CANELO DOMINATES SMITH

Canelo Alvarez got back into the ring last night for the first since the pandemic began.  He faced undefeated Callum Smith and gave him his first lost.  Smith is now 27-1. but more importantly Canelo is now the WBA, WBC and Ring super-middleweight champion.  Canelo is now 52-1-2 in his storied career and possibly pound for pound boxing's best fighter.

 

Canelo lost a very close first round but did not look back after that.  Even as the shorter fighter he controlled the pace of the fight and dominated to get the unanimous decision.  Canelo now wants to unify all belts at 168 lbs, saying no matter who it is.

 

SUNS FINISH PRESEASON WINLESS

 The Suns were winless in the preseason, should this worry us as fans?  Many will say no, “it’s just the preseason.”  Also “the new players need time to gel together.”  I disagree and here is why I think we should be worried that the Suns did not win a preseason game.

 

During the summer the Suns went undefeated during the Bubble and you would not be able to tell one Suns fan “but it’s just 8 games.”  Their argument would be this is a good gage of what the future holds.  So why can’t the same be said for the preseason?  The team looks totally different from a few months ago the future is now.  The pressure is on for the Suns to make the playoffs and preseason should be no different.

 

The other reason the preseason record is a big deal is because of the new additions to the team.   Chris Paul and Jae Crowder and new to the team and the starting lineup.  They will pair great with Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges and DeAndre Ayton.  It would have been great to see this unit produce at least one win.  Now we will have to wait until the regular season for our first win with the new guys.

 

The last reason the preseason record is a concern is DeAndre Ayton.  The former number 1 pick enters his 3^rd NBA season and after the preseason we still have the same questions we had about Ayton coming into this season.  Can he be aggressive?  Can he dominate the paint?  Again, something Suns fan will have to wait and see was the regular season starts.

CARDINALS KEEP PLAYOFF CHANCES ALIVE

 The Arizona Cardinals kept their playoff hopes alive today with a win in New York against the Giants 26-7.  The Cardinals were in a must win situation after losing three straight, dropping their record to 6-6 after starting 5-2.  They also fell to the eight spot in the NFC, leaving them on the outside looking in.

 

The Cardinals defense dominated from start to finish and carried the team to victory.  The offense was much better this week, although bad play calling seemed to be a factor early on.  The offense seemed to focus on the issue they had after last week’s loss.  Kyler looking conformable and getting DeAndre Hopkins involved.

 

Murray still at times looked like he was having a hard time reading the difference, but that went away once he started using his feet.  He had 47 yards on 13 carries to go along with 244 yards passing and a touchdown.  Hopkins also got involved, grabbing 9 receptions for 136 yards in the victory.

 

The Cardinals are now 7-6 and hold the seventh seed, just making the playoffs.  With just 3 games remaining they control their own destiny.  They need to win 2 of those games.  With the Eagles, 49ers and Rams remaining it is very possible for them to do.

 

SUMLIN FIRED FROM ARIZONA

 

Photo from arizonawildcats.com

 

Earlier today the University of Arizona announced that it has fired Head Football coach Kevin Sumlin.  This comes one day after Sumlin led the Wildcats to the biggest margin of defeat to rival Arizona St. 70-7.  The Wildcats are 0-5 in the shortened season due to Covid-19.  Arizona was thought to be looking for another game next weekend, but after today’s firing it’s unsure if the school week try to get another game on their schedule.

 

Sumlin came to Arizona with high expectations and has under preformed since he took the job.  The Wildcat’s are 9-20 under Sumlin with just 6 conference victories.  Sumlin had two years left on his contract and the University has decided to honor the contract and buy him out for $75 million.

 

The school now needs to hit a homerun with it’s next hire.  ASU already dominates the state in recruiting ever since Herm Edwards was hired the same year as Sumlin.  Who will be the next head coach for the Wildcats?  Only time will tell.

