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PHOENIX – One day he is studying accounting at Arizona State. The next he is hitting his “business” partner with a briefcase. Welcome to the world of former ASU wrestler Levi Cooper, better known these days as “Tucker,” a WWE performer on Monday Night Raw. “I love ASU and always will,” Cooper said. “Tempe has.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Coyotes had just 10 days to prepare for the shortened 2020-2021 season, which begins tonight when they host the San Jose Sharks at Gila River Arena. It wasn’t a typical training camp around the NHL, but coach Rick Tocchet and the Coyotes made the most of their truncated time. “It’s a.

PHOENIX – As the start of the Pac-12 women’s soccer season closes in, Arizona State is without veteran midfielder Lara Barbieri. The ASU senior is from Monte Mor, São Paulo, Brazil, where she has been stranded, unable to return to the United States because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Barbieri has been in Brazil since March,.

PHOENIX — As confetti sprinkled down on the court inside the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida, most of the Los Angeles Lakers’ players and coaches celebrated their championship together, marking the end to an anomalous season. Assistant coach Lionel Hollins watched his team win on television from his home in Memphis. The Arizona State basketball.

LOS ANGELES – Angel City Football Club is looking to make an impact on women’s sports and soccer with new community initiatives as the team prepares to join the National Women’s Soccer League in 2022. With a star-studded ownership group that includes actress Natalie Portman, former U.S. national team player Abby Wambach and tennis legend.

PHOENIX – Phoenix Rising FC hopes 2021 is about more than just improved play on the field. The organization said it is committed to a better fan experience, too. A club that advanced to the USL Championship in 2020 – before it was canceled because multiple Tampa Bay players tested positive for COVID-19 – also.

GLENDALE – The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the landscape of college football, including postseason bowl games. Although few fans were allowed to attend the Fiesta Bowl, it didn’t spoil the experience for a certain Florida State quarterback in the stands. Seminoles freshman Preston “Chubba” Purdy was at State Farm Stadium on Saturday to watch his.

PHOENIX – Arizona State swim coach Bob Bowman has faced many challenges throughout a nearly 35-year-long coaching career, a portion of it guiding Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian. However, Bowman never had to navigate the postponement of the Olympic Games and all of the potential ramifications of the delay. Welcome to sports in the.

GLENDALE – Iowa State’s 34-17 victory over Oregon in the 50th annual Fiesta Bowl was its biggest bowl win in team history. And while it was an important moment for the Cyclones program as a whole, it was extra special for quarterback Brock Purdy. Purdy, who starred at Gilbert Perry High School, was named Offensive.

PHOENIX – If anyone has a unique perspective on two of the key players in Saturday’s Playstation Fiesta Bowl, it’s Dan Manucci. Call him the quarterback whisperer. “I have been training these guys since seventh grade so I pinched myself to make sure it was true,” the former Kansas State quarterback said. “Two better men.

PHOENIX – Johnny Walker is quite particular with his hockey stick. The Arizona State forward wasn’t happy with his shot at a morning practice last season and marched into the office of equipment manager Jon Laughner with a puzzled look on his face. “I don’t know what to do,” Walker said. “Grab somebody else’s stick,”.

PHOENIX – Pomp, circumstance and long-standing traditions are aspects of college football bowl games that players, coaches and fans have learned to cherish over the years. Yet in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sports as we know them have looked different. That will include the second day of 2021 as well, when No. 10.

PHOENIX – Most of 2020 has been marred by uncertainty. The fickleness of daily routines. The indecision of divided leadership. The precariousness of an American lifeline, sports, as society once knew them. What lies beyond the scope of doubt, however, is that formerly marginalized voices are headed to the podium to ignite tangible, national growth..

PHOENIX – The sight can be jarring: As a runner’s graceful stride brings her closer, her face comes into focus. A rich, red handprint covers her mouth. We will not be silenced. The painted hand has become a powerful symbol for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Movement, known as MMIW, a cause boosted by.

PHOENIX – When reality sets in … a deep pain and sadness comes over you. It’s a feeling that lingers no matter what unfolds the rest of the day. It occupies your mind, even though I (along with many others) continue to put on a brave face. Those are the words Dominic Garcia penned June.

LOS ANGELES – Being locked up was supposed to be a punishment for Terry “Tank” Johnson. It also turned out to be an awakening. In the early 2000s, the product of Tempe McClintock High and the University of Washington was basking in the spotlight of football success – playing seven NFL seasons with Chicago, Dallas.

PHOENIX – After a disrupted 2019-20 season that ended in a bubble at Walt Disney World, the Phoenix Suns have undergone an offseason makeover that they hope will build on their surprising 8-0 run in Orlando that followed the COVID-19 interruption. The Suns pulled off a blockbuster trade to acquire perennial All-Star point guard Chris.

