Usually I’m the movie guy; always at the ready with a line, character or scene from a flick that tries to sum up the typically misguided point I’m trying to make. Today though, the Arizona Cardinals have me quoting Springsteen: “You’ve got to learn to live with what you can’t rise above if you want […]
I recall an interview with director Quentin Tarantino, who listed his 25 favorite movies since he became a director. The Matrix rightfully made the list, but he almost kept it off. His reasoning was that the two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, were so horrible that they minimized the greatness of the […]
When he spoke the words, Ken Whisenhunt did it with such certitude; it could convince even the most skeptical of souls: “It’s not luck…it can’t be luck.” Clearly the coach subscribes to Ralph Waldo Emerson (“Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.”) and not Donald Trump (“Everything in life is […]
It seems history was on everybody’s mind at University of Phoenix Stadium. Right next to me in the press box, our own Vince Marotta is furiously finding the top TV shows, songs and movies from the last time the Cardinals started a season 3-0; 1974. (It was, by the way, a damn good year for […]
Once upon a time I guaranteed the Cardinals would not — could not — win a playoff game in Carolina. I boldly and foolishly claimed that, if proven wrong, I would literally eat crow. When a caller suggested that not only would the Cardinals win but they would go on to host the NFC Championship […]
On Friday I said that I had never had such low expectations for a Ken Whisenhunt coached Arizona Cardinal team (the first year doesn’t count of course). Did the Cardinals opening win over Seattle put me in a revisionist mood? No. Not yet. Were this a trial, and I was the jury, an argument based […]
Am I shocked? Am I surprised? I am happy. I’m happy the Cardinals went with John Skelton as their starting quarterback. His selection feels right and natural. Comfortable. He never grabbed the job as forcefully as we would’ve liked, but between his arm strength, pocket poise and size it seems to me he gives the […]
It was a surreal moment as I made my way to the Sun Devil Stadium press box; I couldn’t recall if I had set foot in the building during the entire Dennis Erickson era. Sun Devil fans can certainly relate. Outside of a Holiday Bowl run in year one and the horrendous stumbles of the […]
The Cardinals quarterback competition is like getting lost in the woods. We’ve come all this way only to find we’ve been walking in a giant circle. John Skelton (not Jonathon Trent Dilfer) was the night’s biggest letdown. He completed 4-of-10 passes for 41 yards, tossed a pick on an overthrow and has a QB rating […]
There can’t be much left to decide, can there? There was never any doubt for me that the Cardinals game against the Raiders boiled down to a referendum on Kevin Kolb. While there were certainly other issues that required attention (defense, running game), the focus was on Kolb. This was going to be his night […]
I got a text from the producer of the Burns and Gambo show last night at halftime of the preseason opener. It simply read: Skelton 1, Kolb 0 Yep. That’s about right. All of our fears about Kevin Kolb were realized in the first 15 minutes of the preseason. The biggest of which has nothing […]
As a proud graduate of Northern Arizona University I can assure you that these words have not once, in the history of the world, ever been spoken: “What happens at Lumberjack Stadium stays in Lumberjack Stadium.” It wasn’t a misplaced Vegas reference. Instead, Clark Haggans said it Wednesday night, trying to describe the intensity of […]
If I were in favor of trading Justin Upton I would probably stoop to the level of a high school sophomore who tries to spice up their term paper with a cheesy inspirational quote. Something like… “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” -Robert F. Kennedy or “Only those who risk […]
In “Back to the Future” – perhaps one of the most creative movies ever made – Marty McFly goes back in time and is stunned to see the way things used to be. In “Back to the Future 2” – perhaps one of the worst sequels I have ever sat through – Marty McFly goes […]
His game has abandoned him and in the onslaught of missed shots and bad decisions he didn’t want to add to the ledger. So he passed on a wide open shot. Others saw it as well, including J.A. Adande of ESPN. These Finals have not gone down easy for the former ASU star. In four […]
It wasn’t a big hit for the former front man of The Police; in fact, it wasn’t a hit at all. Yet all this talk about what happened to the Diamondbacks one year ago Monday has embedded a very old song by Sting in my head. History Will Teach Us Nothing. Surely by now you […]
For as much as I love the movies, I’m surprised that I’ve never used this space to tell you what my favorite movies of all-time are. Movies, plural. If you were the demanding sort and mandated I choose just one, I would. But realize if you ask me in a week you might get a […]
A 4-0 start works well no matter how you dissect it, but it’s especially satisfying when you consider through four games, the Arizona Diamondbacks really haven’t enjoyed the spoils of their starting pitching. Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson were both effective but hardly dominating in their first starts. Josh Collmenter has some work to do, […]
These days you’ll have a hard time finding anyone who has bad things to say about the Arizona Diamondbacks. From winning the NL West, to getting to the World Series, to Justin Upton winning the MVP, the Diamondbacks are that movie that all the critics are raving about. And that’s what scares me. Half the […]
Go ahead; ask me what I know about the latest on Peyton Manning. Go on…ask me. I know that one person told me Manning’s six-hour visit with the Cardinals went well. I know my co-host, John Gambadoro (@gambo620) tweeted earlier on Sunday that he was hearing Manning should be a Cardinals unless Bidwill screws it […]
It’s one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite movies: the “What are you prepared to do?” speech that Sean Connery delivers to Kevin Costner in The Untouchables Malone: What are you prepared to do? Ness: Everything within the law. Malone: And then what are you prepared to do? As I try to […]
This may surprise you but sometimes, we in the media, make a really big deal out of a really small detail. For example, Nick Piecoro’s note about Gerardo Parra getting time in centerfield. It’s likely nothing more than Kirk Gibson’s attempt to get Parra as many at bats as possible, in particular against righties that […]
Obsess over the legacy of Tom Brady all you want. Debate the place in history Eli Manning has now staked out. You can pour over Madonna’s set list if that’s what you’d prefer. To me, that’s not what I’ll remember from Super Bowl 46. The 2011 New York Giants accomplished a feat that the 2008 […]
