THREE DOTS… Rising FC and MLS, Suns Arena Talks, RIP Malcolm Young

In mid-December the MLS will announce their next two cities for expansion. Phoenix Rising FC will not be on the list. My understanding is that the two new franchises will come from Sacramento, Nashville and Cincinnati. Rising FC has been consistent in their stance that they wouldn’t be in play for the 2017 round of League expansion. You have to remember that it’s only been 15 months since this ownership group took over the team, changed the name, built a cool little stadium, signed big name players including Didier Drogba, changed coaches, made the USL playoffs, put together a stadium deal, and started working through the vetting process of the MLS.(That’s a lot of ground covered) I am convinced that MLS will be awarding a franchise to Phoenix at some point in the next couple of seasons. The future is very bright. Stay calm, it’s going to happen…

Malcolm Young passed away on Saturday. In case you didn’t know, Young was co-founder, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and songwriter for the rock group AC/DC. For those of us who have run out onto courts and fields warming up to “Back in Black” is like second nature. Even today when I’m out at events I may hear “Thunderstruck” or other AC/DC classics. Click and enjoy…

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAgnJDJN4VA

Larry Fitzgerald can keep on playing as long as he wants. There have been some hard exits from the Valley sports scene from some star players who simply couldn’t play at a high level anymore.
In terms of trying to figure out “why”? or what this means to the future of the Cardinals, there’s nothing to that in my mind. Fitz wants to play, Fitz is still productive, no reason to play 20 questions on this one…

As long as Seattle, Las Vegas, and Kansas City don’t have NBA teams, you HAVE to pay close attention to what is going on with Robert Sarver and his desires for a new or renovated facility for his 7 year(and counting) non-playoff team. My guys and gals say the city council meeting this week was tense and contentious.
Keep an eye on the Diamondbacks current spring training facility off the 101 as a potential site for a Suns(Coyotes?) Arena location.
The Northeast side of the 101/202 freeway continues to be the spot that I believe the Diamondbacks want to secure. Could the Suns and Coyotes go that direction too?

I watched Arizona, GCU and Arizona State basketball play this week. It’s as good a situation for college basketball as we’ve ever had. All three schools have good rosters, good players, and good coaching. I am especially looking forward to early next month when we see all three play national brands. Can’t remember a better time to be a in-state college basketball fan…