WEBVTT - The Dave Pasch Podcast - Al McCoy 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:06.400 Welcome to another edition of the Dave Pash Podcast. I'm 0:00:06.400 --> 0:00:10.559 your host ESPN and Arizona Cardinals announcer Dave Pash. Speaking 0:00:10.560 --> 0:00:14.040 of announcers, today we have on the legend Al McCoy 0:00:14.280 --> 0:00:17.400 in his fiftieth year as the voice of the Phoenix Suns, 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:20.919 the longest run with an NBA team. Marne comes up, 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:23.759 put us tale to Kevin Johnson, de Barclay Barkley goes in, 0:00:23.880 --> 0:00:27.880 put a Wham Bam slam. Al previously has won the 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:31.840 Kurt Goude Media Award from the Nasmith Memorial Basketball Hall 0:00:31.880 --> 0:00:35.280 of Fame. The Media Center at the Sun's Arena is 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:39.240 named after Al and Alice, also in the Arizona Sports 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:42.520 Hall of Fame. Today we talked a number of things, 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:47.040 broadcasting his love for the NBA and the Suns. How 0:00:47.120 --> 0:00:51.960 he came up with his catchphrase Shazam, how he still 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:56.080 has the energy and the passion to do this at 0:00:56.120 --> 0:01:00.320 age eighty eight, How Al keeps in shape, what has 0:01:00.440 --> 0:01:03.320 diet is like to do his job. Some of Al's 0:01:03.400 --> 0:01:06.800 favorite places to call games and favorite cities to go, 0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:11.040 and also some of his favorite moments over his fifty 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:15.280 years of calling games. We are presented by ben MGM, 0:01:15.360 --> 0:01:17.959 the official sports betting partner of the Arizona Cardinals, and 0:01:18.040 --> 0:01:21.920 by Hila River Hotels and Casinos. Sign up for BETMGM 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:25.400 today using code cards one thousand and get your first 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:28.280 bet risk free up to one thousand dollars. New customer 0:01:28.319 --> 0:01:30.880 offer paid in free bets. Visit benmgm dot com for 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:34.240 terms and conditions twenty one and over Arizona only. Please 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:39.640 gamble responsibly. Gambling problem called one eight hundred. Next step here. 0:01:39.680 --> 0:01:46.679 He is the legend, Al McCoy. Al. I just worked 0:01:46.680 --> 0:01:49.880 with Hall of Famer Hube Brown this past Saturday. Hughbee 0:01:50.040 --> 0:01:53.840 is in his fiftieth year in the NBA like you, 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:59.000 and I am amazed at his energy and how sharp 0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:02.440 he is. And when I listen to you, Al, I 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:04.960 hear the same Al McCoy that I heard when I 0:02:04.960 --> 0:02:06.920 got here twenty years ago. And I've talked to people 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:10.000 that have been here since you started calling games and 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:13.080 they tell me the same thing. It's still the same, 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:16.720 Al McCoy. So I'm curious, man, how do you do it? 0:02:16.880 --> 0:02:19.480 How do you have the same energy and stay so 0:02:19.560 --> 0:02:23.480 sharp doing it as long as you have Well, you know, 0:02:23.560 --> 0:02:28.320 it's interesting yet Obviously a lot of people ask me 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:31.960 the question, and I guess maybe Huby and I might 0:02:32.040 --> 0:02:37.919 have the same answer. We loved the basketball from the 0:02:37.960 --> 0:02:40.600 first time we picked up or saw a ball, or 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:43.720 he coached it or played it, and I think we 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:48.880 still have that compassion for the game. I know through 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:52.600 the years, as we all might experience, some days are 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:55.760 better than others. But you know that old saying, when 0:02:55.800 --> 0:02:58.840 you get to the ballpark, it's just the game that matters. 