand and uh
I got.

Speaker 15 (34:44):
To do more than just be a coach, and I
got involved on the business side and and uh, you know,
things just you know, the stars.

Speaker 5 (34:52):
Aligned and some things fell in place, and I love
owning the team here.

Speaker 10 (34:56):
You know, my wife and I also have a hockey team.

Speaker 15 (34:58):
Back in Birmingham, Alabama, and we you know, that team
was put in place too for the community, and that's
what Sugars called did Sugars Gold is a community team
and we're all about trying to support the community.

Speaker 10 (35:11):
And you know, we run it as a lout as
close as we do. And at the Rattlers, I actually have.

Speaker 15 (35:17):
Some layover with the staff that worked for both teams
because we were trying to develop intuson what we got
in in Glendale and so, uh, you know, it's a
it's a process.

Speaker 5 (35:30):
I mean, you know, when you're a business for.

Speaker 15 (35:32):
Yourself, you got to work at it every day and
you got to get you you got to roll your
sleeves up and go to work because you know if
it's if it's going to be successful, you got to
be involved.

Speaker 2 (35:42):
Kevin, Thanks a bunch, Ben, Thanks, good luck to you
and another victory.

Speaker 3 (35:45):
We'll see you soon.

Speaker 10 (35:48):
You back, guys, you have a great day.

Speaker 2 (35:49):
Thank you Kevin guy, another nice, nice victory for him.

Speaker 3 (35:53):
Have you got to go, We're way over. Thanks everybody.

Speaker 2 (35:56):
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Speaker 7 (39:18):
This is I on the Ball with Steve Ravera on
Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Subscribe now to the podcast on
the iHeartRadio WIP just search I on the Ball.

Speaker 2 (39:29):
Hey, welcome back to I on the Ball here on
Fox Sports fourteen fifty.

Speaker 3 (39:32):
I'm Steve Rivera. He's Andy Lopez, coach Andy Lopez. That
was fun. That was fun. Let me tell you a
secret to his success.

Speaker 2 (39:39):
Andy, He's a heck of a coach and he's a
demanding coach. Guess what happens when you have those combinations.

Speaker 3 (39:47):
In my thirty eight years of coaching, yeah, those guys
are really pretty good.

Speaker 2 (39:51):
Pretty good, right, right? Programs are pretty good. Yes, I
don't know. I don't know many. Well I shouldn't say that, uh,
because I know many people who are like that and
have a succeed. But that's a good formula to have
when you're winning. Let me ask you a secret. Now,
how demanding were you?

Speaker 14 (40:06):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (40:06):
Very yes? How many titles? You have? Two national and
you got there a few times? Eight times? So do you?

Speaker 2 (40:14):
I think that's a pretty good market for being a demanding,
good coach.

Speaker 3 (40:17):
And you know the thing about it is, this is
a true story we talked about earlier. My wife used
to love you know again, both my wife and I
my family were born against Christians, and so you know,
church is very important to us, and scriptures and prayer
and all the rest, and and Ki Cannley, my wife.
There'll be days when my wife and I would be
walking to church on a Sunday and she would and

(40:38):
I'd be saying a little to be hey, coach Lopez, Hey,
good weekend last week and no da da da dah okay,
and my wife would turn me and say, if these
people knew who you were on a baseball field, they
would let you in the door. And I, laughing, I go, hey, babe,
but you know what, like that's my job, right, right,
that's my livelihood, So I think it's okay. I always

(40:59):
felt like it was demanding, like I'm gonna beat very
demanding because I was depending upon myself and because I
was trying to prepare them for life and life is
in the real worlds. Yes, the real world is you either,
So I said, you're either be good or you're gone.
And I wanted to get them ready for that. So
you know, it wasn't unfair at times, There's some things

(41:20):
I wish I would have done a little differently, But
for the most part, I will never defend how I
did it because I was very demanded. My mom and
dad were very demanding. I mean very demanded. Right, I've
said this often. My mother loved me in discipline and
I needed it. Andy Lopez needed it badly, and my

(41:41):
mother loved the heck out of me in discipline, sometimes
with a belt, sometimes with a slipper, one time with
a wolfleball bat. But man, you know I had the
greatest mom on her and my dad too, you know.
So I never thought there was anything wrong with that.
And I know we live in a world now different.
Oh my lord, is it different?

Speaker 13 (42:02):
Wow?

Speaker 3 (42:02):
Is it different? Yeah? But yeah, in the thirty eight
years that I coached, I'll just say, at point blank,
I'll be very transparent. If I knew that guy across
from me was kind of soft. Yeah, you know, you know,
I want to be friends with the players, and all
says I had no worries, none whatsoever.

Speaker 2 (42:22):
You would beat them, none whatsoever. Yeah, not an arrogance.
Just yeah, we're tougher. Sure, we're tough for sure. And
that's the quality that teams need to happen. Yes, yeah,
without doubt, and not so much even physically. I'm talking mentally.