PHOENIX – His story is full of chapters. Some are complete, defined by adversity and accomplishments, and others remain unwritten, blank pages waiting to be filled with more life experiences. Former NBA standout Eddie Johnson is beginning his 20th year as the color analyst for the Phoenix Suns, who open their season tonight against the.

PHOENIX – Arizona State’s offense has come a long way since 2019. Though the 2019 season was a normal one by 2020 standards and featured a full set of spring and fall practices, the Sun Devils offense was stuck in neutral for much of the year. ASU’s passing game was inconsistent as then-freshman quarterback Jayden.

PHOENIX – From “Rookie of the Year” to “Little Giants,” sports movies captivated kids growing up in the 1990s. One of those was a young girl from Chandler, who fell in love with an unlikely sport. Hockey. For a native of the Valley, hockey seemed as out of place as a cactus in Buffalo. As.

PHOENIX – Running up the score was not Arizona State’s intent during its 70-7 win over Arizona in the Territorial Cup. Rather, the Sun Devils worked to ensure the statement win that had eluded them against USC and UCLA would not slip from their grasp Friday as they built an ever-increasing first-half lead that eventually.

PHOENIX – Arizona State was bound to struggle adjusting to the speed of the game after a COVID-19 outbreak sidelined the football program for nearly a month. Its opponent, UCLA, had just come off a win against Arizona to improve to 2-2. But what disappointed the Sun Devils most after falling to the Bruins Saturday.

PHOENIX – College football coaches were supposed to be immune from the wrath of COVID-19. Right? Not immune, of course, in terms of infection or exposure to the virus. But immune in the sense that no matter what game days delivered in 2020, losing records would receive a pass. Struggles realistically could be chalked up.

PHOENIX – A decision by the Phoenix City Council to cancel all sports tournaments through February divided a youth sports community and left organizers scrambling for solutions. The council voted 7-2 on Wednesday to cancel all sports tournaments in the city through February, due to concerns about COVID-19. Some tournament organizers have canceled events. Others.

PHOENIX – Loyalty matters to Ty Thompson. No one is more grateful than the Mesquite High School Wildcats, who find themselves two victories away from the 4A state title. The 6-foot-4 quarterback is a big reason. He is the top player at his position in Arizona’s 2021 class, known for his ability to throw and.

LOS ANGELES – After the Lakers won their first NBA championship in 10 years, LA fans defied pandemic warnings to rampage through the streets in celebration, leading to vandalism and dozens of arrests. But when the NBA season tips off Dec. 22, Lakers fans won’t be able to watch the defending world champions play at.

PHOENIX – Suns fans are certainly excited for the arrival of Chris Paul, but center Deandre Ayton might be the most excited of all. “We got CP3 in Arizona, y’all trippin’,” Ayton said Thursday in a press conference via Zoom. “We got Chris Paul in Phoenix!” Arizona sports fans have endured a lot of heartbreak.

PHOENIX – When Arizona Schools Superintendent Kathy Hoffman said at a recent press conference that “two high school coaches have lost their lives to COVID-19,” it rattled a local sports community that largely felt immune to the disease. Tolleson assistant baseball coach Ash Friederich passed away from complications of the disease Oct. 31, and Chandler.

With training camp underway, the acquisition of star point guard Chris Paul is changing the culture of a Phoenix Suns team that is looking to take the next step in becoming a competitive presence in the Western Conference. Paul is a 10-time All-Star and averages 18.5 points per game in his career, but his contributions.

PHOENIX – The City Council is expected to decide as early as Wednesday whether to cancel sports tournaments scheduled for December through February because of the continuing spread of COVID-19. The council’s decision could affect roughly 30 soccer and softball tournaments scheduled to take place at the city’s five sports complexes: Desert West, Encanto, Papago,.

PHOENIX – As high schools transition from fall to winter sports, Brophy Prep is left to reflect on a season that ended abruptly. After 32 years of dominating Arizona high school swimming, the boys team finally ran into an opponent the Broncos couldn’t outswim. COVID-19. “I think our first initial reaction was sort of like.

PHOENIX – After a disrupted 2019-20 season that ended in a bubble at Walt Disney World, the Phoenix Suns have undergone an offseason makeover that they hope will build on their surprising 8-0 run in Orlando that followed the COVID-19 interruption. The Suns pulled off a blockbuster trade to acquire perennial All-Star point guard Chris.

CHANDLER – He never wanted to be just some average kid from Los Angeles. Mark Tucker might be best known today as the offensive line coach for Hamilton High School. But his list of accomplishments is much longer than that. He is a mentor, role model and protector for many, and embodies the spirit of.

TUCSON – With the number of COVID-19 cases surging in Arizona, the football season for Tucson schools came to an abrupt end on Tuesday. Gabriel Trujillo, superintendent of the Tucson Unified School District, made the decision to suspend the remainder of fall sports, mainly affecting football for the Tucson schools, which were set to compete.

PHOENIX – For the third straight week, Arizona State canceled its football game despite optimism for a return to the field. That left coach Herm Edwards reflecting on how much he missed spending time with his players, something he couldn’t do while isolating with COVID-19. “You have these reflection moments when you’re sitting there, laying.

