It’s hard for folks around the Arizona State program not to wonder if this is just his next short stop on the coaching ladder, but Graham says that’s not the case. He states his side of things in this interview and tells people that this is a destination job, one that he won’t leave unless he’s fired or retired.

Todd Graham joined KTAR in Phoenix with Doug and Wolf to discuss his side of things on his departure from Pitt, why he left there, how he changed the environment in one season there, not being the first choice of Arizona State, his coaching strengths, those questioning his character publicly and how long he plans on being at Arizona State.

What’s your side of the story with how you left things at Pitt?:

“Obviously the timing on these things are very, very difficult. From the time you’re offered a job to when you accept it is very rapid. It was probably a 12-hour period from when I was offered the job to the time I had to be on a plane leaving. … It didn’t allow for me to have a chance to call a meeting, to have a meeting with the players. I used the only means I had at my disposal. I certainly didn’t want those guys to find out on the news. … It makes you sick to your stomach, because it’s not the way you want to do things.”

Why did you leave Pitt?:

“I had other people call me about jobs around the country and I didn’t even blink at them. This is a place where my wife’s mother and father is. We come every year to vacation here. … It was a dream destination for us. … It was really more of a family deal.”

Did you feel like the environment had changed at Pitt during your one season?:

“I think so. I think we made great progress. … I think they had 26 arrests the year before I got there and we had zero. So, I think we made a lot of progress with the young men. I’m very, very proud of that growth. … Obviously you don’t ever want to be in a situation where you’re only at a place one year. At the end of the day, it was gut-wrenching to make that decision, but it was one that was the best for my family.”

Did you care how Arizona State handled its search, seemingly going after other candidates before arriving at your hiring?:

“Oh no. If you’re asking me about being the first choice, I wasn’t my wife’s first choice. But I’m glad that I was the one that ended up with it.”

What are you strengths?:

“My whole deal, my strengths, are building relationships with coaches and players. That’s my whole foundation of what we do. I think that’s the key to building discipline. I want guys that are great teachers. … I don’t believe there’s good and bad people, it’s what we choose to bring out in each other.”

You talk about being a man of character and being genuine, but given recent reports, the media is saying the opposite. How do you address that?:

“I would point to the players and things that I’ve done as a football coach. I’m extremely proud of the things we’ve accomplished on the field and off the field. I can tell you that obviously you never want to be put in a situation like that and it was tough. I’m human. I made the best decision for my family. … I know the people that know me know what I’m all about and all’s I can do is work hard to prove that and work hard to earn people’s respect and trust.”

If you win, how long will you be at Arizona State?:

“You can say, ‘Look at his track record. He was at Rice one year.’ If I describe the circumstances from which I left there and, really, if everybody knew all the circumstances that I just left, but I’m not going to go into that. … You look around the country, they’re firing coaches after two years and it’s unfair. But I can tell you this, that I come here because I think this is a destination. It’s where my wife and family wanted to be. … I’ll prove that I’m going to be here. Unless I’m fired or retired, I plan on being here.”

Listen to Todd Graham on KTAR in Phoenix here

Pitt wide receiver Cam Saddler, one of the team’s leaders, spoke out on the situation, describing how Graham spoke often of his money and the shock that the players were experiencing. At the mention of Graham possibly returning to meet with the team after leaving so hastily, Saddle said Graham better not dare come back.

Cam Saddler joined 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh on The Morning Show to discuss Graham not being genuine, the shock of the coaching change, what it will take to trust the next guy, talking to incoming recruits, the team coming together in a tough time, Graham talking about his money and what he would think if Graham wanted to come back and meet with the team.

When did you start to see this guy as not genuine?:

“I guess I got bamboozled. It just started to unravel slowly but surely, probably the first couple months he was there in the offseason. … Everybody wants to impress the new coach. But after a while, you cannot repeat the same stuff over and over. You’ve got to actually show us something.”

Have you learned more in the past 24 hours in the locker room or in the past four years in the classroom?:

“The last 24 hours, man. This has been rough, man. This is happening again? The first time it happened last year, we were all in shock, like no way this is going down. … Then, it’s happening now. … We’re kind of just like, again? How’s this happening again? We know what to expect, what we’re getting ourselves into, and it’s like, ‘Why us?’”

What do you think it’ll take for you to trust the next guy?:

“We don’t nobody to tell us nothing. We want somebody to show us. We’re tired of hearing speeches of how everything’s going to be OK and everything’s going to get better. … Show us. We’re done talking. I don’t want no one coming in here and talking to us, trying to sell us.”

