The following is an Coming up today on The Press Room, a special sports edition.

It's time to be thinking about March Madness.

We'll take a look at the University of Arizona Men's Basketball team and their chances to win it all.

Plus, sports news off the court and in the community.

Some of the top in-the-know sports folks in town are with me today to discuss.

I'm David Lee and The Press Room starts now.

[Music] Welcome to The Press Room.

I'm AZPM News Director David Lee and currently the United States is at war with Iran.

Things have been very difficult over the last week or so and there's no end in sight.

Ironically though, locally there is a connection when it comes to sports here in Tucson.

The Iranian men's soccer team has been scheduled to work out here during their World Cup prep which is going to happen here in just a little bit.

Joining me today is Pat Parris from KGUN 9 News.

We have Justin Spears of the Arizona Daily Star, Steve Rivera of All Sports Tucson and Tony Perkins of AZPM News and Justin just starting off right the bat.

The World Cup, one of the biggest sporting events when it comes to the world in terms of location and anything like that.

Having a team training here, a training location is a big event for Tucson.

It's a big deal.

What does it mean for the Pima County and the Kino Sports Complex in general to have something like that?

I think it's huge.

I think as we get ready for the World Cup and there's a lot of different locations in North America and for Tucson to have a connection to that I think definitely puts the city on the map a little bit more so than it is right now.

I think that the Kino Sports Complex has everything you need.

I mean it's host of FC Tucson, a professional soccer team that's been here for about a decade and they've been very successful The grass is perfect.

We've actually had MLS spring training here recently so Kino Sports Complex is no stranger to having high-level soccer here and unfortunately in the current state of the geopolitical world of course you know the Iranian Soccer Federation they're a little bit unsure about the future of Iran coming to the World Cup so we'll see what happens there but I just think all in all having a country here in Tucson training I think it's definitely big for the city.

Pat, it doesn't happen that often where you get to host something like this and then for the city in general and soccer in the area what does it mean to have this?

I know that there are a lot of people behind the scenes in the soccer community working hard for this to have happened and I think they did an excellent job of kind of identifying a team, helping identify a team, showing FIFA that they had the facilities to do it and then it just made sense because the Iranian team was going to play most of their games I believe in on the west coast so it was, geographically it made a lot of sense and again I know a lot of people really worked hard behind the scenes in the soccer community to get it to come here.

I'm just really fearful that it may not happen.

I hope it does.

I hope somehow they can get it figured out in the spirit of those World Cup games, you'd like to see a team like Iran be able to compete.

Steve, you know there are 210 men's soccer teams ranked in the world.

The United States for example is ranked 15th but Iran ranked 20th.

To have that level of a team here for folks to be able to go out and watch that's huge.

It's fantastic in fact Tucson is kind of a soccer area.

My sons played for 18 years here, both of them, so I know that culture.

It's rabid when it's good, to Justin's point.

FC Tucson has been here a long time and they have a following.

Here's my issue Sarah Horvath and the people at Pima have done a fantastic job.

Can Tucson ever have anything nice?

We don't know now until it all happens.

Just last fall we had baseball until we didn't have baseball.

So here's, fingers crossed that it does, the events that come to fruition.

Tony you know we've got the World Cup that's a huge thing.

There's the Olympics that just happened, the Winter Olympics.

World Baseball Classic is going on right now.

Those big events have always been kind of unifying for the world.

Do you think there's still that same impact that same gravitas of doing those kind of big things throughout the world?

Yeah it sort of brings back to the old days of Tucson being a place where we had spring training baseball in the old days, and you know brought the community together.

Everybody came out to see whatever major league teams were in our area, and that left us and went to Phoenix and went to the different locations there.

Events like this really do bring the community together and the bigger the event and something about this now the size of the Olympic Games or the World Cup you know just would generate even more interest I think.

Well if you check the calendar it is now March and it is March Madness time for Tucsonans and folks who are fans of the Wildcats to get really excited.

You've got the Big 12 Conference Tournament coming up and then you have the NCAA tournament coming up, and this year in particular the Arizona men probably going to be a number one seed out west and they are legitimately a team that could win it all.

Pat, just how good are these guys this year?

They're really good and you know we always want to temper our excitement because we've all been disappointed before and let down before.

There's something about this team even when they had the two game losing streak they came, you know it's how you respond right?

And they responded.They figured out a way even though they didn't have Koa Peat.

They had no Dwayne Aristode.

They had a couple guys with the flu bug and they still managed away.

We saw them go down the bench a little bit and they figured out then all of a sudden get Koa back and I think these two games that we saw beat Kansas and beat Iowa State we saw them at their very best and I think that's what gives a lot of us real hope that this is a Final Four team and maybe, just maybe, the first time since 1997 they could be champions.