PHOENIX – Nico Mannion was considered one of the top college prospects in the country when he signed with the Arizona Wildcats after a standout career at Pinnacle High School. He even played for Italy’s national team as a teenager. So during the recent 2020 NBA Draft, Mannion expected to hear his name called much.

FLAGSTAFF – One of the attractions of running is that it is a sport that can be done anywhere, at any time and by almost any person. So, if all of that is true, why are collegiate runners from all around the country traveling to this northern Arizona city to train? It turns out Flagstaff,.

Updated: ASU will face Rhode Island instead of Baylor, according to Empire Classic officials, following the Baylor coach’s disclosure of a COVID-19 diagnosis. LOS ANGELES – Eight months ago, Remy Martin threw his name into the hat that is the NBA Draft, leaving Arizona State basketball without its starting point guard. Two weeks after losing.

SCOTTSDALE – After shuffling their schedule a whopping four times, the 2019 Open Division State runner up Saguaro Sabercats can truly say they have had to hustle to reach the five-game minimum to be eligible for the 2020 AIA playoffs. Sabercats athletic director Matthew Harris described the difficulties of replacing the four opponents that were.

PHOENIX – A new heat wave is headed to the Valley. Chris Paul, better known by his nickname CP3, brings with him a fiery attitude along with an impressive playoff resume. After the Phoenix Suns acquired the point guard from Oklahoma City in a blockbuster trade earlier this week, one of his former coaches said.

PHOENIX – Amid rising cases of COVID-19 in the state, David Hines met with state health officials recently to gain insight for the high school winter sports season. The executive director of the Arizona Interscholastic Association recommended delaying the start of basketball, soccer and wrestling until January 2021. He got his wish. The AIA announced.

Snow in the Valley? Unlikely, but Arizonans can make their way about two hours north from Phoenix to Flagstaff to get a taste of winter. Snowbowl Ski Resort, the Alpine slopes on Northern Arizona’s San Francisco Peaks, opens for the winter season on Friday, with some slight changes due to COVID-19 restrictions. “Obviously we want.

PHOENIX – Growing up, Alex Guy was called “Shock Collar” because his hits on the football field felt like an electronic dog collar. Throughout junior high school, his football pads acted as a Superman cape because he transformed into a different person on the field. When time came for Guy to undergo his fourth surgery.

PHOENIX – The New Mexico State men’s basketball team has temporarily relocated to Phoenix due to stricter COVID-19 regulations in its state. The Aggies will stay at the Arizona Grand Resort & Spa for five weeks, but could potentially stay longer depending on state updates regarding the pandemic. The resort has accommodated the team’s needs,.

PHOENIX – With the first-ever virtual NBA Draft taking place Wednesday evening, not much else has changed: 60 prospects will still be selected, NBA dreams will turn into reality and players will still be evaluated and discussed over countless mock drafts up until Commissioner Adam Silver says the magic words: “With the first pick in.

PHOENIX – Would you play a round of golf with Roy Williams at Pinehurst? How about a foursome involving Ken Griffey Jr. at a Michael Jordan-owned course in Florida? Does hitting chip shots with Bobby Hurley or Sean Miller appeal to you? That’s the hope of Eric Sedransk, who was moved to find a way.

PHOENIX – During Kellen Mills’ journey from college football to the construction industry, he made a pit stop that changed his life. Following an impressive football career at Mesa Mountain View High School, where he was an all-state fullback, and Arizona State, where he played a pivotal role as a walk-on defensive end, he transitioned.

PHOENIX – Where were you when Kyler Murray scrambled to his left, dropped Buffalo’s Mario Addison with his trademarked hesitation step and flicked the football, off-kilter, 50 yards downfield, smack dab into the center of the humongous, Jump Man gloves of Cardinals receiver DeAndre Hopkins as they rose above a cluster of three defenders? Three.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Interscholastic Association recommended postponing the start of winter high school sports such as basketball, wrestling and soccer to its executive board Monday, possibly pushing the start of those sports into January. AIA Executive Director David Hines will meet with state health and education officials before the executive board votes on the.

TEMPE – During a sports year when news of a game cancellation can arrive at the last minute – especially in the scrambled Division I college football season – the Pac-12 Conference took the unusual step Sunday of canceling a football game nearly a week in advance. In a statement on Twitter, the conference said.

ANAHEIM, California – Nicholas Mikhail has been a dual-threat in soccer and football throughout his high school career in Southern California. Entering his senior year in 2020, he was prepared to improve his chances of being recruited by college teams. The pandemic, however, had other plans. After the California Interscholastic Federation postponed all seasons in.

PHOENIX – Phoenix Rising FC announced on Friday it had re-signed eight players from its 2020 Western Conference Championship-winning team, but questions about the 2021 roster remain unanswered. The re-signed players – all starters – include goalkeeper Zac Lubin, defender Darnell King, midfielders Jon Bakero, Kevon Lambert, Santi Moar and Sam Stanton, and forwards Solomon.