0:02:59.360 --> 0:03:03.160 And it seems as if, and I guess maybe I'm 0:03:03.200 --> 0:03:07.760 blessed in that area that when I get to the arena, 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:10.840 the things that might have been a problem that day 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:13.720 seem to disappear when the ball is thrown up in 0:03:13.760 --> 0:03:19.360 the game starts. So other than that, it's hard to say. 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:25.120 Maybe a good bringing up in the Midwest and I'm 0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:29.160 raised on a farm, who knows, but I've been blessed, 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:32.639 no question about that. Is there anything you do all 0:03:32.720 --> 0:03:34.880 to stay as healthy as you are at eighty eight? 0:03:35.120 --> 0:03:38.120 Do you? Is there anything you avoid? Do you have 0:03:38.200 --> 0:03:40.600 like a routine on game day or anything that you 0:03:40.680 --> 0:03:45.440 do specifically to stay as healthy as you are? Well? 0:03:45.480 --> 0:03:49.600 I've always felt this way that as a broadcaster and 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:52.839 as an announcer, we have to take care of our 0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:56.400 health just as months as if we were playing out 0:03:56.440 --> 0:04:00.640 on the court, because we have to be ite and 0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:04.920 physically ready when the game starts. And I think I've 0:04:04.920 --> 0:04:11.840 always been concerned about my diet, about getting rest, and 0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:16.880 about being ready for the game. So I think my 0:04:17.000 --> 0:04:21.359 philosophy has always been that you have to prepare yourself 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:25.080 just as if you were actually playing the game. I've 0:04:25.080 --> 0:04:28.920 always told young broadcasters if there were two of the 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:34.440 most important phrases for me as a broadcaster, one would 0:04:34.480 --> 0:04:38.520 be preparation and the other would be concentration. You have 0:04:38.680 --> 0:04:42.000 to be prepared for the game, and you have to 0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:47.200 have that ability to concentrate on the game. Obviously, we 0:04:47.240 --> 0:04:49.760 can't be thinking about where we're gonna have dinner afterwards 0:04:50.040 --> 0:04:53.160 while we're doing the game, particularly in a game as 0:04:53.279 --> 0:04:58.719 fast paced as basketball is. So I've always said preparation 0:04:58.800 --> 0:05:03.200 and concentration very important, and the fact that you have 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:07.160 to take care of yourself physically and mentally just as 0:05:07.240 --> 0:05:09.920 if you were a player, no question about it. Can 0:05:09.920 --> 0:05:12.960 you talk to my Cardinals broadcast partner Ron Wolfley about 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:16.400 having a better diet, because wolf heats the worst of 0:05:16.480 --> 0:05:20.160 anybody I've ever worked with. Well, that's the wolf, and 0:05:20.240 --> 0:05:24.360 he can get by with anything. He's tremendous, no question 0:05:24.440 --> 0:05:27.160 about it. But and I think as I've gotten older 0:05:27.960 --> 0:05:36.159 that my food and diet requirements have chained. Obviously, I 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:40.359 don't partake as much as I did when I was 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:43.960 twenty one years of age, and I think that's a 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:47.360 factor also, it is, at least for me. So people 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:49.799 laugh at me and mock meek al because I won't 0:05:49.839 --> 0:05:51.920 have dairy and like, maybe I'll have dairy in the 0:05:51.960 --> 0:05:56.120 off season pizza cheese, yeah, but not not in season. 0:05:57.440 --> 0:05:59.080 Are you a dairy guy or he? Is that something 0:05:59.120 --> 0:06:03.640 you stay away from? No milk products for me? I 0:06:03.680 --> 0:06:08.599 mean I will have an occasional cheeseburger that doesn't seem 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:11.880 to bother me, but no milk products. And I have 0:06:11.920 --> 0:06:15.000 to tell their little story. At one point in my career, 0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:19.160 I had a summer announcing job in Chicago and at 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:22.599 the radio station. In those days, they used to have 0:06:23.320 --> 0:06:26.440 every week they would have announcer auditions. If announcers were 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:29.520 coming in for a job, they could come in an audition. 