You’ve been known as a guy who helped guys decide to come here. What do you say now?:

“I’m going to do some justice on this class, I promise. I think people are a little bit too worried about recruiting. I think, as a team, we’ll handle that. I talked to a couple recruits yesterday and I just wanted to tell the guys, ‘You’re coming to join the team.’”

Do you think you guys have come together as a team because of this?:

“Definitely. This is making us closer and closer. Everyone’s texting everybody and calling everybody just so we can all be on the same page. This situation is wild man. This doesn’t happen every day. … You don’t switch bosses this often. … We’ve got each other, though. I know it’s kind of cliche to say, but who else do you have?”

Give us an example of when Graham spoke about his money:

“He told us at a team meeting that … ‘I’ll lose game with guys with integrity. It doesn’t matter to me if I get fired. I make $2 million a year, I can move to the Caribbean and me and my wife can be better off for the rest of our lives.’ Like, what kind of nonsense is that? I don’t care about that. You’re my coach. I understand that; you get paid lots of money. … You have a nice haircut and all, but why would you tell us that you and your wife would be OK.”

More on the situation:

“I had to let them know that, I understand this is a business, but this is personal. This hurt. It was a business last year, but now this is personal, man. We’re young men, and we deserve the same respect that everyone else deserves.”

Todd Graham said he would like to come back and meet with you guys. What do you think about that?:

“No, no, no. He better not dare try to come over here. He better not dare. I mean that with a passion. When the situation first happened, I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I sat down with a couple guys and told them if the plan was for Coach Graham to coach us in the bowl game, we are not going to play.”

Listen to Cam Saddler on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh here

The Devils have one of the best defensive players in the country with Vontaze Burfict and they are returning loads of starters off a team that was better than their 6-6 record from a year ago. If ASU can learn from their mistakes in 2010 and they can get anything out of their starting quarterback Brock Osweiler, they will have a great shot of challenging for the first ever Pac-12 Championship.

Dennis Erickson joined KTAR in Phoenix with Burns and Gambo to talk about how excited he is that it is game week, whether or not he thinks the team learned from the close losses, if he considers his team a veteran team now after being so inexperienced last year, if he thinks Brock Osweiler is ready to be the Devils starting quarterback, on his injured running back Deantre Lewis, and if he thinks a playoff is on the horizon in college football with all of these super-conferences.

On the excitement of game week:

“Without question. It’s really been a long camp. We’ve been in for about five weeks, which is about four or five days longer than I have ever been in a camp. We’re anxious to get going and have some sort of idea of where we are at after our game on Thursday.”

Whether or not he thinks the team learned from the close losses:

“Yeah. I really believe you do. Why did we lose them? Obviously the kicking game cost us a couple. You look at them and say why did we lose them? Obviously the kicking game cost us a couple particularly P.A.T. situation against Wisconsin and then against USC with the guy returning it all the way. Just being undisciplined, having stupid penalties, turning the football over in critical situations, so the bottom line is we talked about it a lot. Obviously our players understand it. In the heat of the game things are going to happen, but you have to understand what it takes to win. I guess by losing some of those close ones you find out what it takes.”

Whether or not he considers his team a veteran team now after being so inexperienced last year:

“I guess. We have a lot of starters coming back that have played, but we have a lot of young guys playing too. We have guys that have been through it, guys that have won and know what it takes to win on both sides of the football. The bottom line with us is we have to come together as a team which I really believe we have in camp, last summer and winter, we’re all working to try and accomplish the same thing and it’s about Arizona State, the Sun Devils, and not about the individual. If we can do that, we can come together as a football team, regardless of how many seniors, juniors, or whatever, then we have a chance to win football games.”

Whether or not he feels like his quarterback Osweiler is ready for the challenge:

“I believe he’s ready there’s no question about that. He’s been a real leader on this team ever since he’s been here and he’s really taken over since last season as far as winter workouts, this spring, and this summer. The biggest thing with Brock is he hasn’t started a lot of football games. That’s where it’s at. I really believe you will see him get better and better every week. He’s very talented, he does some things extremely well, he’s a leader, and he’s just gotta find a way to win. I’m excited about watching him play myself. To see him start the season as a starter and see where we go. He does have a lot of talent.”