Speaker 3 (42:33):
Yeah. I used to tell my guys all the time, fellas,
the day they make the NCAA sends a memo to
me and says, no more, We're not gonna keep scores anymore.
Everybody gets to Omaha, there's gonna be one hundred and
thirty eight teams there, this and that. I say, you know, fellas,
I probably won't be as demanding, but until that day,
there's only going to be eight teams there.

Speaker 2 (42:53):
Well, so let me ask you something. So when you
went out recruiting, obviously knew who Andy Lopez was. I
hate Florida's here. In Arizona's here. They know the reputations
of the school, but they also have to know who
Andy lopis is. Right, you're not walking in with an
A or F on your hat. They know exactly or
do they know exactly?

Speaker 3 (43:10):
What? I made it very plain effect. I lost the
guy that pitching the big leagues, a young man from Phoenix.
He was in a recruiting weekend and uh and at
the very end of the weekend, you know, they come
in on Friday and then they go to the football
game on Saturday. And on Sunday we take them to breakfast.
Then we have them at the whole, at the at
the hotel, er at my office, and we make the
scholarship offer. And the weekend had gone great, fantastic, and

(43:32):
we wanted him, we wanted them, and uh, and to
his mom and dad's credit, at the end of the weekend,
they said, you know, I made the offer. The offer
was great, et cetera. It was between us and three
other schools, all packed, twelve schools that I was pack
ten back then excuse me, And and to mom and
dad's credit, they said, well, coach Hope, is you know
we have to add because I said, is there any
other questions? Because it's important that you ask questions. It's

(43:54):
the most important thing. And they said, well, we hear that.
You you know, you're very demanding, and you yell at that.
You know, you yell at players, and you yell at situations,
da da dad, you raise your voice and so on
and so forth. You're you know, you're very demanding. And uh.
And I joked with him and I because I've said
it for off, I said, I said, there are days
I said, listen, I confess Christ with my Lord and Savior.

(44:15):
But I'm sure there are days that my my own
sons who play for me probably walk off the field
and go that can't be anything but Satan himself. Like today,
there's no way. But because we wanted excellence, we were
pushing for exor and preparation for not only Omosh but
more importantly to be in sales. When you're fifty years old,

(44:35):
or more importantly, you get that bad diagnosis your wife
has cancer, Well, what are you going to do? Like,
you got to battle through that, you got to win,
you got to find a way to Yeah, you got
to get through that. So anyway, I said, yes, I am,
I am, And if that's going to be an issue,
then I wouldn't advise him to come. And he didn't. Yeah,
And he had a great career and that was that.

Speaker 14 (44:55):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (44:55):
Yeah, he had a great career pitch in the big
leagues for a while, and I was happy for him.
Now we were in Omaha, we won a national championship
and he could have been there. But but it worked out,
worked out for both parties.

Speaker 2 (45:05):
Sure, sure, No, I get that all the time. In fact,
and I go back to lout time when I because
I covered him. There's been a few transfers. There were
a few transfers. I can give you some names right now,
and invariably, invariably that I talked to afterward where I'm
sorry I left. I left because one I went to
a place where I was the star. But I wasn't

(45:25):
any better, right, I didn't get better right, and they
would have underloot where he would have been demanding and developing.

Speaker 3 (45:34):
And you know it's just better. Yeah, I don't. I
don't think there's anything again, you know, I may be
this may be so wrong in today's society that for
those out there that want to find out where I
live and burn my house down, please forgive me. I'm
a seventy one year old man. Come on, you know,
I don't think there's anything wrong with being demand. Like

(45:54):
I said, I had the greatest parents a man could
ever have. My mother and father were the greatest. My
father was quiet and didn't didn't say a word. My
mom would just rattle your cage if you get things wrong.
Oh my gosh. She was the one with a proverbial s.
Like I said, she loved me in discipline. But man,
I'm so thankful, so I don't think that he's wrong

(46:16):
as long as you balance it out. Yeah, Hi, can
you hear me? You're on the air and I on
the ball.

Speaker 14 (46:21):
Yeah Hi, it's Kevin calling in.

Speaker 4 (46:23):
Uh.

Speaker 14 (46:24):
I just wanted to ask Andy.

Speaker 4 (46:25):
If he could take a play or a moment when
he was a player at any level.

Speaker 14 (46:33):
What would that one player moment be?

Speaker 3 (46:37):
Oh, you mean that would help me a little bit
on this kid, Like in other words, a moment where
I just boy, really showed me my team was good,
or it showed me I was I was doing a
pretty good job.

Speaker 14 (46:47):
But no, not as a coach.

Speaker 3 (46:50):
As a player, oh, as a player.

Speaker 14 (46:54):
At any level. What was the one moment, the one hit,
the one game?