0:06:30.120 --> 0:06:33.280 That certainly is years ago, and those of us that 0:06:33.320 --> 0:06:36.800 were working used to set out in the lobby area, 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:39.839 and when an individual was coming in and we knew 0:06:39.880 --> 0:06:43.560 they were going to be auditioning, we'd say, oh, hey, 0:06:43.560 --> 0:06:45.599 how about a milkshaker? Do you want some ice cream 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:49.640 or something here before you go in? Because I've always 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:55.640 felt that milk products have no business being involved with 0:06:55.680 --> 0:06:58.479 an announcer, and so I have no milk products. I'm 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:00.760 with you on that day. Yeah, there we go, all right, 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:03.880 good to know him in Club McCoy. The other thing. 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:07.160 The other thing al I stopped doing about ten years 0:07:07.160 --> 0:07:10.480 ago because I got scolded by the great Marv Albert. 0:07:10.520 --> 0:07:12.240 I don't have pop He used to eat popcorn. I 0:07:12.320 --> 0:07:14.559 come into his booth sometime to say hello, because Marv 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:18.280 and I go back some twenty five years when when 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:22.360 I was the Syracuse announcer. He scolded me for having 0:07:22.360 --> 0:07:24.720 popcorn because he said, you know what if a colonel 0:07:24.840 --> 0:07:27.960 gets stuck in your throat. So I'm curious, is that 0:07:28.080 --> 0:07:30.560 something you avoid as well? The popcorn or nuts, anything 0:07:30.560 --> 0:07:32.480 that can you know, possibly get stuck in your in 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:34.840 your throat and mess up your vocal cords before you 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:39.120 go on. Eric, Well, you probably know one broadcaster that 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:43.120 eight more popcorn than any of US and he was 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:47.440 the late great Bill King. Bill I had known going 0:07:47.480 --> 0:07:50.720 back to our Midwest days, and then he went to 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:53.600 the Bay Area and became the most popular played by 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:57.720 played broadcaster in the San Francisco area with his work 0:07:57.800 --> 0:08:02.760 on baseball, basketball, and football. Bill King and the son 0:08:02.800 --> 0:08:05.360 of a gun at popcorn during the whole game. I 0:08:05.360 --> 0:08:07.520 don't know how he did it. I certainly could never 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:10.080 do it. But Bill King is the one and only 0:08:10.440 --> 0:08:13.080 that a popcorn during the entire game. I never knew 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:15.200 how he got by with it. I remember doing a 0:08:15.240 --> 0:08:16.960 game once with Greg Anthony. I don't know if Greig 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:19.720 still does this. Former nick U and LV guard he 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:22.880 works for tnt S man. He sat there and eight 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:25.440 an entire bucket of popcorn during the game. I had 0:08:25.480 --> 0:08:27.400 never seen anything like it. I don't know if he 0:08:27.480 --> 0:08:30.880 still does it. You know, I'm curious because I remember 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:33.360 back when the Cardinals made the Super Bowl and they 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:35.560 lost the Super Bowl. How long it took me to 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:38.040 recover because as you know, you know, I'm doing a 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:41.360 lot of ESPN games, and so the Cardinals they're my team. 0:08:41.400 --> 0:08:43.520 I mean, I worked for the team, and you know 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:45.920 I'm unbiased when I call the games, but they're my team. 