On Deantre Lewis’ recovery:

“Physically he is getting better all the time. He was in pads yesterday running around with the trainers telling me about 80 percent. I watch him and he looks like he is getting better all the time. The trainers make that decision and we’ll see where he’s at. I personally believe he will be back. I’m not sure exactly when. I know he wants to play this year and like I said he’s getting better physically. The mental aspect like I said before, think about it you were shot and almost killed. Those are mental hurdles that people have to get over. Deantre is working hard and I believe you will see him play this fall.”

On the possibility of a playoff after all these super-conferences have been formed:

“It looks like to me we’re trying to get all these conferences together for reason and that’s to have a playoff in my opinion. Am I for it? Not necessarily. I’d like to see a playoff somehow but I also don’t want to lose the bowl system. It looks like that’s the direction. Obviously money drives everything. Obviously you saw the difference in what Arizona State will make in a year when we get into the TV deal with the Pac-12 and that’s a lot of it. I hope they find a way to keep the bowls and I hope they can find a way that the schools that aren’t in the super conferences can still play and be competitive financially.”

Listen to Dennis Erickson on KTAR in Phoenix here

Ladies and gentlemen meet Anthony Robles. The 22-year old, one-legged wrestler, took home the 125-pound NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship in Philadelphia on Saturday. Robles defeated defending champion Matt McDonough of Iowa 7-1. The NCAA Division I Championship crown for Robles capped off a perfect season at 36-0 for the senior out of Arizona State. Robles plans to move onto motivational speaking now that his wrestling career is over. He would like to return the favor and help those in need of a pick me up.

You would never even know Robles had a disadvantage because he dominated his competition. It was an emotional weekend for Anthony Robles. We could all learn something after seeing this story unfold. It proves with heart and desire anything can be achieved.

Anthony Robles joined The Dan Patrick Show to discuss when he started to participate in organized wrestling, whether he was naturally gifted at the sport when he first started competing, if he he ever get treated differently by his coaches and teammates because of his physical ‘handicap’, if he ever feels sorry for himself despite all the success he’s carved out for himself as a young man, what he was thinking in the moments prior to his championship match on Saturday, and how he’s looking forward to helping other young men in similar situations achieve their goals now that his own wrestling career is over and done with.

When did you start wrestling?

“I started wrestling when I was freshmen in high school. I really didn’t have an interest in it, but my older cousin was a wrestler and he was just kind of dragging me to the practices. One day he just asked me if I wanted to jump in and as far as one of his guys and I just kind of ran with it from there and fell in love with the sport.”

Where you good at wrestling right away?

“Oh no, I was terrible actually. That first year I finished with a 5-8 record and I was actually last in my city, so I wasn’t very good starting off.”

Do you get treated differently by your coaches and teammates?

“No I don’t and that was actually one of the things I really wanted to stress starting off wrestling and especially getting into Arizona State. I wanted to be treated like everybody else. My parents didn’t raise me with any special treatment and so I grew up thinking I was just a normal kid. I wanted to be treated as such. It was real important for me as a captain, as one of the captains at Arizona State, to show the guys I’m just like them and now I can be right alongside of them busting my butt and working as hard as they were.”

Do you ever feel sorry for yourself?

“Absolutely not. I believe god made me this way for a reason. I’m just going to do the best with what I have. I mean people ask me every once in a while ‘If I had the opportunity would I change having one leg?’ I say ‘No.’ This is how I am. I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m proud of who I am and I’m just trying to make the best of it.”

You’re going out there for your final matchup for the title. Everything you’ve worked for is right in front of you. What are you thinking?

“I was terrified. I can remember I was waiting there ready to run out on the mat counting down from twenty seconds just knowing this was going to be on live television and as soon as the guy said twenty seconds my stomach just started to churn. I felt like I was about to throw up. I ran out there with the roar of the crowd and as soon as I stepped out on that stage it just felt like you know everything was just back to normal. Just like I trained for. Just like any other match. I was just pumped to go. It just seemed like everything happened so fast. When I got off the mat I couldn’t really remember what happened in the match, but it was a great night.”

What is next for you?

“Competition wise, wrestling, I’m done. People have asked me if I would like to try out for the Olympics: I don’t really see that as the next path in my life. I really want to focus on motivational speaking. I’ve been working with a professional coach on the side, who’s helping me develop my speech outlines to just help me in increasing my speaking skills. Now that wrestling is done that’s going to be my main focus. I just want to be able to turn around and kind of help people in the same way that…there’s some people in my life who have helped me to excel especially in wrestling, just in life to achieve things that people wouldn’t have thought possible or given me the chance to do. I feel like it’s my obligation to turn around and help people the same way.”

