Well, Sunday night in Glendale ended with a thud.
You sensed from the beginning it was going to go from bad to worse for the Arizona Cardinals.
Unfortunately, we appear to be on track for a similar pattern after the next four or five weeks. I encourage all of the Bird Gang, at least those who didn’t check into Valley hospitals with broken legs after jumping off the near-overflowing bandwagon just some 24 hours earlier, to enjoy the playoff ride. Regardless of whether it lasts one week or one month.
January will bring at least one Cardinal playoff game. The Valley will host the Phoenix Open, NFL Pro Bowl and the ultimate “Big Game” February 1st. The national spotlight will again shine bright on our beautiful weather, women, hospitality and overall quality of life which makes this such a great place to be this time of year.
Unfortunately, it appears all the positive local vibes will leave as quickly as the Super Bowl circus arrives.
Arizona fans will pick through what likely will be a sports scrap heap of surplus teams.
The Suns are still righting themselves after an ugly six-game losing streak which included Isaiah Thomas pouting about his role and Eric Bledsoe trash-talking a fan wearing Detroit Pistons’ gear behind the Suns’ bench. Sure, they found a little stability during the just-completed east coast road trip but is .500 Phoenix a true threat in the loaded Western Conference? Hardly.
Dave Tippett’s Coyotes can’t seem to score goals or keep them out of their own net on the penalty kill. Pretty big problem for a team who has been off the map for the past couple years. In the last month the Yotes are 3-11. The only newsworthy headlines seem to be the never-ending rumors of the franchise re-locating. Statistically, only bottom feeders Carolina and Edmonton are worse in all the NHL. No way to sugarcoat it.
ASU basketball’s motto this season is “Return and Advance.” As in return to the NCAA tournament and advance past the second round after last March’s last-second loss to Texas in Milwaukee. Herb Sendek’s mostly new-look roster is still trying to find their footing before Pac-12 play but a home loss to Patriot League member 5-5 Lehigh over the weekend isn’t exactly a confidence booster for your fan base heading into 2015. The 6-5 Devils RPI is 194.
Then there’s the Arizona Diamondbacks whose off-season facelift trickled down from front office, to the coaching staff, to a mostly overpaid and underperforming roster. Nobody knows for sure if the fresh faces will help or if manager Chip Hale can right the ship after 98 losses last summer. What we do know is the National League West improved around them which is bad news for an organization desperately attempting to make Chase Field the place to be during our blistering summer months.
Live in the now Valley sports fans.
It probably won’t get any better than this.
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Eric Sorenson
A Valley native, Eric has had a passion for the Arizona sports scene since an early age. He has covered some of the biggest events including Super Bowls, national championships and the NBA and MLB playoffs in his near 20 years in local media.