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:48.120 I get to root for the team, and you kind 0:08:48.120 --> 0:08:49.840 of live and die with the good moments and the 0:08:49.840 --> 0:08:51.960 bad moments. And I remember how long it took me 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:55.360 to recover after the Super Bowl loss. It hurt for 0:08:55.400 --> 0:08:59.280 a while. And I'm curious because I'm sure you didn't 0:08:59.320 --> 0:09:01.880 know when you'd get to call a Son's Finals again. 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:05.400 You got there last year, you got so close. Haul 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:09.679 hard was it for you after the Game six loss? 0:09:09.679 --> 0:09:15.440 And are you over it yet? Well? As as you know, David, 0:09:15.600 --> 0:09:19.040 was the third time in my fifty years with the 0:09:19.160 --> 0:09:23.360 Sons that I had the thrill of calling a final 0:09:23.440 --> 0:09:27.000 series the Suns that are initially against the Celtics, again 0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:30.520 against the Chicago Bulls, and then of course against Milwaukee. 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:35.240 And I have to be very honest with you, I 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:40.000 probably got over it quicker this time than I did 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:47.480 the previous two occasions. And I'm gonna tell you why. 0:09:48.000 --> 0:09:50.600 In recent years, because of a lot of different things, 0:09:51.280 --> 0:09:56.080 as a broadcaster, you're just not as close to the 0:09:56.160 --> 0:10:00.880 players and to the team as we were back when 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:04.000 the Suns were in the finals on those two previous occasions. 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:09.280 A lot of reasons, one his age, the players mostly 0:10:09.320 --> 0:10:13.920 are most younger now, so we don't have that togetherness, 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:17.360 and we just don't spend that much time together. For 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:22.560 a lot of reasons. Most clubs have declared locker rooms 0:10:22.600 --> 0:10:27.240 clubhouses off limits for broadcasters. Sometimes you can't travel the 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:30.679 same way with the team. You don't have that togetherness 0:10:30.720 --> 0:10:34.560 that we had years ago. And you know, when I 0:10:34.600 --> 0:10:37.520 came into the NBA with the Suns, you were with 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:40.000 the players all the time. He traveled on the planes, 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:42.679 the buses, you were in the locker rooms, he went 0:10:42.679 --> 0:10:45.880 out for hamburgers and beer after the games. But that 0:10:46.360 --> 0:10:49.280 started to change a number of years ago when we 0:10:49.320 --> 0:10:52.160 had nineteen and twenty year old players coming into the league. 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:57.559 Plus the fact that going back fifty years ago, you 0:10:57.679 --> 0:11:00.320 had a lot of things to talk about. It's a 0:11:00.320 --> 0:11:06.400 little more more difficult now with today's players. I mean, 0:11:06.480 --> 0:11:09.720 how many Mercedes can you talk about? Or how many 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:13.480 eight million dollar homes can you discuss? So it's it's 0:11:13.480 --> 0:11:16.400 a little different. So kind of a long answer to 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:20.679 your question, I guess, Dave. But even though obviously I 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:25.120 want to see the Sun's win, I'm pleased when they do. 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:29.839 When they went to the finals, I was excited, but 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:33.440 I got over it a little quicker this time than 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:36.600 I had the previous two occasions. Yes, I want to 0:11:36.600 --> 0:11:39.360 go back to your answer or party of your answer 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:41.800 about that you used to go out, you know, after 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:44.880 games with players for burger or a beer. Who was 0:11:44.960 --> 0:11:48.360 the coolest guy or was there a particular player back 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:50.760 in the day that you would go out with all 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:54.480 the time after