THE HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHT:. ROCCO BRUNEY

Rocco Bruney's Highlights

This week The High School Highlight takes you to Glendale High School.  Home of the Cardinals, and a team with high hopes this season.  Last season, under head coach Rob York the team went 8-2.

This year they look to improve on that and make a playoff run.  One of the young men that plans to help is sophomore WR/QB Rocco Bruney.

Bruney also plays Cornerback and is a very smart player.  He comes from a football family, his father and older brother are both assistants under York.  The youngest Bruney also carries a 4.0 GPA in the classroom.

The young receiver starts on offense and plays special teams.  He has been playing football for 6 years but has been around the game his entire life.

Bruney has goals of graduating high school and playing college football.  Bruney told me in an email interview that he plays the game because he has been around it his whole life and that developed in to live for the game.

Bruney says it takes a lot of effort to manage football and his class work but ."it is the greatest thing ever". 

THE HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHT: JOSEPH BOYLE

Guess what everybody?  Is the best time of year again.  It's High School Football season again.  School has begun and for alot of student athlete's they begin their season tonight.

So what does that mean?  You guessed another season of The High School Highlight.  Each week a different student athlete will be profiled in hopes of helping you understand why these young athlete's do what they do every Friday.

This year we start at Arcadia High School, home of the Titans.  Remember the Titans?  Well Sophomore defensive tackle Joseph Boyle hopes you do after this season.

Boyle and his teammates, under first year head coach Kerry Taylor, look to improve from last year's disappointing season.

Boyle is just a sophomore but has been playing the game since 5th grade.  He has played several positions including quarterback, running back and defensive tackle.  He makes his first varsity  start tonight when the Titans host Coronado on there newly installed field.

Boyle has a 2.7 GPA and has hopes of playing Division 1 football.  Boyle's best characteristic is his ability  to be a leader.

Boyle told me, through email, that
He plays football because he is very determined and loves getting something  accomplished.  Tonight he hopes to accomplish his first win as a varsity starter and the team's first win since 2016.

Check out Joseph's highlights here.

TIDBIT TUESDAY JULY 17, 2018: MICHAEL CARBAJAL

Yes you guessed it, Tidbit Tuesday is back!  This week we visit the world of boxing.  What many consider a dying sport has been on the rise lately.

It is on the rise because of boxers like Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez.  These are all great boxers but did you know one of boxing greats is from Phoenix, Arizona?

That's right, Michael Carbajal is born and raised in Phoenix.  Carbajal is a  5 time world champion.  He finished his career at 49-5 with 33 knockouts.

Carbajal was a light flyweight during a time in which boxing was dominated by heavyweights.  He was still able to make a name for himself and made Arizona proud.

SUNS SUMMER: SUCCESS OR FAILURE?

The Phoenix Suns off-season has certainly been a busy one.  For the first time in franchise history they were given the first overall pick in the draft.

The Sun's used that pick on University of Arizona big man DeAndre Ayton.  Then in the same draft they traded for national champion Mikal Bridges.  They also drafted Elie Okobo.

The Suns weren't done yet.  When free agency started they were able to get a proven leader and a former NBA champion in Trevor Ariza.

The Suns looked decent in summer league play going 3-1, but losing in the first round to a team that had not won a game, Philadelphia.

So I ask you, was the Phoenix Suns summer a success or a failure?

Many will say it was a success because of DeAndre Ayton and the young talent they already had.

Those same people would have made an extremely big deal if they had won the NBA Summer League Tournament.  Now they say, "it's not a big deal, just summer basketball".

I will leave you with this thought.  How can we as die hard Suns fans expect DeAndre Ayton to dominate and takes us to the playoffs when he couldn't get passed a winless team in the first round of "summer basketball".

UGLY SUN'S SEASON FINALLY OVER.

The Phoenix Sun's 2017-2018 season has come to an end.  Most fans are happy because it was another depressing season.  The Suns failed to make the playoffs, something they haven't done since the 2009-2010 season.

The Suns finished the season 21-61, the worst record in the NBA.  The only good thing to come out of this is they now have the best chance to get the first pick in the upcoming draft.

This will be a cruicial off season for the Phoenix Suns and may turnout to be the most important ever.

