I was actually encouraged by the Diamondbacks’ 15-12 record in the month of April, despite the fact they blew more saves than any other team in baseball. With all the injuries this team has sustained (Aaron Hill, Willie Bloomquist, Adam Eaton, a red hot Didi Gregorious and more), the fact that Martin Prado and Miguel […]
The Arizona Cardinals drafted nine players in the 2013 NFL draft and many analysts are talking about how Jonathan Cooper might be a perennial Pro Bowl guard. They also like Kevin Minter in the second round, and Tyrann Mathieu has been a topic of discussion nationally. Herman Edwards was raving about the Cardinals drafting Stepfan […]
Allow me to preface what follows: rookies have got to play and rookies have got to prove their worth. I don’t give rookies the benefit of the doubt, regardless of where they’re drafted. Prove it, rook. Having offered this premise, the 2013 NFL Draft for the Arizona Cardinals in terms of value of pick, areas […]
The Arizona Cardinals didn’t get a tackle, but they got the next best thing for their scheme: Jonathan Cooper. Getting the guard from North Carolina leads me to believe the Cardinals are going to run a zone-blocking scheme, exclusively. Chance Warmack had been rated the top player at his position in the draft for months […]
The New York Jets traded Darrelle Revis to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 13th overall pick in the draft and a conditional selection next year. This seems to be a sweet deal for all parties involved, sans the NFLPA. The Jets got rid of a problem that could have turned into a nightmare that […]
One of the best listeners the Doug & Wolf Show has e-mailed me a few questions leading up to the draft. Brother Murph knows his stuff and always brings passion to the table. His question: Why is it considered a ‘reach’ taking an offensive guard in the top-10 picks of the 1st round, particularly if […]
We will never forget Newtown. The unspeakable horror and the events of that day left this nation speechless and hopeless. Although nothing will top the horror of that day, the Boston bombings during the 117th Boston Marathon — where an eight-year-old boy lost his life — have filled us with the same sentiment. The sporting […]
Goran Dragic is a leader in the Suns locker room, but I wonder if he can lead this team? Leadership comes in many forms, but in the world of sports, there are only three ways leadership manifests itself. Teams can have a player that leads by example, they can have players that verbally assert themselves […]
The mind is so fragile, isn’t it? Professional athletes spend so many hours working on their bodies, getting physically conditioned to withstand the rigors of their sport, and very little time on strengthening their minds. Trevor Cahill is a fascinating case in point. I wrote about Cahill on Monday. His troubles with starting games and […]
Honestly, Trevor Cahill makes me want to gouge my eyes out. He has excellent stuff and you wonder how anybody could put any crooked numbers up on this guy, let alone in the first inning! But that’s exactly what the Pirates did in the first game of their three-game series with the Diamondbacks. The Pirates […]
Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti had no choice. Trying to rehab Mike Rice as opposed to firing him on the spot is indefensible. Tim Pernetti did the honorable thing and stepped down, knowing he should have overridden school officials and fired Mike Rice. But the plot thickened when we discovered that Tim Pernetti said he […]
Game three of the Diamondbacks’ opening series turned into the paragon example of why Kevin Towers and the D-backs believe they will be contenders in 2013. Many baseball pundits and sabermetricians scoffed at the Justin Upton trade and believed the Diamondbacks were foolish for making it. Well, grinders unite! Moneyball may prove Kevin Towers wrong […]
There was a day when coaches got physical with their players. There was a day where it was part of coaching. There was a time when coaches drove their players with a whip in one hand and a rod in the other. That time, regrettably, ended in the vicinity of the late 20th century. College […]
What I love about this team more than anything else is they will fight you to the bitter end. They have a bunch of guys that will play hard for 27 outs and never quit. Martin Prado, Paul Goldschmidt, Miguel Montero, Aaron Hill and company don’t need anybody to get them ready to play. I […]
According to a recent report, there are 13 teams in the National Football League that have $10 million or more in cap space remaining and teams are into their third week of free agency. It’s finally happening: general managers are taking an even-handed approach to free agency. In view of this collective conservatism, the question […]
If/when the Oakland Raiders cut Carson Palmer, he could be an option for the Arizona Cardinals at quarterback. But I hope he isn’t looked at as a long-term solution. Palmer is 33 years old and although he had a very productive season in Oakland last year, the Cards need to find a guy they can […]
The Joe Flacco dynamic is going to be interesting to watch in 2013. The Ravens signed Flacco to a big money contract while teammates with Super Bowl rings are pushed out the door. Think of all the players the Ravens have lost from their Super Bowl team: Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Paul Kruger, Dannell Ellerbe, […]
I am fascinated with the West Region in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Although I believe it could be the easiest march for the eventual winner, that also makes it the most dangerous. Preconceived notions and assumptions will be the death knell for coaches in this tournament. One of the most difficult things for a coach […]
I still remember the e-mail I got from a guy that said Kevin Kolb would not be the guy the Cardinals were looking for because he couldn’t stay healthy. He talked about the problems Kolb had in Philadelphia and I ignored him. In this case, I owe that gentleman a formal mea culpa: you were […]
I am all for protecting players, but the competition committee is considering making a rule change in the National Football League that I cannot bare. 6. Player safety: Initiating contact with the crown of the helmet is a foul if the runner or tackler delivers a forceable blow against his opponent when both players are […]
Free agency has not been the panacea everybody thought it was going to be when it was introduced in its full-blown form. The NFL is replete with examples of teams and players that have proven free agency, when misused, is a non-sequitur, a logical fallacy. The 2011 Philadelphia Eagles will forever stand as Exhibit A […]
Anquan Boldin is back in the NFC West and this is not good news for the Seahawks, Rams or Cardinals. Seattle made a splash by acquiring Percy Harvin, but I don’t think it makes them king of the pool. Harvin only played in nine games last season and, according to the Vikings, he’s a bit […]
Adrian Wilson was a gatekeeper for the Arizona Cardinals, a man revered among his peers. He was a physical specimen, one of a kind, who played the game with a chip on his shoulder, desperately trying to win the respect of players, fans and coaches across the league. This man’s career will be defined by […]
The Miami Heat are showing what it means to be great. They have won 16 games in a row and are continuing to serve notice to the rest of the league that they will not give up their title easily. The Heat are a great team because the individuals they have on the floor are […]