games? Well, we had so many, of course, 0:11:54.559 --> 0:11:58.520 Dick van Arsdale was the original son. I was very 0:11:58.520 --> 0:12:01.520 close with him, and then when he retired he worked 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:04.960 with me on our broadcast television and radio for fifteen 0:12:05.040 --> 0:12:09.280 years and still is a very close friend. Dick van 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:12.920 Arsdale cross Connie Hawkins, the first real Hall of Famer 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:16.120 for the Suns. I was very close with so many 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:19.320 players in that era of Walter Davis. I could just 0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:24.160 go right down the list. Neil walk and he just 0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:28.760 had a closure relationship because of the age and because 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:34.120 they weren't making multimillions of dollars per year, and you 0:12:34.160 --> 0:12:37.640 weren't traveling on charters. You're on commercial planes, so you 0:12:37.679 --> 0:12:43.040 were staying over after games, where today after games the 0:12:43.080 --> 0:12:45.679 clubs just get on their private jets and leave, So 0:12:45.800 --> 0:12:51.040 you just don't have those opportunities to be that close, 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:54.280 and I'll be very frank with you, that's the part 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:57.840 of the business that I think I miss more than anything. Obviously, 0:12:58.200 --> 0:13:01.040 I still enjoy the games, I still joined the competition, 0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:04.360 but I do miss that closeness that we were able 0:13:04.400 --> 0:13:07.720 to have in those early days with players with coaches. 0:13:08.360 --> 0:13:11.880 As you know, Cotton Fitzsimmons was one of my closest friends. 0:13:11.880 --> 0:13:14.320 He coached us Sons twice. He worked with me on 0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:18.240 television and radio. Those days are gone, and those are 0:13:18.240 --> 0:13:22.000 the things that I probably missed the most. I know 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:24.880 you're not doing a lot of road games. No one 0:13:24.960 --> 0:13:27.160 is right now with everything that's going on, But I 0:13:27.160 --> 0:13:31.800 know you specifically cut back on the travel when you 0:13:31.880 --> 0:13:35.760 were traveling regularly. Did you have a favorite place to 0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:38.840 call a game or a favorite stop when you would 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:41.559 be in a particular city that you just had to go, 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:48.640 either for breakfast or a postgame drink. Yes, Chicago. Chicago 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:53.040 was always my favorite of the NBA cities. I had 0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:55.800 spent time there, I had worked there, I grew up, 0:13:55.800 --> 0:13:58.120 and I woke to the closeness. I knew all their 0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:01.800 teams from the Chicago Cubs on down, and they have 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:04.599 some of the greatest restaurants in the world. So Chicago 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:07.960 was always a place that I look forward to spending 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:10.719 a few days during the season and having an off 0:14:10.800 --> 0:14:15.600 night Chicago. Do you miss traveling? Would you know? Would 0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:20.280 you like to? I gotta imagine it'd be very difficult 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:24.440 to do that in forty one games a year. Is 0:14:24.480 --> 0:14:26.720 that something you miss? You know, being on the road 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:29.440 and to travel, and you know how much longer out? 0:14:29.440 --> 0:14:31.760 Do you think you're going to do this? I like, 0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:33.840 I look at you, and I say, why not just 0:14:33.960 --> 0:14:37.440 keep going forever? Why stop? If I were you and 0:14:37.520 --> 0:14:41.160 you still sound great and you're in great health, well, 0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:44.880 you know it's interesting on the road games. I became 