GILBERT – With several schools experiencing outbreaks of COVID-19 during the high school football season, social media has served as a platform for those pointing fingers at programs who appear to have stands packed with fans, many without face coverings. But David Hines, executive director of the Arizona Interscholastic Association, which oversees high school sports.

PHOENIX – Arizona State football coach Herm Edwards has described the coronavirus as the “opponent you can not see” that teams have to prepare for many times this season. Unfortunately, that invisible opponent has made its way to him and his team. Arizona State’s football game scheduled for Saturday versus California was canceled Friday because.

TEMPE – We’ll never know what might have been for the 2020 Arizona State men’s hockey team. Ranked No. 13 on March 4, the Sun Devils, with a 22-11-3 record and seven wins in their last nine games, looked poised to make their second straight NCAA Tournament. That changed a week later, when the NCAA.

PHOENIX – Just two days before Arizona State is scheduled to host California in a Pac-12 football game, the status of the contest is still in question. The game could take place Saturday or Sunday, or not at all. Cal, who had one player test positive earlier this month, has been fighting local COVID-19 protocols.

PHOENIX – After a one-year absence because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Native American Basketball Invitational will return in July, showcasing indigenous basketball players from across the U.S., Canada and New Zealand at venues around the Valley. The championship games will take place at the newly renovated downtown arena of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury..

PHOENIX – It’s official. AZ Preps 365 has released its first football rankings after a one-week delay. As usual, they are full of surprises, like they are most every year. But this year, the rankings endured a different process because so many teams had to cancel games and shuffle their schedules to accommodate either their.

AVONDALE — Before this year, NASCAR crowned Cup champions in Miami, home of sunny skies and crowded beaches. This year the crown jewel of the series finished in the desert, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Phoenix Raceway played host to its first championship weekend by implementing safety protocols that included a limited number of fans, masks.

PHOENIX – New field. New season. New outlook. With a newly renovated soccer facility and a dynamic mix of new and returning players, the Arizona State women’s soccer team appears ready to make a rapid improvement in 2021 and beyond. When the Sun Devils restart play next year, they will do so in new physical.

AVONDALE – It was a significant day in the racing world, as fan-favorite Chase Elliott became a NASCAR Cup Series Champion for the first time at Phoenix Raceway. In just his fifth full-time season, the 24-year-old became the youngest driver to achieve the prestigious honor since the legend he took over for, Jeff Gordon, in.

AVONDALE – Phoenix Raceway received its highly anticipated time in the spotlight with NASCAR’s Championship Weekend. This was the first time the sanctioning body held the prestigious honors outside of Homestead-Miami Speedway in 19 years and the on-track product did not disappoint. Before a new NASCAR Cup Series Champion was crowned in Sunday’s season finale,.

PHOENIX – If fans look a little, well, stiff at Saturday’s Arizona State game, don’t be alarmed. They’re not real. The Pacific-12 Conference’s decision to allow only family members to attend football games this season prompted the university to follow the lead of professional teams by allowing fans to buy cardboard cutouts of themselves and.

PHOENIX – The name of the game in college football is recruiting. When players can choose where to play instead of teams selecting them in a draft, talent accumulation is the most important component to having a team that can hang with the best in the country. Arizona State is not there yet. It’s getting.

Arizona’s season-opening football game against Utah has been canceled, the Pac-12 announced Friday. The decision to cancel Saturday’s game came after positive COVID-19 tests on Utah’s roster forced them below the required number of available scholarship players, according to a Pac-12 statement. It is the second Pac-12 game to be canceled in as many days..

A racing season marked by tragedy with a deadly wreck at the Daytona 500 and the challenges of COVID-19 has since gone on to become an overwhelming success. There was a historical stretch of dominance between two of the sport’s best, some of the most competitive racing in years and the revelation that NASCAR could.

More than 2,000 miles separate the desertous areas of Phoenix and Tucson and the humid South Carolina coast. However, for Arizona natives Derick Bush and CJ Schrimpf, the long trip has been well worth it. After starring for local high schools and junior colleges, the two moved to Conway, South Carolina, to play football at.

PHOENIX – Watching sports has always been one of America’s favorite pastimes. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced games and leagues to temporarily shutter, the country seemed to collectively ache. So when live sports finally returned in a rush, fans should have been ecstatic. But the plummeting television ratings tell a different story. “After three months.

PHOENIX – In MMA, the word “prospect” is combat jargon for someone to keep an eye on. Bryce Logan and Tyrell Fortune will require both eyes on Thursday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Fortune (8-1, 1 N.C.) is a former member of the U.S. national wrestling team and current Bellator heavyweight..

TEMPE – Exactly 312 days. That’s how much time will have passed since Arizona State’s last game when it takes the field Saturday against No. 20 USC. No one in this program has ever experienced a season like this, so how can players and coaches prepare for it? “Safety is paramount,” ASU football coach Herm.