Speaker 3 (46:58):
Wow, you know what, I got it? I got it
for you. And this is ironic. You know, I'm retired now.
I get up in the morning, I walk my Golden Retrievers.
My wife and I we walk our two dogs in
the morning. So I got a lot of time on
my hands and what have you. And just the other day,
out of nowhere, ironic, they what a good time for
this call, Kevin. Just the other day, I'm walking and
I remember being fourteen years old at Block Field in

(47:21):
sam Peterro, California, and I hit my first home run
as a fourteen year old, and man, hey, Kevin, I
wish I could tell you I was a home run
hitter at UCLA, but I was a singles guy, so
that home run stills. And I'm telling you, I can
still remember that. There was a For those who are
familiar with southern California, there was the June Gloom. It
was moist Foggierre and I made contact and it was

(47:44):
sweet contact. Those that played baseball comes off the bat
really easy and quick. And I watched it and I thought,
oh my gosh, that's that's a home run. Yeah, and
it's probably the only home run I hit. But yeah,
I just finally asked that question. Yeah, I do remember that.

Speaker 4 (48:01):
That's interesting because I grew up in Buffalo, New York,
and I was in the one of the first Little
leagues in Buffalo. And I thought of this the other day,
and I think of all the sports that I played
in the moments, I remember.

Speaker 14 (48:15):
Hitting my first.

Speaker 4 (48:16):
Home run in the Little League, and back in those days, Pepsicola,
which was big in Buffalo, they would send you a
case of pepsi. No letter from Pepsi congratulated you on
your first home run.

Speaker 3 (48:30):
Case, man, I should have moved to Buffalo. And in
my case, in my hometown, it was a hot dog
and you got a hot dog and a coke after
and once you know it, I hated hot dogs.

Speaker 14 (48:43):
All right, Well, I'll let you go. You know, I
love you out.

Speaker 4 (48:46):
Of your career forever.

Speaker 3 (48:47):
I appreciate it.

Speaker 14 (48:48):
Thanks, I just I'm just curious about that.

Speaker 3 (48:52):
Appreciate appreciate the Kevin Yeah cool. I never hit one.
I never hit one. I hit that one, Steve, and
I thought, man, I'm going to be at home. I am,
I'm gonna start it. I didn't hit another one. I
mean I think I hit two home runs at U
C l A and my whole three total. Looming them
bats man. Well you're you're you're not, but you're kind Yeah, exactly,

(49:14):
And in today's rod, I've never made it, because man,
today everybody hits home run, right. God, the game has
changed so much since you've been gone. I used to
coach David X time Mark Ellis when they were at
Florida with me, and I said, just pound them. Make contact, guys,
make contact. You can have a big career. You really
good defensively. Both had fifteen year careers. Right, I said,
just make nobody cares if he hit home runs. Just

(49:35):
make contact, don't just put the ball. Play put the ball,
and play put the ball. Play. And my last few
years of coaching here at Arizona, my players would come
back Mahea ref Sneyer, these guys Ricker would come back
and I and they go, hey, Lopes, you need to
stop talking about that make contact stuff. What because they
don't care about it. They're looking for long balls. They're
looking for long It's either the big bomber or strikeout.

(49:57):
Just make sure you get three. Yes, A lot of
it has to do with analytics, you know, in other words,
this is a three pointer or not it is right there,
the three pointer or whatever or yes, yeah, I mean, yeah,
you know what I mean. And that does make sense.
I mean it does. If I've got nine guys in
the lineup and all nine are swinging for doubles and

(50:18):
home runs, I'm probably gonna generate more offense. Yeah. But
the I don't want to say the purest but the
old man in me sure I hated strikeouts. I hated
the strikeout. When I played at U C. L A
And I hated when my team struck out. I always
felt like that was a mental advantage for their pitching,

(50:38):
for that pitching staff over there. In other words, they
show up on Friday night, we got a three game series,
and their Friday night guy strikes out twelve guys. I
gotta believe that their Saturday and Sunday night guys, they're
going to bed and going, hey, we can we can
handle these guys.

Speaker 2 (50:51):
Along those lines, we got about a minute or so,
give me, give me you could talk about this. No, no,
in time, give me another I like percentage and things
like that, percentage, physical, mental, and anything else. Percentage wise,
what's the physical part of the game in baseball?

Speaker 3 (51:09):
In baseball, young player? Mental? How much I mean physical? Oh,
give me one hundred plus for mental? Oh yeah. If
you have a game built on mistakes, you're on offense.
You're on offense. Yeah you don't have the ball. Yeah
you don't have the ball. Basketball, you're on offense. The
guards bringing it up. Football, you're on offense. The guys

(51:29):
the quarterbacks going under center Baseball, you're on offense. They
got the ball.

Speaker 2 (51:34):
So you're looking for mentally tough people players and if
they have talent even better.

Speaker 3 (51:40):
Oh then then you got a jewel. Then you got
a jewel. But I'll take If you want to discuss that,
I should call ones, twos and threes, I'll take a three.
I'll discuss that.

Speaker 2 (51:49):
Okay, let's take a break here so we can get
out of here, and then we'll talk more about it.
I'm not gonna have any breaking news. This is too
much fun.