0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:50.479 concerned several years ago when the league allowed the arenas 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:55.040 to move our broadcast locations to areas where we could 0:14:55.080 --> 0:14:58.120 not even see the full court. We couldn't see where 0:14:58.120 --> 0:15:01.000 the three point shots were coming from. We were way 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:04.840 up high, and I started to get very concerned at 0:15:04.880 --> 0:15:08.920 that time as to what the league was allowing. They 0:15:08.920 --> 0:15:12.880 were giving up seats that they wanted the teams to 0:15:12.880 --> 0:15:15.080 be able to sell and make money, but they were 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:19.480 also giving up our broadcast locations. So over the last 0:15:19.480 --> 0:15:23.720 couple of years, I had decided that I did want 0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:27.560 my career to end when the listeners or the viewers 0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:30.240 would say, what's wrong with McCoy. Doesn't he know who's 0:15:30.240 --> 0:15:33.640 shooting these three pointers or what's going on? So I 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:38.080 became a little more disenchanted with doing road games. And then, 0:15:38.120 --> 0:15:43.560 of course, when this pandemic hit, the club became more 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:46.760 concerned about who was going to travel, when they were 0:15:46.800 --> 0:15:50.560 going to travel, and of course the whole travel situation changed, 0:15:50.680 --> 0:15:53.640 where you could not be on the team bus, you 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:57.080 could not be around players, you could not be around coaches, 0:15:57.200 --> 0:16:00.360 you could not do on the locker room, and almost 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:04.680 came to the point of why travel. And so that's 0:16:04.760 --> 0:16:11.480 really the biggest reason that I became disenchanted with games 0:16:11.520 --> 0:16:15.040 on the road. It's just I have to tell you 0:16:15.080 --> 0:16:19.480 one story. You may be familiar with the name Joe Tate. 0:16:19.640 --> 0:16:23.240 Joe was the broadcaster in Cleveland for many, many years, 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:27.400 unfortunately since his past, but when they started moving these 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:31.320 broadcast locations, he was in an arena and one of 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:34.080 the locations he was at the broadcast the game. You 0:16:34.080 --> 0:16:37.120 couldn't see the three point corners, and during the course 0:16:37.160 --> 0:16:39.440 of the game he's doing the play by play and 0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:41.600 he says, there goes the ball thrown into the corner. 0:16:41.640 --> 0:16:44.400 There's a shot from three point range. It's good a 0:16:44.480 --> 0:16:47.280 three pointers good by a player to be named later, 0:16:49.760 --> 0:16:54.280 A great line line. Yeah, I mean it. Look, it's 0:16:54.320 --> 0:16:58.160 I know people probably listening are is concerned about our comfort, 0:16:58.280 --> 0:17:00.760 but yeah, it's it's hard. Some of the ball stadiums 0:17:00.760 --> 0:17:02.480 are like that where you're in the corner and you 0:17:02.480 --> 0:17:05.159 can't see. It's hard to see. You need binoculars just 0:17:05.200 --> 0:17:08.120 to see the players. But you just you get through 0:17:08.119 --> 0:17:11.760 it and you do the job. You know. When that happens, 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:14.520 you know, sometimes you're more prone to mistakes. And I 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:17.359 think of you know, one of the biggest mistakes that 0:17:17.400 --> 0:17:19.879 I had in my career was in the Super Bowl. 0:17:20.760 --> 0:17:23.879 James Harrison has the interception of Kurt Warner runs it 0:17:23.920 --> 0:17:27.240 back for a touchdown and I couldn't really see and 0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:29.600 I saw a two, and I thought it was a 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:32.119 twenty two instead of a ninety two. The problem was 0:17:32.160 --> 0:17:34.680 William Gay is who I thought it was, and he's 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:39.280 about one hundred pounds lighter than James Harrison. Kurt Warner, 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:41.560 who threw that