Chuck Powell Blogs

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What lies beneath: The ugly truth about the sports we love

As sports fans, we’re not stupid. But we sure do enjoy the cool comfort of being kept in the dark. What we don’t know “with certainty” won’t hurt us. Right? How else could baseball have had a steroid problem for 20 years and not gotten around to addressing it until Congress held the sport’s feet […]
11 years ago
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0-1, time for the Arizona Cardinals to start the season

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the most negative thing was the pressure on the quarterback, the sacks, and the turnovers,” said Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians the morning after the team’s 27-24 opening game loss to St. Louis. Unless coach is bundling the damage caused by Levi Brown’s ineffectiveness at left […]
11 years ago
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How impressive was Manning’s 7 TD night?

I admire Peyton Manning more than any other athlete in sports. If I had a son, I’d want #18 to be his favorite player. But instead of enjoying his seven-touchdown performance Thursday night, I found myself cringing with every perfect spiral landing safely into the awaiting and capable arms of each wide open receiver. Welcome […]
11 years ago
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NFC West continues to get stronger and more competitive

So, you’re a Cardinal fan. You want to believe that the team’s newest direction is the right direction: A new head coach with a track record as an assistant for winning; a more aggressive offensive plan; a new quarterback; and a bright young general manager who’s already made more shrewd moves in one offseason than […]
11 years ago
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For the Arizona Diamondbacks, what’s left to cheer for?

It’s September. For baseball, it should be the best time of the year. Pennant races, award chatter, fall weather rolling in, what’s not to like? Instead, like the child whose birthday is December 24, baseball struggles for attention during what should be the best time of their year. The excitement of a new football season […]
11 years ago
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The 5: Bold Predictions for the 2013 NFL season

The following is not for the faint of heart. These are truly bold NFL predictions, the kind that will make you angry, the kind that will cause you to call the cops, the kind that will return you to drinking. I’m not saying the following five predictions are going to happen. Heck, it would be […]
11 years ago
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A look at the new Cardinals: Bruce Arians

The 2013 Arizona Cardinals season kicks off this week. Finally, Carson Palmer will play a real game as a Cardinal. Rashard Mendenhall will start. And rookie Tyrann Mathieu makes his professional debut. I’ve managed to mention six of the many Cardinal newcomers in my “New Faces” series this preseason. Time for a seventh and final […]
11 years ago
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It’s Ryan vs. Ryan for the Arizona Cardinals

Is tonight’s final Cardinals preseason game all about the Ryans? Not Rex or Rob. Or even Meg or Jeri. But Ryan Williams versus Ryan Lindley? They don’t even play the same position, and yet the two may be auditioning for Bruce Arians’ final rose on the Cardinals roster. Williams is a former second-round pick who […]
11 years ago
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Is Jerraud Powers the Arizona Cardinals’ best option at CB?

How long will it be before Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu are the Arizona Cardinals’ starting corners? In watching the Cardinals’ three preseason games, I can’t help but cite cornerback Jerraud Powers as an area of concern. And the more I’ve looked into his football past, the more my concern grows. At 5-foot-9, 187 pounds, […]
11 years ago
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The time may be coming for the Arizona Diamondacks to sit Patrick Corbin

Is it time to sit Patrick Corbin? Obviously, the answer is ‘no’. Whether it feels like it or not, the Diamondbacks are still in a playoff race; five back of the wild card with 31 games to go. However, is there a plan for sitting the young staff ace once the determination is made that […]
11 years ago
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The Five: Riskiest predictions for the 2013 college football season

Think back to last season. College football was dominated by the surprise story. – A freshman won the Heisman – Matt Barkley was a bust – Notre Dame played for the national title – Manti Te’o’s girlfriend was a dude – Todd Graham didn’t leave ASU for a better job We’re talking some stunning items […]
11 years ago
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Sometimes, it’s just not in the cards

When Arizona Cardinals rookie Jonathan Cooper went down in a heap Saturday night, the air was sucked out of University of Phoenix Stadium. When word came down that the prized first round pick had broken his leg, you could hear the voices of Cardinal fans rise as one to ask, “Why us?” I understand. The […]
11 years ago
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A look at the new Arizona Cardinals: Rashard Mendenhall

