For three quarters of the teams in the Pac-12, a quarter of their regular season is in the books. Week 3 answered some questions, no doubt. And a couple of teams in the South may have seen their conference championship hopes dashed by injuries. In Arlington, UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley injured his left arm in […]
Week 2 is in the books in the Pac-12, and we’re starting to get a little clearer picture on some teams. Oregon is one of them. The third-ranked Ducks went into the locker room at Autzen Stadium trailing seventh-ranked Michigan State 24-18. We don’t know what head coach Mark Helfrich said to his team at […]
Week 1 is in the books in the Pac-12. Every team in the conference was in action against a non-conference foe, in really what was a lackluster week of scheduling to be quite honest. Only three schools — UCLA, Washington State and Cal — had games against Power 5 conference institutions. In all, Pac-12 teams […]
One of the things I’ve always loved about sports was the uniform. I remember getting a talking-to by my first grade teacher Mrs. Hoover for curling the end of my nines. When she corrected me, I told her that’s the way the ‘9’ was on the back of Graig Nettles’ jersey. When I played soccer […]
The 2013 season was a banner one for the Pac-12 Conference. Most national experts believe the “Conference of Champions” elevated itself to the second-most powerful football conference in America, behind only the mighty SEC. Nine Pac-12 teams qualified for bowl games (the most ever) where the schools went 6-3 and won their games by an […]
Happy 4th! It’s our nation’s 238th birthday (doesn’t look day over 75, really) and we’re all celebrating, in some way, the number 4. Four is a significant number in Phoenix sports, as well. Four big league teams If you’re a sports fan in the Valley, you’re spoiled. You live in one of only 12 metropolitan […]
The 2014 NBA Draft is now history. Sixty players entered the league with great pomp and circumstance — from Cleveland’s selection of Kansas forward Andrew Wiggins first overall to the San Antonio Spurs closing out the festivities by picking Baylor power forward Cory Jefferson. Here are some things I noticed during this year’s draft. Canadian […]
The Arizona Cardinals raised eyebrows all over the National Football League in April of 2013 when they selected defensive back Tyrann Mathieu in the third round of the NFL Draft. Nobody doubted Mathieu’s talent and uncanny ability to create plays on the football field, however there was that little matter of Mathieu’s marijuana use — […]
As I sat at my desk Wednesday afternoon, I watched a good portion of the St. Louis Rams’ press conference introducing seventh-round draft pick Michael Sam to the local media. It was a first, on a couple of levels. It was the first time I ever remember seeing a seventh-rounder’s presser broadcast live to the […]
It’s all over. Over three days, 256 players ranging from South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney to Memphis’ Lonnie Ballentine, became professional football players via the 2014 NFL Draft. The Arizona Cardinals fortified their roster by selecting seven players over the course of the draft. Here are my quick thoughts on each: 1st round, 27th overall – […]
You’re the general manager of the Cleveland Browns. It’s the day of the draft, your girlfriend (who also happens to be the team’s capologist) is pregnant, you’re riddled with guilt over the recent death of your father (who happened to be the legendary head coach whom you fired) and you’ve got the seventh overall pick. […]
Advertising. It’s absolutely everywhere. It still drives the economic engine of traditional media like radio, television and newspapers. Want to watch a video on YouTube? Sit through this :30 ad for Old Spice first. Gotta use the bathroom at your favorite watering hole? You’ll likely see an add for a taxi service above the urinal. […]
NBA legend (and logo) Jerry West recently did an interview on ESPN Radio during which he skewered the quality of play around the league. “This is the weakest I’ve ever seen this league. The weakest. And we are depending on people who go to school for a year to come in and change the fortunes […]
There’s no question about it — the Phoenix Suns have been one of the biggest surprises in the NBA this season. Picked by most experts to win less than 20 games in 2013-14, the Suns are 30-21 at the All-Star break, good enough for the ninth-best record in the league. While first-year general manager Ryan […]
MANHATTAN — National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell has got to be cringing just a little bit. Radio Row at the Super Bowl is supposed to be a celebration of America’s favorite sport. Instead, the 2014 version at the Sheraton has been an advertisement depicting a lot of what’s wrong in the NFL. In the […]
SAN DIEGO — It wasn’t supposed to end like this. The 2013 season had been a special one for the Arizona State Sun Devils. There was the win over Wisconsin, the blowout of USC. The dismantling of Washington, the Pac-12 South clinching win at UCLA and the unmitigated slaughter of Arizona. Ten wins — not […]
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Well, it’s over. A thrilling 2013 campaign ended for the Arizona Cardinals Sunday with a hard-fought 23-20 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at University of Phoenix Stadium. Fittingly, it was a game that followed a prevalent theme of the season — perseverance. The Cardinals shot themselves in the foot early and […]
The Arizona Cardinals find themselves in a weird spot. While having arguably the best team they’ve had in the 26 seasons since moving to the Valley from St. Louis in 1988, there’s a great chance they’ll be watching this year’s postseason from their couches. At 10-5, the Cardinals need to beat the San Francisco 49ers […]
I can’t really say it’s by popular demand, but it’s back nonetheless. It’s the 5th Annual Fictional Bowl Games for College Football’s Also-rans. This project started in 2009 as a way to get a bad Arizona State team into the postseason. So I created the Late Night Talk Show Host Alma Mater Bowl between ASU, […]
TEMPE, Ariz. — After attending the postgame press conferences following Stanford’s convincing 38-14 win over Arizona State to win the Pac-12 Championship Game, I stepped into the men’s room in the press box. “Sun Devil Soundoff,” a show hosted by my friend and colleague Craig Grialou, was piped over the speakers. A caller, who may […]
The Arizona Cardinals saw their four-game winning streak end Sunday in Philadelphia with a 24-21 loss to the Eagles. Philadelphia, behind another strong performance from quarterback Nick Foles, who had three touchdown passes, built a 24-7 lead early in the third quarter. The Cardinals’ defense stiffened after that, allowing the Eagles just 37 total yards […]
PASADENA, Calif. – Admit it, you were waiting for them to blow it. The Arizona State Sun Devils played their best half of football in the first 30 minutes against UCLA at the Rose Bowl Saturday, and they needed every bit of the 22-point lead they were able to build. ASU teams of the past […]
TEMPE, Ariz. — When Todd Graham arrived on campus at Arizona State University in December 2011, there was immediate talk about character, discipline and championships. “I think perception is reality, and we start the perception today that we’re going to build a championship program,” Graham said at his introductory press conference in December of 2011. […]