STEELERS UNBEATEN NO MORE

 The Pittsburgh Steelers has had a tough couple of weeks due to Covid-19.  They had to wait until last Wednesday to play their game against the Baltimore Ravens.  Then this weeks game was pushed back to Monday against the Washington Football team.

The Steelers have also been playing sluggish the last three weeks but have been able to pull out victories and remain undefeated.  They came in to Monday Nights game 11-0 and face a 4-7 Washington Football tram.  Washington is in a battle with the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC East.

Washington is down to it's third QB this season in Alex Smith.  Smith has been doing well and has some people saying he is the best QB in the NFC East.  That's a hard opinion to argue with.  Washington started very slow but like the rest of the season, the came on strong in the second half and pulled off the upset.  Washington won 23-17.

Washington is now tied for first place in the NFC East.  The Giants own the tiebreaker and would host a playoff game and be the number 4 seed, if the playoffs started today.

CARDINALS LOSE MORE THAN JUST A DIVISION GAME

 The Arizona Cardinals lost to the Los Angeles Rams 38-28 yesterday in Glendale.  The game was not as close as the score shows,  The Cardinals had one of their worst first halves of the season, and the second half was not much better.

Kyler Murray struggled and it started to show in the entire team.  Wide out DeAndre Hopkins was visible frustrated on the sideline.  Fox showed him on the sideline and he was so frustrated you could almost feel how hard he was biting down on his mouth piece.  Hopkins was put in check in the first half and wasn't much more effective in the second half.

The loss is big for the Cardinals.  Not only does it drop them to 6-6 but it also put them in third place in the NFC West.  The loss also drops the Cardinals in the playoff race.  They are now the eight seed in the NFC.  This means if the playoffs were today they would just miss the playoffs.

The Cardinals finish the season with the Giants, Eagles, 49ers and Rams, in that order.  They control their own destiny but one more loss could put an abrupt end to their season.

SPENCE EASILY BEATS GARCIA

 Boxing was back in the spotlight last night from Arlington Texas when Errol Spence faced off against Danny Garcia.  Spence fought for the first time in over a year due to a severe car accident that nearly killed him. 

Garcia had is eyes set on Spence's tittles and even with the lay off Danny "Swift" Garcia knew he had a tough task ahead of him. 

Spence, known as The Truth, did not disappoint his fans. Nor did he look like a fighter that has not fight in over a year.  

Spence fought a smart fight and used his jab to control the fight. The jab took its toll on Garcia and on his eye.  Garcia's eye was swollen but it did not end up being a factor.  

Garcia fought a decent fight, throwing hard punches but was not aggressive enough to win rounds.   Spence win the fight without question and was given the unanimous decision.

Now the question is what's next for both fighters?  Many want to see Spence take on the other Champ in the division, Terrance Bud Crawford.  Spence did not clarify who he wanted to fight in the post fight interview, leading some to think he is dodging Crawford. 

Garcia is 0-3 in Championship fights ans you have to wonder are his boxing days numbered?  He will need to win his next fight in dominating fashion if he wants to remain relevant.  

  

NBA RETURNS RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

 It feels like the NBA just finished the season, and yet a new season is upon us.  The was successful in finishing it’s 2019-2020 season after is was postponed due to Covid-19.  The NBA instituted a “Bubble” and was able to crown the Los Angeles Lakers it’s Champion.

 

The Phoenix Suns were part of that bubble and went 8-0 just missing the playoffs.  The great play coupled with the fact that Kelly, Oubre, one of their best players did not play, has the Phoenix faithful very optimistic that the team has finally turned a losing team into a playoff contender.

 

Oubre has since been traded, but that is okay with the fans in Phoenix.  The Suns acquired Guard Chris Paul in the trade.   Paul is a bona fide superstar and instantly makes the Suns a playoff team.

 

Because the season had to start later this year it has been shortened to 72 games.  The season begins December 22, 2020.  The Suns begin December 23, 2020 when they take on the Dallas Mavericks in a nationally televised game.