Tony, these guys started off the year red hot.

I know you and I used to chat about this at the beginning.

Do you really see them peaking right now at the right time?

You know I had my doubts as I went down to these last few weeks with one ranked team after another in the Big 12 but this is a team that doesn't beat itself.

It doesn't seem to make mistakes.

You've got guys with experience from all over the world.

There's nine different countries that are represented in the roster and that makes it really really special.

You know they surprised me with their stamina, their ability to go through, you know those last few weeks of the schedule.

They find different ways to win.

You know if you look at the tournament of course it's you know one game and out but if this was a you know tournament you know playoff format with best of three or best of five easily I think they would be champs.

But there's always going to be a stumbling block but again like I said you know they always find a way and we'll see if that continues.

Justin they've been really good.

They've been playing a tough schedule here.

They have to though get through the Big 12 conference championship.

I mean the tournament.

How difficult is it going to be for them in this year's tournament you think?

It's going to be very challenging but you know what they've already gone through the gauntlet and part of that gauntlet they were short-handed without Dwayne Aristode and without Koa Pete.

I think the Big 12 is stacked.

Now for Arizona, if they play Kansas remember this tournament is in Kansas City.

So if they play against the Jayhawks in Kansas City I would imagine there's probably going to be more Kansas fans there, but Arizona fans travel well.

Every time you go on the road or see Arizona play on the road you can hear the U of A chants coming through your TV screen.

But the one thing about Arizona, and to quote former Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang, he said with Arizona it's pick your poison.

The thing is it's all poison.

Any player can step up.

We saw Anthony Dell'Orso step up when they were short-handed.

Koa Pete is now back and healthy.

We'll see how he looks in the Big 12 tournament.

Jaden Bradley has been the consistent leader for this team and in my opinion is one of the best point guards in college basketball.

I think they have the perfect blend of experience and also highly touted freshman guys that are NBA players and every single player this year has evolved and has gotten better.

So I think this Arizona team is peaking at the right time and like Tony said they figure out ways to win.

I thought one of the most impressive wins I mean you look at the non-conference UConn, Florida, UCLA, Alabama, Auburn and then you go into conference play and you beat a Kansas, you beat a Houston, you beat Iowa State, you sweep BYU.

But one of the most impressive wins to me this year was when they played against Baylor because Baylor is a really good team.

They've got talent, not having the season that we all thought Baylor was going to have.

But that was a rock fight and it was right after the Houston game which is a very emotional win and we've seen Arizona teams in the past after that emotional win have the ultimate let down game and they have not really had that moment.

So I think they have the best tournament resume out of anybody in college basketball and I think they're trending in the right direction and no matter what happens in Kansas City, this is a number one seed.

Now if they go out and win the Big 12 tournament now we're talking about them being the number one overall seed.

Steve, any concern when you look at this team?

If somebody doesn't know this team what should they know about this team as they get ready for the Big 12 conference tournament and then the NCAA tournament?

How much time do I have?

One, that they love each other and you can tell by the way they play together.

No star in terms of "I have to get my points, I have to get mine," you don't have that.

I think some of the concerns are three-point shooting.

It hasn't been consistent enough to this point and we've already gone through almost 30 games and free throw shooting that's kind of been a little haphazard although they've kind of corrected it depends who's at the line right?

So we'll see there are a flaw or two but not major flaws and even with those flaws it's a small pimple and they'll be fixed.

But it's tough, so you got six bullets, it's six chances you can get beat by any one of those games as Tony said.

And to add to what Steve was saying about the the chemistry and how these guys generally like to, you know, be teammates with each other I mean look at, most recently Tucson High had a playoff game against Perry High School which is Koa Peat's alma mater and Koa Peat went to go support his former team and the entire Arizona basketball team was packed in Tucson High's gym.

They travel together whenever they do post-game interviews, they're surrounding each other kind of like the Oklahoma City Thunder and we've seen some really good teams come through Arizona and sometimes the chemistry just quite isn't there and that's why they go home early.

This year's team has it.

Yeah I thought it was interesting at the end of the Iowa State game they had won the regular season championship ESPN was getting ready to talk to the, you know, Tommy Lloyd and and all of a sudden all of the team was around them.

Yeah that's right and I was going to throw in, you know, what do you need to know about this team: toughness and this is what Tommy Lloyd said the other day, don't you know the soft label is is not for you, that's lazy.

Well guess what he knew four or five years ago that they needed to get tougher and they're not labeled soft now but they may have been labeled soft four or five years ago but this is the toughest team I've ever seen for the University of Arizona in a league that you have to be that tough and in a tournament where an NCAA tournament where that's going to pay dividends.

And Justin you to your point you look at the conference the Big 12 conference and the teams that they had to play against and they're all types and I think that's something that puts Arizona apart from the teams and the other conferences in the ACC and the Big 10.