Listen to Anthony Robles on The Dan Patrick Show (Interview starts at 2:25 in the podcast)

Erickson joined KTAR in Phoenix to talk about naming Steven Threet the starter at quarterback, if he plans to use both him and Brock at QB throughout the season, the new and improved lot of playmakers on offense compared to recent years, and what he feels his defense is capable of in 2010.

On what led him to name Threet as the team’s starting quarterback to start the season:

“Well, basically during the spring it was very close between him and Brock. They were kind of up and down as far as who was going to be the starter. But the biggest thing, and it was both of them, they really got better as far as what we were doing offensively. And the bottom line is the light has gone on with Steven as far as reading things, getting the ball out of his hand quick. Obviously he’s played at Michigan, good leader, and basically it’s just how he’s executed the last couple of weeks. Brock’s not far away. It’s a good problem to have because Brock has improved quite a bit. So Steven will get the nod and he’ll be the starter, and obviously we’ll play Brock some. We’ll just see how it goes as the season progresses.”

On if he plans on playing both quarterbacks even if  Threet goes out there and performs well:

“Oh, no. If Steven goes out and does what we think he’s going to do, then Brock will be his backup. I mean, that’s how it’s got to be. But hopefully Brock gets some experience. I mean we’re obviously not in a position where we can redshirt him at all. He’s got to play, and you never know what can happen in a 12 game season. So hopefully he’ll some opportunities to get better in practice. But if Steven goes out and does what we think he can do then we won’t make any changes. Ideally that’s what you would like to have happen.”

On what is most important for his quarterback to execute in new offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone’s new system:

“Reading things, getting the ball out of his hand quick. We run a bunch of different motions and different motions, and understanding what happens with that motion as far as if we’re going to throw it or hand it off. If he sees blitz, being able to handle that. But it’s relatively simple for them to see things, but they’ve got to see it, they’ve got to understand, they’ve got to understand their reads. And more than anything, it’s being accurate. Accuracy is the key, and getting the ball out of their hands quick.”

On there being more playmakers at the skill positions on offense than in years past:

“Yeah it’s a lot different than we’ve  been the last couple years. You can start at running back. We’ve got Deantre Lewis and Jamal Miles who’s playing there now – and they add so much speed to what we’re doing. And Cameron Marshall will of course be our starter. But you get the ball to those two out in space and they bring us some speed and home run ability in our running game. We saw Jamal some last year, but we’re going to keep him at just one position right now. And Kyle Middlebrooks is a new freshman that we’re going to move around. And then the two junior college receivers, Michael Willie has been very, very impressive as far as making plays. And plus the guys that we’ve got coming back. T.J. Simpson has had a good camp, Kerry Taylor has had a good camp. So we’ve got speed and we’ve got skill that we haven’t had the last couple years. So I’m excited to watch because I think you’ll see more big plays this year out of our offense than you have the last three years”

On his defense and how he’s feeling about it heading into the new year:

Well obviously we’ve got good depth. We’ve had some injuries at defensive tackle the last week or so Corey Adams and Toa are both going to be out for a couple weeks. They’ll be back. Of course, Lawrence Guy and Saia were extremely good there, and Bo Moos has played very well for us. We’ve got six hands that we feel we can play, so our linebacker corps has been well known…we’ve got some depth there. Probably the biggest surprise on defense for me has been our safetys and particularly our corners. We feel like with Devron Carr and Boldin we have two corners who can come up and play man coverage which allows us to do more things. Then our safetys…we have some depth there. So we’re excited about that. If we can stay healthy up front, obviously we’re going to do some things with the 3-4 with the linebackers that we have. Obviously we’re not going to be in it all the time, it will be a change up.”

Listen here to Erickson with Doug & Wolf on KTAR in Phoenix

John’s son, Jack, was being groomed as the next big quarterback prospect since he could walk. He played high school football in Denver at Cherry Creek High and chose to continue his path to the NFL at Arizona State University. A few weeks back, Jack decided that the pressures of being a red-shirt freshman QB were just too much, and decided to quit playing football all together.

John Elway joined 710 ESPN Radio in Seattle on with Kevin Calabro and former NFL player Dave Wyman to discuss the pressures that are on today’s athletic youth and his reaction to his son’s decision to quit football.