interception, had some fun with me after that. 0:17:41.640 --> 0:17:46.359 He said how did you mistake James William Gay for 0:17:46.480 --> 0:17:48.359 James Harrison? And I said, well, how did you mistake 0:17:48.440 --> 0:17:50.679 him for ran Kwan Bolden? He was here trying to 0:17:51.640 --> 0:17:54.840 But anyway, do you do you have anything you look 0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:57.080 back as they're like a big mistake that you had 0:17:57.080 --> 0:17:58.920 that you look back on that you say, man, that's 0:17:58.920 --> 0:18:04.040 the worst thing I've ever set on radio or television. Well, fortunately, 0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:07.159 if I have, I was able to slide over it 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:10.240 and keep going because I was told a long time 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:13.880 ago by veteran broadcasters you never stop if you make 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:16.880 a mistake. You just keep going because it will take 0:18:16.920 --> 0:18:19.840 the listener a long time to discover whether it was 0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:22.320 a mistake or not. I do want to mention one thing, 0:18:22.359 --> 0:18:24.560 and I think you might tend to agree with me, 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:29.400 because we both have done radio and television. Right now, 0:18:29.440 --> 0:18:31.920 I'm doing radio, but I did the TV for many, 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:36.399 many years. I think a lot of our leagues, and 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:40.320 I include the NBA, the NFL and baseball for getting 0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:44.480 the power that radio has. And I have to tell 0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:48.280 you this past year I did twenty two playoff games 0:18:48.280 --> 0:18:53.800 in the NBA, including the finals. I can't even imagine 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:56.920 that I would get the response that I got from 0:18:56.920 --> 0:19:02.960 our radio broadcasts all over the world world, Germany, Poland, Japan. 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:07.400 I was getting texted emails from all over the world 0:19:07.880 --> 0:19:12.960 for people that were listening to our radio broadcasts. And 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:16.800 I think our leagues forget the fact that radio is 0:19:16.800 --> 0:19:21.000 still the media that goes worldwide, and they still don't 0:19:21.040 --> 0:19:24.560 have TV in cars, and there's so much commuting and 0:19:24.720 --> 0:19:28.439 driving people depend on radio, and we forget that in 0:19:28.480 --> 0:19:31.760 some of these foreign countries, everyone does not have TV, 0:19:32.240 --> 0:19:34.879 they all have radio. And I have to tell you, 0:19:34.920 --> 0:19:38.080 the response I got the last year from our radio 0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:42.520 broadcasts was almost unbelievable, it really was, and that was 0:19:42.640 --> 0:19:46.520 really encouraging to me to try and make our radio 0:19:46.600 --> 0:19:50.879 coverage even better than it has been. I don't think 0:19:50.880 --> 0:19:54.320 there's any question I agree with you wholeheartedly, and it 0:19:54.359 --> 0:19:58.240 always touches me when you know, I hear from somebody 0:19:58.280 --> 0:20:01.560 that doesn't have a television, They don't have a way 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:05.480 to be able to watch, so their only choice is 0:20:05.600 --> 0:20:09.720 radio wolf And I actually met somebody who is blind 0:20:09.960 --> 0:20:13.640 and the only way he can follow the Arizona Cardinals 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:18.919 is to listen to our broadcast. So when I have 0:20:19.080 --> 0:20:22.080 heard they have not to interrupt you. I have heard 0:20:22.160 --> 0:20:26.720 from so many sightless people throughout my career that thank 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:30.840 god it is responsible maybe for me keeping doing my 0:20:30.920 --> 0:20:36.920 broadcast shut ins, people in hospitals, veterans and sightless people. 0:20:37.400 --> 0:20:39.800 You know, it's that's a great feeling to realize that 0:20:39.920 --> 0:20:44.119 just maybe maybe we can make some of those folks 0:20:44.160 --> 0:20:47.000 that are suffering as they are have just a little 0:20:47.040 --> 0:20:49.800 bit more fun, maybe put a smile on their face 0:20:50.040 --> 0:20:55.400 with our broadcasts. And that's something that radio certainly can do. Absolutely. 