TIDBIT TUESDAY: 8/25/2020

 Today's edition of Tidbit Tuesday takes us to the gridiron and the Arizona Cardinals.  Did you know that Cardinals Safety Budda Baker is the highest paid saefty in NFL history?

That's the young safety signed a 4 year $59 million extentsion with the team this morning.  Baker has made the Pro Bowl twice in his career.  The move comes just weeks before the regular season is set to start and will allow Baker to focus on football.

The move is a great move for the Cardinals.  Baker is a part of a secondary that looks to improve on last years lackluster performance.  They have added key pieces that will make the team competitive in every games.  With the offensive firepower they have the Cardinals will definately battle for a playoff spot.

SUNS GET TENTH PICK

 Today the NBA held their annual draft lottery. Due to the pandemic and the stoppage of basketball in mid-march, the playoffs started late and so we had to wait for the draft lottery. 

The Phoenix Suns, who just missed the playoffs, after going 8-0 in the bubble had a small chance at the number 1 pick. 

Unfortunately the chips did not fall in the Suns favor. They ended up getting the number 10 pick in the NBA Draft.  Now the big question is what to do with it?

COYOTES KNOCKED OUT OF NHL PLAYOFFS

 The Arizona Coyotes lost to the Colorado Avalanche 7-1 in Game 5 of the NHL playoffs.  With the win the Avalanche when the series 4-1. They now move on to the second round.

The Coyotes now go home and look to prepare for next season.  Despite a good season, the Coyotes were outmatched and did not have a chance against the Avalanche.

Not many people expected the Coyotes to make the playoffs.  The team had a good season, despite the early playoff exit.  They have a promising future ahead of them. 

TIDBIT TUESDAY: 8/18/2020

 This week's edition of Tidbit Tuesday takes us to high school football.  Did you know that Carl Hayden has only been to the playoffs in one season in its 63 years of existence?

Carl Hayden Community High School opened up in 1957 in West Phoenix.  The Falcons have had plenty of success in basketball, soccer, wrestling and softball and baseball.  The school was always known for having a bad football team.

All of that changed in 1996 when head coach Stuart Goldstein had the team believing in themselves and led them to their only playoff berth in school history.The year was 1996 and team was led by senior QB Mark Mejia, who is now the head coach at North High School.

The Falcons finished the regular season 6-4 and just made it into the playoffs by beating Trevor Browne in the regular season finale.  They played Brophy Prep in the first round of the state playoffs at Phoenix College.  Brophy beat Carl Hayden soundly and ended the dream season.

Carl Hayden looks to get back in to the post-season for the first time in 24 years under second year coach Steven Arenas.  The school is in a new conference and with a powerful run game looks to be more competitive this season

COYOTES FALL TO AVALANCHE IN GAME FOUR

The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Arizona Coyotes 7-1 in game 4 of the NHL playoffs.  Colorado now leads the series 3-1 and is one win away from advancing to the next round.

 

The Coyotes haven't put up much of a fight going down 2-0.  The won game 3 to make the series interesting.  They will now be playing for their playoff lives on Wednesday in game 5 of the best of 7 series.

 

The Coyotes had a good season and used the bubble season to qualify for the playoffs.  They have not been in the playoffs since the 2011-2012 season.

BENAVIDEZ IMPRESSIVE IN VICTORY

 Phoenix native David "El Bandera Roja" Benavidez defeated Roamer Alexis Angulo in convincing fashion on Saturday Night.  The fight was the main event for Premier Boxing Championship on the Show Time network.  The fight was stopped when Angulo's corner did not let him come out after the 11th round, making it officially a tenth round knockout.

The most excitement in the fight came the day before when Benavidez came in nearly three pounds overweight.  He didn't even try to cut the remaining weight.  Instead he had to vacate his belt, even with the victory.  In the post fight interview Benavidez took responsibility for not making weight.

This marks the second time he has lost his tittle outside of the ring.  The first time he tested possitive for cocaine during a random drug test.  Benavidez says he does not have a discipline problem.  He says he knows he has made mistakes and has learned from them.

Benavidez did not look like a guy that didn't make weight.  He was consistant with his game plan and dominated the fight from start to finish.  He is now 23-0 with 20 KO's.  At just 23 years old he has the potential to be one of the best boxers of all time. 

PHOENIX UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT POSTPONES FALL SPORTS DUE TO COVID-19

Yesterday the Phoenix Union High school District announced that it has postponed all fall sports until further notice due to Covid-19.  None of the 17 High Schools have met the state's benchmarks to reopen.  The important thing here is that it is postponed and not canceled.