PHOENIX – A COVID-19 outbreak among the Tampa Bay Rowdies wasn’t the only factor that led to cancellation of the USL Championship match between Phoenix Rising FC and the Rowdies. Expiring contracts and commitments to international teams made rescheduling the game impractical, which also played a role in cutting short the Rising’s season. The USL.

PHOENIX – Amid an otherwise relaxing Halloween weekend, Kliff Kingsbury’s biggest scare proved to be breaking news on the virus front, not spooky costumes. And this time, it hit home hard. Two Arizona players tested positive for COVID-19 during the team’s bye week – starting outside linebacker Devon Kennard, who revealed on Twitter that he.

PHOENIX – Athletes are speaking up more than ever about social issues, often crossing a boundary between the field of play into the arena of politics that many tried to tip-toe in the past. And as the 2020 election approached, college athletes across Arizona used their platform to encourage fellow students, members of their wider.

GLENDALE – Trick-or-Treat? It was more like “Chych”-or-Treat near Gila River Arena Saturday morning. Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun joined in on the Coyotes “Howl-O-Ween” celebration of Halloween, handing out goodies during a drive-thru event designed to let fans have some fun while remaining safe during a pandemic. Turned out the day was a thriller.

PHOENIX – After a roller coaster season, Phoenix Rising FC will battle the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Sunday in the hope of winning its first USL title. Reaching the championship game in St. Petersburg, Florida, was not an easy path for the Rising, who advanced by defeating El Paso 4-2 in penalty kicks on Saturday..

PHOENIX – Tempe and Surprise will have scary talent on display during UFC Fight Night on Halloween night. Chris Gruetzemacher (14-3)and Kevin Natividad (9-1) may train in two different cities but they will be coming together at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas to face some tough competition. Gruetzemacher is a five-year UFC veteran who.

Despite concerns that COVID-19 would cancel college football’s postseason, Bowl Season released its schedule for this year’s games Friday, confirming that Arizona will host three games this winter. The 37-game postseason will begin with the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl on Dec. 19 and culminate with the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 11..

PHOENIX – Former NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip may be known for his success behind the wheel, but the two-time Daytona 500 winner is taking his chances in the world of brewing. After the idea sparked in 2018, the Michael Waltrip Brewing Company has launched in Arizona with three different styles of beers and is working.

PHOENIX — The Red Sea no longer parted at State Farm Stadium, it just socially distanced. When the Cardinals beat the previously undefeated Seattle Seahawks in a 37-34 overtime thriller on Sunday night, they were able to do so in front of 1,200 fans. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced new norms, including fanless sporting events..

PHOENIX – The Arizona Coyotes’ decision to part ways with a draft pick accused of bullying a classmate with developmental disabilities has put the organization at the center of a national debate about forgiveness and cancel culture. The Coyotes on Thursday renounced the rights to their 2020 fourth-round draft pick Mitchell Miller, 18, after more.

PHOENIX – On Friday nights at Cesar Chavez Skate Park, Atlético Arizona United Latinos SC is one of the many groups seen playing soccer and enjoying the field’s recent reopening. “It’s very important for us to be out here. I think sports in a child’s youth is very important for them both physically and mentally,”.

PHOENIX – Nearly eight months ago, 17,125 hockey fans filled the seats of Gila River Arena to watch the Arizona Coyotes in their final home game of the season before a league-wide shutdown due to COVID-19 concerns. On Wednesday, the Coyotes and the community returned to Gila River Arena not to watch a hockey game,.

TUCSON – The Brophy Prep boys golf team enters this week’s state tournament with an extra dose of confidence after winning the Duke Open at Rancho El Dorado in Maricopa recently and defeating rival Hamilton by five strokes. It was the Broncos’ first victory over the defending state champions this season after losing to Hamilton.

TUCSON – The dynasty continues. The Xavier Prep Gators took home the girls golf state title at Omni Tucson National Tuesday, one year after being handed only their fourth championship loss since 1979 by the Pinnacle Pioneers. “This is our 37th state (title), and this was very satisfying. It came down to the end,” Gators.

PHOENIX – Two Valley natives are representing teams on opposite sides of the World Series this year. Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who was born in Scottsdale and attended Hamilton High School, is no stranger to the big stage, batting his way to a third Series appearance at the ripe age of 25..

PHOENIX – Kyler Murray reportedly spent $95,000 on a gemstone-encrusted pendant in the likeness of martial artist Bruce Lee in March. While the Arizona Cardinals quarterback wasn’t wearing the pricey trinket during Sunday night’s sparkling 37-34 overtime victory against the previously unbeaten Seattle Seahawks, he produced a performance just as dazzling as his jewelry and.

