Shedding the Pounds, ASU v GCU, Dbacks Future, more…

I just finished watching Arizona State analyst  Kevin Mawae give his Pro Football Hall of Fame speech.  Chills…

I’m down 22 lbs from July 5th. Double-knee replacement is coming in just over a week. I can’t wait! There’s no reason for apologies or concerns. I’m the one that pounded my knee’s without shoes as a kid on the dirt basketball court in Valley Center, California. I’m the one that found myself in the bleachers at Oceanside high school, after a kid named Junior Seau wouldn’t let me attempt to dunk on his home court. I’m the one that hit the back of the rim in charity basketball event against the San Diego Chargers and landed awkwardly, tearing the left knee. I’m the one that stepped on Mario Bennetts ankle at the Suns practice court in 1994 and had to be helped to the side by Joe Theisman. I remember looking up thinking “I’ve got nothing on what Lawernce Taylor did to you”. I’ve had a cadaver rejection, cleanouts, injections, and revisions. Now let’s get down to business and get back to enjoying life. Riffing during the coming weeks will be therapeutic for me. Now on to the world of fun and games…

I’m sure if Derrick Hall were given truth serum, he’d probably have more groups than just Henderson, Nevada who have called about the possibility of the Diamondbacks relocating. No surprise. Just start filling in the big hole on the Northeast side of the 101 and 202 freeways in Tempe and you’ll have the spot that makes the most sense(cents?) for the Diamondbacks new stadium in the mid- 2020’s. Arizona State or University of Arizona will fight it out for the current land that Chase Field sits on. Book it…

My understanding is Grand Canyon University and Arizona State will  likely play each other next spring in baseball and softball. Don’t expect Bobby Hurley and Dan Majerle to have a game against one another unless the venue is Talking Stick Arena or ASU. The schedule for the coming season already prevents the two schools  from playing(too bad). Anyone who’s been to a game at GCU know’s that would be the best venue, but after teams like Louisville and San Diego State got pushed hard at GCU(SDSU lost) it’s getting  difficult to find name brands that will come to the ‘Lopes home. For Arizona State, there’s no need to play GCU in sports like golf(yet),  Grand Canyon  has to get stronger in the rankings with some of their programs otherwise it does ASU no good to schedule them. Give it time…

Camp Tontozona is this week. You’ve never been? Go!…

At Thursday’s introduction of Alex Meruelo as the new owner of the Arizona Coyotes, a gentlemen from the Meruelo group, Patr Patrick Murphy came over and introduced himself.. He said he was a big fan of my radio days at Mighty 690 in Southern California. He’s the  longtime president ofl powerhouse Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana. “Mr Meruelo is one of our biggest fans and supporters, he really get’s into it on the sideline at football games”.  Um, after Mr. Meruelo’s opening press conference, I can see where he’d be ten cups of coffee at 6am(in a good way). I loved  hearing his passion and enthusiasm for ownership. How will Meruelo deal with the inevitable losing streaks, poor officiating, and players underperforming under big contracts? It will be interesting to see. The best owners I’ve come across through the last thirty years are measured, visible, and lead  best when things are bad. By the way, Murphy and Mater Dei, are back in the Valley later this month to take on Centennial in  football.

Jordan Hamm, our Recruiting Analyst for high school football,  just wrapped up quite a month. He was the only Arizona media member to go to Texas in early July for “The Opening”, featuring several of the top high school football recruits in the nation, including Salpointe Catholic’s Lathan Ransom. Ransom would later give Jordan an exclusive 1 on 1 with his college announcement to Ohio State. Salpointe lineman Bruno Fina, Saguaro’s Jalen Jeffers, and running back Bijan Robinson, all gave Jordan first and exclusive face to face access with their college choice. He’s always worth a click…

Good for former Channel 3 co-worker Tim Ring, surfacing at ABC15…

The most intriguing player to me in the Greinke trade was Seth Beer coming to Arizona. I’m all about multi-sport kids and the value of water. Beer set national age-group records in both the 50- and 100-meter backstroke events at the age of 12. He may be a   future first baseman or corner outfielder for the Dbacks…

From the file of  “we need more of this from consumers, so August NFL can simply go away”