District Athletic Director Dr. Zack Munoz was on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM this morning with the legend Kevin McCabe and defended the districts stance on this issue.  Munoz said "We looked at our community, our zip codes are the highest in the entire state."  Munoz was referring to the soaring numbers in the great Phoenix area, where his schools are located.  Munoz later went on to say that fall sports will return when benchmarks get to the point where it is safe for the students to return.

Currently the district is doing online learning and will continue to do so until at least fall break, Munoz said.  Fall break usually is Mid-October for the Phoenix Union High Schools.  Many people want to see High School sports return, but I think we can all agree that we would rather see it return safely.

When will that be?  No one knows, so for now we have to play the waiting game.

PHOENIX BOXER MISSES WEIGHT, VACATES TITTLE

 Phoenix WBC Super Middleweight Champion David Benavidez (22-0, 19 KO's) will fight Roamer Alexis Angulo (26-1, 22 KO's) tomorrow night in Connecticut.  The fight was set to be in defense of Benavidez tittle, but that won't be the case tomorrow when the two square off in the ring.

Benavidez weighed in 2.8 pounds over weight.  The fight will still go on, but the consequences for Benavidez are severe.  He is now forced to vacant his tittle, meaning even with a win he will leave the ring with the tittle.  If Angulo wins he will be the new champion.

The fight is going to be a good fight between two very talented boxers.  Benavidez has a lot to prove now.  He is too good of a boxer to let this affect his career.  He will be fighting for another tittle very soon.  The fight will be on ShoTime.

SUNS END SEASON WITH WIN, BUT MISS PLAYOFFS

 The Phoenix Suns ended the regular season today with a 128-102 victory over the Dallas Mavs in the Bubble in Orlando, Florida.  The Suns completed a perfect 8-0 bubble season and kept there chances of making the play-in game alive.

The Suns Devin Booker continued to show his star power with a 27 point performance.  Booker is averaging 30.3 points while in Orlando.  The Suns have looked like a totally different team since the season restarted.  They finish the regular season 34-39.

The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 119-106 clinching them a spot in the play-in game.  This game occurred at the same time as the Suns game.  These results left the game between Portland and New Jersey a must watch.  

The Portland Trailblazers beat the New Jersey Nets  134-133 ending the Suns hope of extending their season.  Even though the Suns didn't make the post season their play inside the NBA bubble gives them plenty of momentum for next season.

SUNS ONE WIN AWAY FROM PERFECT SEASON IN NBA BUBBLE

Yesterday the Phoenix Suns defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 130-117 in the NBA Bubble. The Suns improved to 7-0 since the season resumed after the stoppage due to Covid-19. The SUns have one game remaining tomorrow when they play the Dallas Mavs. The Suns are playing for a perfect 8-0 Bubble Season, but that's not all they are playing for.

If the Suns beat the Mavs and either Portland or Memphis loose thye will clinch the ninth seed in the Western Conference.  Due to the shortened season the NBA has put a little twist to this years playoffs.

As the Ninth seed the Suns will play the Eight seed and need to beat them 2 times, but if they just loose once they are eliminated.  If the Suns do win twice they then take over the eight seed and will face top seeded Los Angeles Lakers.  At this point, the Suns would be on a 10-game win steak.  Given the sluggish look the Lakers have had this bubble season, this would make for an interesting season.

TIDBIT TUESDAY: 8/11/2020

 In honor of the Phoenix Suns unthinkable start in the NBA bubble, they are the topic of this weeks Tidbit Tuesday. 

Did you know Dick Van Arsdale was the Original Phoenix Sun?

That’s right when the Suns became an expansion team in 1968 They chose Dick Van Arsdale with there first pick in the expansion draft. 

Van Arsdale was a shooting guard from the New York Knicks. He would go in to make the NBA All-stat team 3 times and ended his career averaging 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists during his NBA career. 

THE ALL-TIME GREATEST SUNS: GURU EDITION

                          Photo Via NBA.com

I was recently listening to a local radio show. On the show they had a special segment, where the hosts drafted there all time Phoenix Suns team. There was a total of 4 people drafting their all-time roster.

 

 It was a great segment and made me think, who is my all-time team?

 

So, I have decided to draft my own all-time Phoenix Suns team. The format I will use is two players from each position and two honorable mention players.

 

 The Suns have many great players and though you may not agree, I'd love to hear your thoughts on my list. So here you go... The Az Sports Guru All-Time Suns team.

 

Point Guard: Steve Nash and Kevin Johnson

This may have been the easiest position to pick on the list.  Many would say Nash is the best player the Suns have ever had.  That is hard to debate but, in my opinion, KJ needs to be in that discussion as well.