PHOENIX – Saturdays on the West Coast look and feel a lot different this fall. In a time when college communities from Tucson to Seattle, and everywhere in between, are accustomed to college football Saturdays, the COVID-19 pandemic has wiped out nearly half of the typical season. And for a time, it appeared as if.

PHOENIX – Led by senior Katie Stinchcomb, Pinnacle High School beat some of Arizona’s best girls golf teams at the State Preview tournament in Laveen recently and served notice the Pioneers were ready to defend their Division I state championship Monday and Tuesday in Tucson. They will try to do it at an event that.

PHOENIX – The Hollywood Casino 400 marked the beginning of the semifinal Round of 8 for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. And with only two weeks remaining before a new champion is crowned, the once blurry Cup Series playoff picture began to come into focus thanks to an unlikely winner at Kansas Speedway on October.

SCOTTSDALE – Josue Aaron Gomez looked confident in his run-up. The El Paso forward needed to convert his team’s fourth penalty try Saturday night to keep Phoenix Rising FC from advancing to the USL Championship Final. Instead, he inexplicably slipped and fell as he struck the ball and watched helplessly as his left-footed shot scuttled.

SCOTTSDALE – After its first three games were canceled because of a COVID-19 outbreak, the Chaparral High football team will finally take the field Friday in a home game against the 0-3 Brophy Prep Broncos. Shut down for a 14-day quarantine after several players tested positive for COVID-19 two days before what was to be.

PHOENIX – High school athletes rarely get to look over their shoulder and have cameras with the ESPN logo pointed in their direction. For the unbeaten Hamilton and Saguaro football programs, they are among the lucky few who get to showcase their talent on the national stage by the biggest network in sports. Week 8.

Justin Gaethje will have to change his profession to “combat enigmatologist” Saturday night on Fight Island when he faces Khabib Nurmagomedov — MMA’s hardest puzzle to solve. The saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Well, Gaethje broke two times in a row; first at the hands of Eddie Alvarez in December 2017.

PHOENIX – Just two wins away from their first-ever league title, the Phoenix Rising FC will host the El Paso Locomotive FC in the USL Championship Western Conference Final on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Casino Arizona Field in Scottsdale. A victory Saturday will put Phoenix in the league final on Nov. 1 against either.

PHOENIX – With their 2020-21 season disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ASU swim and dive teams are focusing on how they can best prepare for the 2021-22 season. So far, coaches are enthusiastic about what they’ve seen. “We are just concerned about trying to get back to a fitness level after having really missed.

PHOENIX – With the Arizona sun shining, players scored goals, officials blew whistles and spectators cheered as youth soccer took center stage at the recent 2020 Arsenal Challenge tournament at sports complexes around the Valley. They also used hand sanitizer, wore masks and socially distanced because this is what sports look like during the COVID-19.

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers and their fans are no strangers to the October Classic, with this season marking the team’s third appearance in the World Series in four years. The difference in 2020? Most fans are watching the games at home and are nowhere near their team in Texas. Because of the.

PHOENIX – Following the announcement of Phoenix Rising FC voluntarily relinquishing home field advantage in the USL Championship Final if it advances, the team made another big decision and reinstated coach Rick Schantz. Schantz was put on administrative leave by the club after appearing insensitive when Phoenix’s Junior Flemmings allegedly directed a homophobic slur toward.

PHOENIX – Phoenix Rising FC announced Tuesday it will voluntarily relinquish home field advantage in the USL Championship Final if it wins its playoff match this weekend. The club made the decision after recognizing that it was given the chance to host the final after being awarded three points following San Diego Loyal FC’s forfeiture..

PHOENIX – Despite putting up a season-high 38 points on a national stage, Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said the team still has not “hit its stride” offensively. “We’ve got to hit it here soon,” Kingsbury said Tuesday. “We have a great Seattle team coming in who’s scoring a bunch of points and has a.

LOS ANGELES – When Herm Edwards accepted the head coaching job with the New York Jets in 2001, he became the third Black coach in the NFL that year, joining the ranks of Minnesota’s Dennis Green and Tampa Bay’s Tony Dungy. Nineteen years have passed, and the number of Black head coaches in America’s favorite.

CHANDLER – Breanna Macha-Peterson, a former Arizona State softball ace, knows how to rise to a challenge. And plenty have come her way in 2020. Consider them met. After helping lead the Sun Devils to the 2018 Women’s College World Series, Macha-Peterson accepted a job at New Mexico as the Lobos’ pitching coach. But when.

PHOENIX – When Arizona State hired women’s soccer coach Graham Winkworth in 2016 and Arizona State women’s lacrosse coach Tim McCormack in 2019, it was with an eye toward upgrading and renovating its soccer and lacrosse fields in 2020. Then COVID-19 arrived. However, when spring sports, including lacrosse, were halted in March, renovation of the.

LOS ANGELES – The intersection of sports and politics will take center stage again Monday night when a campaign ad featuring a Northern Arizona football player will air during ESPN’s broadcast of the Arizona Cardinals-Dallas Cowboys game. Tristen Vance, a Hamilton High School graduate and linebacker for the Lumberjacks, expected to play his final season.