0:20:56.040 --> 0:20:59.399 Do you remember the last time you did football? And 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:01.879 I'm curious, so is there a sport that you didn't 0:21:01.880 --> 0:21:03.880 do that you look back and say, man, I would 0:21:03.920 --> 0:21:07.520 have loved to have tried that. Well, I always thought 0:21:07.560 --> 0:21:10.840 baseball was going to be what I would do, and 0:21:10.880 --> 0:21:13.200 of course when I was growing up, I followed the 0:21:13.280 --> 0:21:17.320 Chicago Cubbs on baseball. Burt Wilson was there, played by 0:21:17.359 --> 0:21:20.480 play broadcaster. He was my idol, and of course later 0:21:20.600 --> 0:21:23.200 Jack brook House and Harry Carey and that whole crew, 0:21:23.600 --> 0:21:27.000 and I initially came to Phoenix to do Triple A baseball, 0:21:27.560 --> 0:21:30.040 and then through the years I was offered the San 0:21:30.040 --> 0:21:33.560 Francisco Giant job twice. And also of course I had 0:21:33.600 --> 0:21:36.560 the opportunity to do the Diamondbacks when they came into 0:21:36.600 --> 0:21:39.720 the league, and I always felt it would be baseball. 0:21:40.040 --> 0:21:43.720 But I loved basketball. I had been fortunate enough to 0:21:43.800 --> 0:21:47.679 play in high school, so I loved the game. And 0:21:50.400 --> 0:21:53.639 my real dream was that if I was able to 0:21:53.640 --> 0:21:56.360 get into this business and be involved and played by 0:21:56.359 --> 0:22:01.520 play broadcasting, I wanted to be associated with a team 0:22:01.560 --> 0:22:03.920 as Vince Gully was with the Dodgers. Soon as I'm 0:22:03.920 --> 0:22:08.240 into simony, the baseball players were, the baseball announcers were 0:22:08.280 --> 0:22:11.440 with their teams, and I always wanted to do that. 0:22:11.920 --> 0:22:14.960 And when I got the opportunity with the Sons, that 0:22:15.119 --> 0:22:17.919 was the pit of me and everything else kind of 0:22:17.920 --> 0:22:21.399 turned away. But initially I thought that baseball would be 0:22:21.440 --> 0:22:23.760 the sport I would be doing. It just turned out 0:22:23.760 --> 0:22:27.320 to be basketball, and it was the right, right decision. 0:22:28.400 --> 0:22:32.160 You mentioned some legendary names and broadcasting, and I think 0:22:32.200 --> 0:22:34.480 of some of the people that have taken me under 0:22:34.560 --> 0:22:37.560 their wing to help me along when I was getting 0:22:37.560 --> 0:22:40.639 started or even recently. I mean, I've still people in 0:22:40.680 --> 0:22:44.159 my life that are very involved in terms of feedback 0:22:44.280 --> 0:22:49.000 or encouragement. Mike Tarico, Sean McDonough, Bob Costas, those are 0:22:49.000 --> 0:22:52.360 three people that come to mind who invested in me 0:22:52.400 --> 0:22:57.960 when I was young and coming up. I'm curious, Jack Brickhouse, 0:22:58.000 --> 0:23:00.240 you mentioned a lot of people in Arizona probably don't 0:23:00.280 --> 0:23:03.960 know that name, that legendary Chicago broadcaster Harry Carey. Most 0:23:04.000 --> 0:23:08.040 people know Harry from the Cubs games and being on WGN, 0:23:08.160 --> 0:23:11.159 which would air games nationally for the most part on cable. 0:23:12.160 --> 0:23:14.919 Did those guys help you? Is there anybody else that 0:23:15.000 --> 0:23:17.320 you can think of al that mentored you or took 0:23:17.320 --> 0:23:19.280 you under his or her wing to kind of help 0:23:19.320 --> 0:23:22.760 you grow well? And not really, I'm going to tell 0:23:22.760 --> 0:23:25.320 you about cost the story in a minute. But as 0:23:25.359 --> 0:23:28.120 I said, Burt Wilson was the radio play by play 0:23:28.200 --> 0:23:31.040 for the Cubs when I was growing up in Iowa, 0:23:31.280 --> 0:23:34.479 and I listened every game. Harry Carey was in Saint Louis. 0:23:35.080 --> 0:23:38.840 Jack Brickhouse did everything in Chicago. He did the Bears 0:23:38.880 --> 0:23:41.000 and then he was the first to do the TV 0:23:41.840 --> 0:23:45.840 of the Cubs. So and Jack Brickhouse through the years 0:23:45.840 --> 0:23:47.679 tried to hire me many times to come back to 0:23:47.800 --> 0:23:52.639 Chicago after I had come to Phoenix. But just listening 0:23:52.680 --> 0:23:57.119 to them on a daily basis, I'm sure that I 0:23:57.359 --> 0:24:00.879 gained a lot from them, and I think Harry Carey 0:24:00.960 --> 0:24:02.840 used to have so many great lines, like we don't 0:24:02.840 --> 0:24:05.920 care who wins, just so it's the Cubs. And he 0:24:06.000 --> 0:24:08.560 would say, and we go to the bottom of the ninth, 0:24:08.560 --> 0:24:11.680