Three Dot Thoughts…Todd Heap, Coop, Rising FC

I was on Twitter late Friday night and saw the news like most of you. Former Sun Devil Todd Heap was involved in an unthinkable tragedy. News sites were reporting that Heap was moving his truck in the family driveway and accidentally ran over his three-year old daughter. She would pass away later at a local hospital. My wife heard me saying “no way, no way” out of the office. I’m sure you were doing the same thing in your own way. None of us can imagine.
The late Bruce Snyder once told me that Heap was his “Golden Receiver”. It was a nod to Heaps looks and football ability in a Arizona State uniform which carried him to the NFL.
None of that matters now or moving forward. Heap is in the communities thoughts and prayers, I know this because social media was jammed up Saturday with organizations, former teammates, and fans saying so. He’s in mine too.

MILESTONE FOR COOP
Congratulations to Channel 12 Sportscaster Bruce Cooper for celebrating 30 years on Friday of being on the air at KPNX. Coop spoke about his amazing run at length with me on the most recent Arizona Media Podcast http://www.sports360az.com/2017/04/amp-bruce-cooper/

RISING TO PLAYOFFS IN 2017
Rising FC head coach Frank Yallop became better at his job this past week. Adding Didier Drogba to the roster will make him smarter in a hurry. I am joking of course, but some fans have wanted to see more offensive output from Rising FC. If those fans were paying attention through three matches they’d know that Yallop has essentially a new group of players, a new stadium, new ownership, new EVERYTHING. Let the dust settle before being quick to judge. Yes, Drogba will bring fans and BIG buzz, but getting the 3 points each night is the biggest job at hand for the team now. The franchise hasn’t made the playoffs since it’s inception into the USL. That’s going to change here in 2017. Plenty of talent all over the pitch that just needs time to come together…