Four teams in the NFL are projected to feature a change at starting quarterback to start the season. The only team to have made a change at both starting quarterback and running back is the Arizona Cardinals. Rashard Mendenhall hasn’t received near the preseason ink Carson Palmer has, but his task is no less daunting. […]
11 years ago
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Ron Jaworski might be right on Colin Kaepernick

According to ESPN NFL analyst Ron Jaworski, “Colin Kaepernick could be one of the greatest quarterbacks ever.” The Cardinal fan wants to be excited about his/her team. A new coach, a new direction, a new quarterback, an established superstar in Larry Fitzgerald, a budding superstar in Patrick Peterson, a brand new pet Honey Badger. With […]
11 years ago
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Are the Diamondbacks comeback kids?

As late as September 6, 2011, the St. Louis Cardinals trailed the Atlanta Braves for the last available Wild Card playoff spot by 8.5 games. That same year, the Boston Red Sox led Tampa Bay by nine games on September 4. St. Louis and Tampa Bay ended up making the playoffs in 2011. The Cardinals […]
11 years ago
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Don’t let team loyalty cloud your Fantasy Football judgment

It’s draft day 2013. For the thirteenth year in a row, your wife has asked, “Now what exactly is this thing you’re doing with your friends Friday night?” And for the thirteenth year in a row, you try patiently explaining again how fantasy football works. She rolls her eyes, giving you that “why couldn’t I […]
11 years ago
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The Five: Best fantasy football picks since 1950

Football season is here! And the weeks leading up to football season are littered with fantasy football drafts. From Anchorage, Alaska to Zion, Illinois, football fans are preparing their draft boards for another season of low-wage gambling and artificial interest in sport. Hey, I’m not judging. Fantasy football is great. I haven’t played in a […]
11 years ago
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A look at the new Arizona Cardinals: John Abraham

January 18, 2013. The Arizona Cardinals hire a brand new head coach in Bruce Arians, giving the 60 year old 2012 NFL Coach of the Year his first crack at being a full-time head coach. April 2nd. The Cardinals made their biggest splash of the offseason, acquiring a new quarterback with a familiar name in […]
11 years ago
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Let me repeat, Paul Goldschmidt is the NL MVP

Let’s clear up a few things about MVP voting. The first criterion baseball writers are expected to consider, by rule, before casting their MVP vote is “the value of a player to his team, both offensively and defensively.” Notice this doesn’t read: A player must be on a playoff team to be considered for his […]
11 years ago
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Arizona Cardinals or Dallas Cowboys? The choice is easy

Let me begin by stating that I am a football fan, but I’m not a fan of any one team. I don’t allow emotion to interfere with my enjoyment of sports. I am the ultimate unbiased evaluator. And I’m not bragging about it. I recognize that this makes me weird. The reason I wanted to […]
11 years ago
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Right now, Arizona Diamondbacks’ Paul Goldschmidt is your NL MVP

In the team’s comparatively brief franchise history, the Arizona Diamondbacks have claimed five Cy Young Awards, but no D-back has ever been named league MVP. Well, Tuesday night, 25-year-old Paul Goldschmidt went to bed as the leading candidate for the 2013 National League Most Valuable Player Award with just six weeks to play. Quietly, Goldschmidt […]
11 years ago
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The 5: Arizona sports stories that could be made into movies

You may have heard. Retired Arizona Cardinal quarterback Kurt Warner is having a motion picture made about his life. The story is undoubtedly movie-worthy, the rags-to-riches tale of a grown man bagging groceries who doesn’t give up on his NFL dreams and eventually becomes the best football player in the world. It got me to […]
11 years ago
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A look at the new Arizona Cardinals: Jonathan Cooper

It’s not the first time an NFL team spent a top 10 pick on an interior offensive lineman. Heck, it’s not even the first time the Cardinals have since 2000. But the moment is rare that a team stoops to the top-ten guard grab, and rarer that one is believed worthy. Meet Jonathan Cooper. The […]
11 years ago
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Building Diamondbacks through bullpen is a flawed philosophy

December 6, 2010. Three months into his new job, Arizona General Manager Kevin Towers traded Mark Reynolds to Baltimore for pitchers David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio. Baltimore and Arizona have each made one playoff appearance since the trade. Hernandez was certainly more consistent than Reynolds during his first two seasons in a new uniform, but […]
11 years ago