Michigan for example they haven't played all types.

Duke the same thing, but if Arizona one week you know or one one day you're at Baylor or playing Baylor you know next time you're playing Kansas, you're playing Houston with their small lineup you know a lot of quick guys, young guys and everything they've played all types they've seen almost everything and so that is something that I think gives them a big advantage.

That's a great point, historically Arizona has not done well in against teams that played in the half court that have slowed them down to Tony's point they've succeeded in those situations.

Pat, let's talk a little bit about the women's team they are now out of the tournament, lost yesterday to ASU finished the year I think it was 12 and 18 but where can they build on was the first year for for the new coach?

How did she do and what does she have to build on?

I think Becky Burke came in and and put together a roster that she could construct and that's really, she got the most out of the roster that she built because that's really all she could get in year number one having to replace Adia Barnes, so I think, I think you know I see 12 wins is probably more than a lot of us thought they might get in year number one.

Are we disappointed they lost all three times they played ASU?

Of course, and they were that close each one of those times but there is a place, this is not a starting point for her.

When Jedd Fisch was a brand new coach at Arizona he called the first year "year zero."

You really can't call it year zero because the wins and losses still count, but in a way this was her year zero: She established who she is, who she wants the program to be and now you go on and you recruit and you keep the players that you, the core players that you feel like are representative of what Becky Burke wants to do and you build from here.

You know Justin overall two years ago that was the move to the Big 12 for the Arizona, you know, sports program a lot of people were a little upset of leaving the Pac-12.

Yeah there was a lot of talk about it, but now how's it looking?

I think it's a great move, yeah from a basketball perspective.

Now, I cover Arizona Football, that is my beat for tucson.com and even just going on the road and seeing certain Big 12 venues, seeing the amount of people that support their programs that is what prompted Arizona football to move sidelines because in the Pac-12 you cannot have the students behind the visitors and when Arizona was on the road at Kansas State a couple of years ago they were giving Brent Brennan the busines he even said in his press conference like they were saying some very creative things about my mother and my sister and then when I realized oh we can switch sidelines we're gonna do that and there's just a certain amount of passion in the Big 12 that just wasn't quite there with the Pac- 12 and so I think it is a good move.

And now from a basketball standpoint you look at all the cool innovative things that Brett Yormark is doing as a commissioner, you look at the teams from top to bottom no question is the best conference in college basketball and even from a Arizona women's from a women's basketball side of things you know they're not playing against Stanford, right, but I think collectively the Big 12 is a better league than the Pac-12 so I think it's a good move.

Okay well let's talk a little bit about some of the off-court off-field moves.

In particular recently university went and announced a new naming deal for the McKale Center at ALKEME Arena at the end of the football season they did a new naming deal with Casino del Sol.

Steve what do these kind of deals do for the school and also for the fan perspective?

Well it moves it forward right, if you don't keep up you're losing to the other programs but it's a lot of money but is it a lot of money and Justin may be able to speak more to this point what is maybe 1.7 in one deal with 2.0 in another yearly that gets you a quarterback.

Yeah it gets your quarterback and what do you have for the rest of the money great great job by doing it but but and I don't even know what the but is but good that everybody in the in the building at McKale did a great job doing this how do they sustain this, that's my whole thing.

Yeah Tony with the NL, NIL out there you know there's a lot of money that you have to pay student athletes these days and you have to have money to do that is that just simply the the impetus behind getting these new naming deals.

Oh yeah that that is part of it and in part of it is we still don't know how far this is going to go you know where this is still leading it's still kind of early right now and we're learning something every season with almost every sport you know I learned that you know Indiana University you know, my alma mater, apparently has the biggest alumni base in the whole country and we didn't know that until until a few weeks ago in the football season and with that comes a lot of money and you know it's just not, you know, within that case not just Mark Cuban or John Mellencamp, you know it's a lot of people and so now you got to look at all your, you know all of the schools all the D1 schools and schools in general you know what's my alumni base what can they contribute, what are they willing to contribute to make us winners.

With still money people still paid on their loans from being there.

Yeah right right.

Pat you know athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois, really she was maybe the catalyst behind kind of getting all of this money.

Did she understand the assignment?

What is it going to mean financially not only for the teams but for the university and the area?

Yeah I think the university understood the assignment when they hired her because she began to do this at Missouri where she was previously.

She had people that she brought with her or eventually brought in as well that all understood the assignment and that is to find ways to get revenue, generate fans and alumni who could then open up their checkbooks and give the money to the university in an ever-changing landscape.

Remember she was on the committee, the NCAA committee that took the house settlement last summer which was the big ruling about how you're allowed to now divvy out money and it became an x amount of dollars for each school will now be able to divvy out.