So what's next for the Phoenix Suns? They have several questions to answer this off-season, the biggest is who will be there next head coach?

Former player and assistant coach Dan Majerle has turned down the job.  But another former player Jason Kidd wants it.

Majerle turned it down to stay at GCU, which makes sense for him, but it makes fans wonder why he would pick a small Division 1 school over an NBA franchise?

SEAN MILLER SPEAKS CLAIMS INNOCENCE

University of Arizona Men's head head basketball coach Sean Miller has broken his silence.  He spoke to the media and said he has never and will never pay a player.

In his statement he defends DeAndre Ayton, saying "he is a tremendous young man".

Miller also said he is going to concentrate on basketball and winning the PAC 12 Championship. It appears Miller will coach tonight when the Wildcats host Stanford.

With the statement being being released it appears the University of Arizona is backing there basketball coach.

THE MESS AT U OF A

The University of Arizona has been in the sports spotlight the last week and for all the wrong reasons.  The men's basketball program is used to getting a lot of attention this time of year.  But the attention they are getting isn't that attention they want.

Last Thursday Alonzo Trier was suspended indefinitely for testing positive for a banned substance.  The report says it was a very little amount, but what happened the next day made everyone forget about the failed drug test.

A report from ESPN came out Friday saying the FBI has wire taps of head coach Sean Miller suggesting paying $100,000 to get star center DeAndre Ayton to play at the U of A.

Miller did not coach Saturday when the team played in Oregon.  Ayton played and despite a loss he played well.  The Oregon crowd was tough on Ayton, chanting "one hundred thousand" several times throughout the game.

If the FBI releases the tapes and it indeed proves Miller's guilt then shame on him and he should be fired immediately.  Miller,however, claims his innocence and through a state said he will be vindicated.

This story is ongoing and reports are coming out daily.  The latest reports are that the reported from ESPN did not actually hear the tapes and his source may no have heard the either.  Also, now apparently the player was not Ayton, it was someone else.

Believe what you want, but let's hear all the facts before we pass judgement.

PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

The NFL playoffs begin today.  This promises to be a fun playoff season. Let's take a look at the matchups and give our predictions.

The first game is the Kansas City Chiefs against the Tennessee Titans.  Both teams have had great Seasons but I am taking the Chiefs and this one. It will be a very competitive game to the end but Kansas City will move on to the next round.

The late game on Saturday is Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams.  The Rams have had a magical season and are the heavy favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. But the Falcons come in at a quiet 10-6 and their offense has been clicking lately. I have the Falcons winning by a touchdown in this one.

These are my picks for today's NFL Wild Card round. Tomorrow I will have the predictions for the other two Wild card games.

CARSON PALMER CALLS IT QUITS

Yesterday the Arizona Cardinals were informed they would have to replace Bruce Arians because he has decide to retire.

Today the retirement bug bit again.  This time it was quarterback Carson Palmer.   The veteran QB who missed most of the season with injury announced in a letter to fans.

The Cardinals were most likely going to draft a quarterback in this years draft anyway but the announcement still hurts the team.

They will go into next season with a new coach and QB.  Now the big question is will Larry Fitzgerald follow this pattern and decide to retire?

ARIANS RETIRES AS WINNINGEST CARDINALS COACH

Yesterday the Arizona Cardinals knocked the Seattle Seahawks out of the playoffs with a 26-24 victory in Seattle.

The win was huge for the Cardinals. It is always nice beating you're division rival, and nicer when you end their season.

The win gave the Cardinals an 8-8 record.  Not the season they wanted, but with all the injuries this season it is nice to say its not a losing season.

Just one day after the big win another big story hit.  Bruce Arians has decided to retire after 5 seasons with the team.  Arians leaves as the winningest coach in Cardinals history with 50 wins.

The retirement isn't a huge surprise.  Arians was hospitalized twice during last season and his health maybe a major factor to the decision.

Arians had double digit wins in his first 3 seasons in Arizona.  He only had 1 losing season.  Arians took the team to the playoffs twice.

Now the Arizona Cardinals must replace Arians, and they better do it fast if they want Larry Fitzgerald to come back next year.