PHOENIX – Some of Arizona’s elite girls golf programs could provide a sneak peek at the upcoming Division I and II state tournaments beginning Tuesday at the State Preview, an invitational tournament that unfolds at Aguila Golf Course. Topping the list of entries are Division 1 powers Xavier Prep, who had an eight-game state championship.

PHOENIX – Grant McCagg went about his typical scouting routine during an Ottawa 67’s game at TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario on March 10th. McCagg, a retired NHL scout and now president of Recrutes.ca, arrived with pen and notebook in hand at the fan-packed arena and took his seat in a press box filled.

Down two goals and facing elimination, Phoenix Rising FC pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind win against Reno to advance to the United Soccer League Championship Western Conference Final. After falling behind 2-0 before halftime, the Rising battled their way back into the match thanks to goals from midfielder Kevon Lambert and team captain Solomon Asante..

PHOENIX – Inde Motorsports Ranch has been a staple among motorsports enthusiasts across North America for a decade. The 2.75-mile road course sits in Willcox, a community of 3,500 about 80 miles of Tucson. It grants its 200-plus members exclusive access to private garages, trackside casitas and 40 different track configurations, while boasting one of.

PHOENIX – In the first two weeks of the high school football season, the 6A conference has seen a high volume of blowouts. Twenty-five out of 34 matchups in the first two weeks in the 6A conference have been won by at least 17 points. You can probably blame the pandemic. Week two saw multiple.

PHOENIX – Many of the state’s top golf programs will battle it out at the Duke Open in Maricopa starting Thursday in what could be a preview of the Arizona Division I state championships two weeks from now in Tucson. However, Hamilton coach Steve Kanner might be inclined to add an asterisk to the Huskies.

PHOENIX – When the Pac-12 football season kicks off Nov. 7, the festivities won’t include fans, at least initially. But conference players hope to have their parents there. Multiple players, including ASU quarterback Jayden Daniels, promoted a petition started by Sahaja Douglass, the mother of USC offensive lineman Liam Douglass, on their social media accounts.

PHOENIX – Brooke Todare held one thing consistent while pitching Phoenix as a host of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Final Four. The city is built for this. “Mega-events have become part of the DNA of Phoenix and the state of Arizona,” Todare, co-chairwoman of the Phoenix Local Organizing Committee, said in an interview with Cronkite.

PHOENIX – Raquel McNabb, a former college athlete and mother of four active children, has witnessed firsthand how money affects or limits a child’s ability to participate in sports. Maybe kids can afford the uniform, but not the travel expense. Others can’t pay for the required equipment. Some children never get around the first road.

TEMPE – Dennis Gardeck has rolled with the punches his entire football career. The Arizona Cardinals special teams captain took his first-ever career snaps on the defensive side of the ball in Sunday’s rout of the New York Jets. Although he was on the field for just 10 of the Jets’ 69 offensive snaps, his.

LOS ANGELES — More than two years after the federal ban on sports betting was lifted, Arizona is one of 28 states that have not passed legislation to legalize gambling on sports in-person or online. A bill that would have legalized land-based sports books, Senate Bill 1525, with exclusive rights going to Native American tribes,.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Coyotes bolstered their forward depth by signing three players at the start of the NHL free agent period, but it was a player the Coyotes kept and one they lost more than anybody they added that made news. The club announced that defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson will stay in the desert for.

Each year, Forbes magazine compiles important financial information about the “Big 4” North American sports leagues – the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB – to determine the value of their teams. In September, Forbes released its 2020 NFL list, bringing its rankings of three of the leagues up to date. The most recent report for.

Tucson native Alex Bowman has grown accustomed to taking on large roles in the NASCAR Cup Series. In 2016, he captured the attention of the racing world when he filled in for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who had been sidelined with a concussion toward the end of the season. Upon the 15-time most popular driver’s departure.

PHOENIX – Tracy Cortez is seeking to build on her seven-fight win streak. All that stands in front of her is 8,000 miles, jet lag and a skillful Swiss fighter on a streak of her own. Welcome to Fight Island, Tracy Cortez. The Arizonan will showcase her skills on Saturday night’s ESPN prelims. This will.

SCOTTSDALE – Most Arizona high schools opened their 2020 football season last Friday, but one highly anticipated match-up of two Scottsdale powers – Chaparral and Saguaro – was canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Chaparral. After several players tested positive for the virus, the Firebirds also canceled their Week 2 game, scheduled for tonight,.

PHOENIX – Who would have predicted that Phoenix Rising would enter the 2020 playoffs under the surreal circumstances that have surrounded the club in the last 10 days? Phoenix Rising FC will host Sacramento Republic FC on Saturday in the first round of the United Soccer League Championship playoffs, but will do so without the.