So she was on that committee she's been able to steer that committee a little bit I think and understand that the University of Arizona isn't Indiana as far as the the giant alumni base.

It isn't in a major media market where they can get revenue generated that way, so U of A is unique and I think she understands that and I think she's done a very very good job.

Justin how much of these naming deals and things like that the influx of money based on the success of the teams trickle down to other sports beyond you know you know football and basketball.

Yeah and it opens up different avenues for revenue and you know football is always king and basketball is always going to make a lot of money, right especially men's basketball here in Tucson but football pays a lot of bills for other programs and so having that naming rights deal I think is so key and it also you know with with revenue sharing and schools having to raise their own money a naming rights agreement for both McKale Center and now Casino del Sol Stadium it it brings in money to where you can use it towards facility upgrades and that way you don't have to get into the athletic budget to then spend it on that you can use money for like Steve said, paying for a quarterback or you know paying money for a high level basketball player so I think Casino del Sol Stadium, McKale Center at ALKEME Arena and Desiree did, I thought, you know, one thing that she emphasized was that she did not want to take McKale Center out of the name.

She wanted to do it to do a naming rights agreement but still have McKale as the prominent name in there.

One of the things that has come up it is now that time of the year where it's spring training it's baseball we are getting ready for the regular season and unfortunately no baseball from the MLB perspective really here but there's still a huge baseball presence you know if you've got the Wildcats playing at High Corbett, there's the Tucson Saguaros an independent team that's playing here at Kino.

Tony there was an attempt earlier this year to bring a Mexican pro team to this area unfortunately because of visa issues they never played a home game here.

Yeah and that's that was a sort of a fascinating story and and you know we we followed that all through the entire season when are they going to play here what, when our home fans going to get a chance to see this team and it's really quite a league it's really you know very interesting you know interesting group but again you know you know like you said before with the you know international situation with the with Iran it's a shame that you know international issues tend to get into sports and vice versa and this Mexican League team really fell victim to that.

Hopefully they'll endure this and we'll see them in Tucson next season because the fans deserve it.

Yeah and the fans really you know like baseball here they've been starving to see it come back and we've got the facilities.

Steve, are we looking at it maybe from a the wrong lens I mean we may not have major league baseball here but there are other options.

Sure, we have long been known for being a minor league city right and some of us have embraced that they're trying desperately to get some baseball here.

Not just the Mexican Baseball League but other other things, I know that Pima County is trying to do that and Tucson when I got here in the mid 80s and before that too, it's just baseball heaven it's a hotbed for baseball players a lot of major league players have come through the Tucson and so we can all again cross our fingers and hope that happens.

Okay this is normally the time where we have our viewer question.

If you want to get us a question all you have to do is go to azpm.org slash press room you can ask a question there you could also find us on YouTube and post a comment there and ask a question.

This week we're going to turn things around a little bit as we get ready for the NCAA tournament I'm going to throw this out to all of you.

There are so many ways of choosing your bracket for the tournament.

One of the ways that has come up that I've seen several people talk about: They're using AI to choose their brackets.

How are you guys going about doing your brackets and would you ever use AI?

Justin?

Well I'm not gonna rely on Allen Iverson to make my picks.

The bracket.

I love Allen Iverson.

Good point.

But my method when it comes to the brackets, not AI, but I always have to pick a 12 versus 5 upset because that always happens maybe a 10 or seven so I really have to think about it how they are doing in the last month leading up to the tournament are they peaking at the right time that's the the method but I know some people sometimes they do it based off the logos or vibes and sometimes they win their bracket challenge at work.

Pat?

I'm with Justin I always look at that 12-5 matchup, the four of those first and really kind of study those and see there's got to be one right there's got to be one.

I just want to make sure I get that one and then I just I would never ever you know no offense to those who do but I would never use AI.

I want to use my brain and my my powers of trying to figure out who the better team is and as Justin says just playing the best right then and so it's easy for me to figure out this team's going to be this team because I watch this team play and they're way better than this team and hopefully you get it right.

All right Steve 20 seconds, how do you do it?

It's luck man, it's a crap shoot.

Matchups are important but even then if you think you know, you don't know.

It's too tough.

And Tony?

I always look at the relative strengths of the different conferences and looking at statistics.

Rebounding is big.

All right I like to pick mine after the championship game, that's the way to go.

You win a lot.

You do really well.

Pat Parris, Justin Spears, Tony Perkins and Steve Rivera thank you all so much for being here today.

You know we've got March Madness things to be very excited about especially if you're a fan of Tucson basketball Arizona basketball.

It's a fun time of year man.

It is the best.

All right that's going to do it right now for this week's edition of the Press Room.

I'm David Lee.

We'll see you next week.

Thank you all for watching and listening.

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