Thirteen days after he was cut by the Indianapolis Colts, the Peyton Manning saga came to an end when the four-time MVP signed his name on the dotted line of a contract printed on Denver Broncos letterhead. But did Manning make the right move? Yes, he’s got 96 million reasons to believe it’s the right […]
We’ve reached the second full week of Manning Watch 2012, and we know at this point that Peyton Manning will not be the next quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals. Friday, the organization beat their 1:00 p.m. deadline to honor a $7 million roster bonus due to incumbent quarterback Kevin Kolb, sewing up the immediate future […]
At the outset of this column, let me make an admission…I’ve been critical of Arizona State basketball this year. Gasp! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team struggle to pass the ball as much as this year’s Arizona State squad. Seemingly simple perimeter passes have been an adventure for the Sun Devils and that’s […]
A quick look at the NBA standings shows that exactly three teams — the Miami Heat, Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder — are averaging more than 100 points per game this season. That fact makes what happened 50 years ago in Hershey, Pennsylvania that much more stunning. On March 2 of that year, Wilt […]
Ok, color me impressed. I was underwhelmed by the hiring of Todd Graham as the new head coach of the Arizona State football. It wasn’t that I think Graham is a bad coach. I don’t. The coaching search and the negative press heaped upon Graham’s unsightly departure from Pittsburgh to take the ASU job left […]
I’ll start this column with an admission. I’m pretty skeeved out by high school athletes holding press conferences to announce where they’re going to college. Full disclosure…I’ve attended only two such press conferences in my life — Bobby Wade’s 2000 announcement that he was going to play his college football at Arizona, and D.J. Foster’s […]
Raise your hand if you had heard of Jeremy Lin a month ago? Liar! Unless you’re a big Ivy League fan or happened to watch every second of the Golden State Warriors’ 2010-11 season, you probably hadn’t. I had only heard of him because when the New York Knicks signed Lin on December 27, my […]
The NBA All-Star reserves were announced on Thursday, and Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns was among those named to the Western Conference roster. It didn’t take long for one of the most prevalent mouthpieces for the NBA to chime in his thoughts about Nash’s inclusion. Former Suns great Charles Barkley spoke up about the […]
When Super Bowl XLVI was on the line, Eli Manning took control. Yes, Eli Manning. Trailing 17-15 with only 3:46 on the clock and one timeout remaining, Manning led the New York Giants on a 9-play, 88-yard touchdown drive that gave the G-Men their second Super Bowl championship in five years. On the drive, Manning […]
Let’s play a little game. I’ll supply you with quotes that were made at the twelve different press conferences held by Pac-12 coaches about their recruiting classes, and you match them with the coach who said them. Good luck. A: “Our staff did a tremendous job of putting together this class.” B: “We feel very […]
Warning…this is not breaking news. Things are not going well for the Phoenix Suns so far in the 2011-12 season. Phoenix is 6-11, has lost three straight home games to teams (Cleveland, New Jersey and Toronto) with a combined 19-36 record. You probably thought you’d never hear people talking about the Suns being unable to […]
Quick…somebody name the last good thing that happened to Arizona State athletics? You’d probably have to go back to the football team’s easy 48-14 Homecoming win over Colorado on October 29th. Since then, it’s been a steady stream of yuck on both the gridiron and the hardwood. Suspensions, firings, embarrassing losses and negative publicity have […]
I wasn’t all that excited to sit through another LSU- Alabama matchup in Monday’s BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans. After all, we’d seen Field Goal Fest the Game of the Century back in November. And yes, it provided an overtime and dominating SEC defense, but for the most part it was boring. Despite […]
After a few days of speculation, it became official on Friday — Brock Osweiler is leaving Arizona State a year early to enter the NFL Draft. Is it the right move? Nobody knows for sure. “It was an exceptionally difficult decision to make, but having spoken to my family and close friends it became clear […]
The Arizona Cardinals have been eliminated from playoff contention, making Sunday’s season finale against the Seattle Seahawks virtually meaningless. But it’s not totally meaningless — the Cards and ‘Hawks are battling for 2nd place in the division and both are playing to even their records at 8-8 and avoid a losing season. But there is […]
Bowl season is underway in college football. You know, that time of year where mediocrity is rewarded and seemingly every day of the calendar for three-plus weeks is dotted with ho-hum matchups between teams you probably didn’t watch during the regular season. Thirty-five bowl games are currently in existence. That means 70 of 120 FBS […]
Okay, it’s been more than 24 hours since news broke that Todd Graham would be the next head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils. I guess it’s time to spill my thoughts. I thought that finally naming a coach seventeen days after firing Dennis Erickson would quell the negativity surrounding the Arizona State football […]
“Playoffs? You want to talk about playoffs? You kiddin’ me? Playoffs? I just hope we can win a game.” – Jim Mora, coach of the Indianapolis Colts, November 25, 2001 after a loss to the San Francisco 49ers. After the Arizona Cardinals blew a 21-point lead and lost to the Baltimore Ravens on October 30th […]
The reaction was quick, widespread, and intense when word broke Wednesday morning that the Arizona State Sun Devils had hired their new head football coach. It would be June Jones, a former NFL quarterback and head coach who built the Hawaii program into one of the nation’s most exciting teams before moving on to SMU. […]
Let’s face it, college football fans–it’s an SEC world and we’re just living in it. For the sixth straight season, the BCS National Champion will come from the Southeastern Conference thanks to the LSU-Alabama rematch that will take place on January 9th for all the marbles. Just sixty-five days after they met in Tuscaloosa in […]
We’re just a day away from the inaugural Pac-12 Championship Game. Excited? Unless you’re a fan of the Oregon Ducks, I can guarantee you’re not too psyched about this game, and that includes you, Larry Scott. Why would you be? What’s supposed to be a showcase for the newly reformed Pac-12 will play out more […]
The Arizona State football coaching search is in its infancy, and there have been dozens of names offered by thousands of people. Fans and media alike have offered up names that range from the out-of-reach (Jim Tressel, Chris Petersen), to the realistic (Kevin Sumlin, Mike Bellotti, Larry Fedora), to the obscure (Gary Andersen, Dave Christensen). […]
In the new college athletic tradition of keeping up with the Joneses, the Pac-10 added two new teams for the 2011 football season, welcoming the Utah Utes and Colorado Buffaloes into the fold. It was the first time the conference had expanded since 1978, when they added Arizona and Arizona State to the mix to […]
“Seems like in this state, you’re either a Sun Devil or a Wildcat.” – ASU head coach Dennis Erickson My “relationship” with Arizona State University began in 1978. Living in New York, my father had decided he’d had enough of life as a New York City police officer, and once he was promoted to captain, […]