 

Shooting Guard:  Devin Booker and Jeff Hornacek

Devin Booker is a legitimate superstar and sky is the limit for his career.  The Suns have just begun to put the needed pieces around him and are poised to make a playoff run this and every year, as long as they keep Booker hear.  Hornacek may be best known for being traded for the great Charles Barkley, but Hornacek was a main piece in the Suns success while he was in Phoenix.

 

Small Forward:  Shawn Marion and Dan Majerle

Shawn Marion, known as the Matrix, was a very talented player and could dominate a game when needed.  He had a long and successful NBA career and was a fan favorite while in Phoenix.  Many were upset when he was traded away for an aging Shaquille O’Neal.  “Thunder” Dan Majerle is a player on this list that many people may not agree with, but many booed when he was drafted and ended up eating humble pie when Majerle’s career was over.  Majerle was an all-around player.  He was first known for his three-point shooting ability and then developed into a great slam dunker, He also was so good on defense that would be tasked to guard the great Michael Jordan.

 

Power Forward: Charles Barkley and Tom Chambers

Charles Barkley came to Phoenix and put the Suns on the NBA map.  His dominance on the court quickly made him a fan favorite.  He is another name that will be often mentioned as best Phoenix Sun ever.  The other forward on this list is Tom Chambers.  Chambers was a consistent player that other teams needed to worry about when he was on the floor.  Chamber’s showed how impactful he was in a game in 1990 when he scored 60 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

 

Center:  Amar’e Stoudemire and Mark West

Center is a position the Suns have always struggled at.  Some can say current center DeAndre Ayton already belongs on this because of the lack of quality centers that have played for the Suns.  Shaq did not make this list because he was not with the team very long and did not make much of an impact, even though he did help us beat San Antonio in the playoffs.  The two men that did make the list are Amar’e Stoudemire and Mark West.  Stoudamire was drafted right out of high school and made an immediate impact winning Rookie of the Year.  He was so explosive and even though he was listed as a power forward he played a lot at the center position.  Mark West was a solid performer at the position.  He did not have big numbers but he managed to make an impact against some of the NBA’s best big men.

 

Honorable mention:  Dick Van Arsdale and Connie Hawkins

Connie Hawkins was probably the most popular Sun, there Charles Barkley before Charles Barkley if you would.  Van Arsdale, who has a twin brother Tom that spent some time in Phoenix also, was known as “The Original Sun” after being drafted by the Suns in the 1968 Expansion draft.  These two guys probably deserve to be on this list but did not make it because I did not get to see them play.

 

COYOTES ADVANCE TO NHL PLAYOFFS

 Like everything else hockey was postponed in March due to Covid-19.  NHL resumed play with a unique schedule.  This schedule allowed the Arizona Coyotes to play for a chance at making the 2020 NHL Playoffs.

 

Like the NBA, NHL played in a bubble in Canada.  The league has done a masterful job at keeping the players and all involved safe.  They have no positive tests of Covid-19.

 

The Arizona Coyotes played the Nashville Predators in a best of 5 series.  The winner would advance to the NHL playoffs.  The Coyotes came out on top winning the series 3-1.  The Coyotes proved they were ready for a chance to make the playoffs.  They scored 4 goals in each game.

 

The Coyotes have not made the playoffs since 2012.  That year they made it to the Western Conference Finals.  This year they hope to make it all the way to the Stanley Cup.  The journey begins later this week in a best of 7 first round matchup.  There opponent has not been determined yet but you better believe the Arizona Coyotes will be ready.

SUNS MAKING NOISE IN NBA BUBBLE

The 2020 NBA season has resumed in the bubble in Orlando Florida. There were plenty of headlines to watch for when the season resumed over a week ago.

Nobody could have guessed the first surprise of the bubble season.  That surprise was the Phoenix Suns.

The Suns led by there version of "The Big Three", Ricky Rubio, Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton, have came oyt on fire.

The Suns have started 3-0 with wins against two potential playoff teams in the Mavs and Clippers.

The Suns have received major support from their bench.  No player has made as big an impact as Devin Booker.  Booker hit the game winner as time expired against the Clippers with a shot they may be the biggest of his career.

The Suns aren't done yet.  They have 5 more games to try and catch the eight seed, whoever that may be, and forced their way into the NBA Playoffs. 

TIDBIT TUESDAY: 8/4/2020

Did you know 32 years today the Phoenix Cardinals made their debut in Arizona?  The team has since changed their name to the Arizona Cardinals.  The game was played at ASU's Sun Devil stadium and was the preseason opener.

The Cardinals hosted the Seattle Seahawks.  At the time Seattle was an AFC West team and the rivalry had not begun.  Seattle won 21-7 despite the Cardinials having more yards from scrimmage.  The difference in the game was the 5 fumbles the Cardinals lost.

Alot has changed in 32 years, espciealy this year when there will not be a preseason, and who knows if there will be a regular season.