Dan Bickley Blogs 2

Arizona Sports

Bickley Blast: With Coyotes on solid ground, will you support them?

My, how the mood has changed in Glendale. For the first time in four years, the Cardinals have a QB. For the first time in four years, the Coyotes have peace of mind. And so does every sports fan that understands the important of remaining a Major League sports town. When the Coyotes were under […]
11 years ago
Arizona Sports

Bickley Blast: Chip Kelly is the most intriguing coach in the NFL

Hail to the new chief. He is Chip Kelly. And he needed one game to become the most intriguing coach in the NFL. Everything that sets him apart was on display in the first half of the Eagles’ win on Monday night: 26 points in 30 minutes, 53 plays by the offense, 21 first downs, […]
11 years ago
Arizona Sports

Bickley Blast: ASU could have great season, but will anyone see it?

Arizona State football is off to a great start. Jaelen Strong looks like the real deal. Taylor Kelly had the second best night of any quarterback in America, eclipsed only by Peyton Manning. De’Marieya Nelson looks like a beast at tight end. And wasn’t it great to see Deantre Lewis doing what he does best […]
11 years ago
Arizona Sports

Bickley Blast: Cardinals have an opportunity for a new beginning in an old setting

For the Bidwill family football team, St. Louis was literally a gateway to the West. The Cardinals bailed on their former host city in 1988, leaving St. Louis without a professional football for seven years. It’s made for some very interesting homecomings. When the Rams won a Super Bowl in 1999, one of their fans […]
11 years ago
Arizona Sports

Bickley Blast: A funeral for the BCS is coming

It has pageantry and traditions. It has mascots that people actually like. It has an emotional connection with fans that simply can’t be duplicated. It has the wild unpredictability that only teenage athletes can provide. The only thing it lacks is a playoff, and that’s coming next season. Of all the great story lines in […]
11 years ago
Arizona Sports

Bickley Blast: Cardinals should learn from preseason

The Cardinals have a 24-hour rule. To a man, they are required to forget the outcome of a game — good or bad — 24 hours after it is over. It’s a nice thought. But I’m not sure they want to forget what happened against the Chargers on Saturday night. Obviously, the game was terribly […]
11 years ago
Arizona Sports

Bickley Blast: Ryan Braun’s apology is a joke

Maybe Kirk Gibson isn’t right about Jason Kubel and Brandon McCarthy. But he was dead-on about Ryan Braun. His long-awaited apology was scripted, rehearsed and released. It was a nauseating joke. It began like they all do: Blaming some undisclosed injury that was making his life miserable. He began by acting like a victim. Somehow, […]
11 years ago
Arizona Sports

Bickley Blast: Drug problem? MLB has more of an image problem

Baseball doesn’t have a drug problem. It has an image problem. It’s a sport dominated by cheaters, headhunting pitchers and big-time villains that can dominate any conversation. It has very few guys capable of wearing the white hat with any sincerity. Look at how the current news cycle is dominated by Alex Rodriguez and Ryan […]
11 years ago
Arizona Sports

Bickley Blast: Tired of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball

Are you tired of drugs and baseball? I am. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of Ryan Braun. I’m sick of Alex Rodriguez. And we’re only getting started with these clowns. One guy is going to stage his apology this week. But Kirk Gibson isn’t buying it. He ripped Braun to shreds Sunday morning in […]
11 years ago
Arizona Sports

Bickley Blast – Patrick Peterson, MVP?

There are a lot of great sounds in sports: The swish of a basketball rippling the net; the cling of a puck caroming off the post; the explosive thud of a baseball hitting Alex Rodriguez. But for my money, nothing is better than a stadium full of fans chanting the three magic letters: M-V-P. It […]
11 years ago
Arizona Sports

Bickley Blast: Despite heroics, Paul Goldschmidt is not NL MVP

Paul Goldschmidt has done it again. He’s put the Diamondbacks on his shoulders, lifting them out of an abyss. But he is not the MVP of the National League. And to all the Diamondbacks fans in the audience, I’m truly sorry for what I’m about to say: At the moment, Yasiel Puig is the MVP […]
11 years ago
Arizona Sports

Bickley Blast: The Little League World Series is exploitation at its finest

For the past two weeks, we’ve talked about the exploitation of college athletes, and how the NCAA is crumbling under the weight of hypocrisy. Now it’s time to exploit our children. The annual Little League World Series begins on Thursday, a sporting event that never fails to make me cringe. It’s not just the unsavory […]
11 years ago