Brad Cesmat
Sunday Three Dots…
There is no better venue for a big sporting event than Las Vegas. After three days of the Pac-12, WAC, and Mountain West basketball tourneys all going on at the same time, I left the Strip energized by all of the fans who were there to party by the pool during the day and watch hoops at night.
In 2007, the NBA All-Star game was marred by violence in Vegas. At the time the head of MGM Mirage said that the casino’s earning were hurt by the rowdy crowds that turned out. In fact, he went as far as saying he didn’t want the game to come back. I can’t imagine that Vegas feels the same way about March Madness. I don’t know if Vegas could ever host a Super Bowl, Final Four, or neutral site World Series, but I wouldn’t be opposed…
Todd Graham meets with the media Monday morning at 11:30 to kickoff the start of spring football for Arizona State football. The first practice is Tuesday.
Questions for the coach in no particular order should go like this…
1) replacing the departed players(graduation, x-frs) Bradford, Sutton, Grice, Coyle, Robert Nelson, Darby, Richard Smith, Eubank etc.
2)Chans Cox was one of the signature signings of the 2013 class. With all the departures on defense, time for the former Blue Ridge high star to move forward( I hate the term “step up”) Cox has a ton of talent, but needs to stay on the field and healthy.
3)Does Auburn transfer Christian Westerman just step right in at guard and close a hole? There’s no question in my mind that he does. What will Graham say about the potential of Westerman? Remember this was a player that had more hype and attention than any at his position. It would raise my eyebrows if Graham said something like “we like his potential” or “we will see about Christian”. Expectations should be sky high for this player.
4)new D-coordinator Keith Patterson comes in. How does everything work with Graham, Patterson and co-defensive coordinator Keith Ball?
I would like just like to see this football program become more physical during spring. Getting CRUSHED by Stanford twice last season showed that there is a gap still between ASU and the elite of the Pac. 12. Getting more of an edge in that area isn’t something that will be completed in 15 spring football practices.