On what today’s high school athlete goes through media-wise and how much attention he received coming out of high school:

“It wasn’t nearly what the kids are going through these days. I went to high school down in Los Angeles so obviously we got a little bit of press down there but I don’t remember anybody that I played against in high school being on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and we played some pretty good baseball down there.”

On the pressure his son has faced growing up in football in his shadow:

“The one thing is that the game has changed so much, especially with the press the kids are getting these days coming out of high school as well as college. I think that is what has changed over time. I think that as a father you get excited for your siblings if they have a chance to go on and play any sport. It’s always exciting as a parent to see them do that because with my experience and how much I enjoyed it, I would recommend that road if it were possible. I was fortunate enough to coach my son in high school his senior year and I think that the one thing I always told him, especially in high school, that it’s still a game at that point of time. I think it is really important to enjoy the game while it still is a game. Once you get into the college level, and then the professional level, it becomes a business.”

On his son, Jack, deciding to quit playing football at Arizona State:

“Obviously as a parent you want to see him go on because the game of football was so good to me. Everybody is in a different situation, and he decided that he didn’t want to play anymore football and I understood that. The one comment I always receive was ‘how does he feel following in my footsteps?’ and obviously it was very difficult for me to answer that. Jack was really the only one who could answer that. Obviously here in Denver the expectations were really high, and then going down to Arizona State, and Jack was a late bloomer and was really starting to come on, but I think that once he got down to Arizona State, and really just kind of listening to him and the things that they were going through compared to when we were in college, I understood the pressure he was under as far as working out early in the morning and the pressures to win. When he told me he didn’t want to play anymore, I understood.”

Listen to John Elway on 710 ESPN in Seattle with Kevin Calabro and Dave Wyman (13:50 into podcast)

Reason why #1 seed doesn’t make it to the Final Four:   If Ty Lawson isn’t close to a 100%, North Carolina is very beatable.  Roy Williams should rest him for at least the first game against Radford. 

Best bet in the first round:   Butler + 2 1/2 over LSU

Player I’m most looking forward to playing in the NBA:  Johnny Flynn.  I’m biased as a Syracuse grad, but I think he’s the best point guard in the country.  Deceptively strong with a better jumper than most point guards.  I hope he stays another year, but I doubt it.

Prediction for this bracket:  North Carolina, they’re just too deep.  However, if Lawson is still hobbled, I’ll go with Syracuse.  Sleeper pick would be Gonzaga.

Listen to North Carolina (#1) Head Coach Roy Williams on The Dan Patrick Show

Listen to Oklahoma (#2) Head Coach Jeff Capel on ESPN Radio with Tirico & Van Pelt

Listen to Syracuse (#3) Head Coach Jim Boeheim on KLAC with Chris Myers and Steve Hartman

Listen to Gonzaga (#4) Head Coach Mark Few on KTAR in Phoenix with Gambo & Ash

Listen to Illinois (#5) Head Coach Bruce Webber on WSCR in Chicago

Listen to Arizona State (#6) Head Coach Herb Sendek on KTAR in Phoenix with Doug & Wolf

Listen to Butler (#9) Head Coach Brad Stevens on 1070 the Fan in Indy with Bob Kravitz and Eddie White

Listen to Michigan (#10) Head Coach John Beilein on WTKA in Ann Arbor

Listen to Temple (#11) Head Coach Fran Dunphy on WIP in Philadelphia with Howard Eskin

Listen here to Western Kentucky (#12) Head Coach Ken McDonald on KTAR in Phoenix with Gambo & Ash

Listen here to Akron (#13 South) Head Coach Keith Dambrot on ESPN Radio Cleveland

Listen here to Stephen F. Austin (#14) Head Coach Danny Kaspar on ESPN Radio Syracuse

Listen to Morgan State (#15) Head Coach Todd Bozeman on WNST in Baltimore with Drew Forrester

Listen here to Radford (#16) head coach Brad Greenberg on KJR in Seattle

On how Harden is feeling after getting dinged up on Saturday against Cal:

“He bruised his Achilles. He’s getting better each day, and he’s going to be fine.”

On how to prepare for an extremely desperate Arizona Wildcats team in the Sun Devils opening round of the conference tourney:

“The game is important to us, the Pac 10 Tournament is important to us. We know we’re going to have to be at our best to beat Arizona. The games that we have played previously could have gone either way. We were fortunate that the see-saw tilted in our direction but both games came down to the final possession; so you can never control the other side, you have to focus on yourself, which believe me is hard enough.”

Listen here to Sendek on KTAR in Phoenix