PHOENIX – Although the girls volleyball season began on Sept. 22 under the AIA’s modified guidelines, several schools will not be eligible for the postseason, including those in the Tolleson Union and Phoenix Union school districts. The COVID-19 metrics were high for residents in his district, Phoenix Union Athletic Director Zachary Muñoz said, and many.

PHOENIX – The coronavirus has hit all types of people in every kind of community over the past seven months. University of Arizona football coach Kevin Sumlin knows that firsthand. He now advises his players to be vigilant in protecting themselves against the coronavirus using his own experience as Arizona announced Sumlin tested positive for.

PHOENIX – An investigation into allegations that Phoenix Rising FC midfielder Junior Flemmings used a homophobic slur against an opponent were inconclusive, the team’s general manager said Wednesday. The USL Championship looked into the event that occurred last week against San Diego Loyal SC and shared its findings with Rising general manager Bobby Dulle. “The.

TEMPE – Arizona State hockey and the Big Ten Conference announced that they have agreed to a scheduling arrangement for 2020-21. According to ASU, the season could begin as early as Nov. 13. ASU, an independent hockey team not affiliated with a conference, will play 28 away games, playing each Big Ten team four times..

PHOENIX – The United Soccer League Championship announced Tuesday that it has levied a six-game suspension and a fine for an undisclosed amount against Phoenix Rising FC’s Junior Flemmings for his alleged use of a gay slur at an opponent. “Phoenix Rising accepts and supports the results of this investigation,” Rising general manager Bobby Dulle.

PHOENIX – For Alex Bowman, this year’s NASCAR playoffs will end a little sweeter than the previous two he participated in, even if he doesn’t win the championship. For the first time ever, the final race of the NASCAR season will be hosted at Bowman’s home state track, Phoenix Raceway. And 2021 will start a.

PHOENIX – The NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs have only just begun, but top title contenders Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric are already analyzing the challenges that Phoenix Raceway could present in the season finale at the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 in November. Briscoe, who leads the playoff standings, and Cindric, who is drafting.

PHOENIX – In 1991, the NFL pulled the ‘93 Super Bowl from Arizona because voters failed to establish a paid Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. In the wake of that decision, Arizona’s sports franchises led the effort to establish the holiday. Now, nearly two decades later, Arizona’s sports franchises are again leading the.

PHOENIX – Phoenix Suns guard Ty Jerome tried something for the first time in his career: a fantasy football draft. “I’m hoping for some beginner’s luck,” Jerome said. The Water Bowl Fantasy Football Draft was an entertaining and competitive experience, but more important, the event raised awareness and money for education and clean-water programs in.

Despite a disappointing 2020 season that saw the Diamondbacks finish in last place with a 25-35 record, the organization heads into the offseason confident they can make it back to the playoffs in 2021. “I don’t really know where the offseason is going to take us, you know, on a very micro-level,” Arizona General Manager.

PHOENIX- The UFC bantamweight division reads like a guidebook on MMA versatility with chapters and footnotes on styles, speeds, techniques, distances and a range of fight IQ. Local bantamweights Kyler Phillips (7-1) and Casey Kenney (14-2-1), who are fighting on Saturday’s 39th UFC event of the year on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, offer no less.

MESA – Eastmark High School, which officially opened in August 2019 in Mesa, is expected to have a smooth transition into the AIA’s 3A Conference. Optimism surrounds the Queen Creek School District’s newest high school. This is the first year of varsity sports for the school, which opens its football season tonight at Pusch Ridge.

PHOENIX – Diana Taurasi’s “GOAT” T-shirt sold out in about five minutes earlier this fall, crashing the Phoenix Mercury’s merchandise store for the third time. “Y’know, it means a lot, it kind of validates you in the basketball world,” Taurasi said at the time, when her place in the hoop world still revolved around games.

PHOENIX – A highly anticipated football game between Chaparral and Saguaro high schools was canceled Wednesday after a Chaparral player tested positive for COVID-19. The Scottsdale Unified School District confirmed the news about the game schedule for Friday in a release. Later, parents expressed concern about the fairness of the decision. “It puts the team.

PHOENIX – Phoenix Rising FC finds itself under international scrutiny after an opposing player accused forward Junior Flemmings of using a homophobic slur during a game against San Diego Loyal SC Wednesday night. “This is not the first time I’ve heard this homophobic slur,” Collin Martin, an openly gay player, said in a statement Thursday..

PHOENIX – Once it was decided that high school football games would be played in Arizona amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the next decision to be made was whether fans would be allowed to fill stadiums. That decision was left up to each school district, which will base decisions on the COVID-19 numbers in its area..

When the San Diego Loyal Soccer Club hosts Phoenix Rising Wednesday night, it will be the Loyal’s first game since forfeiting a point in protest of an opposing player’s racial slur. During the 71st minute of last Wednesday’s match, Los Angeles Galaxy II player Omar Ontiveros directed the slur at San Diego midfielder Elijah Martin..

PHOENIX – The COVID-19 pandemic has stalled sports across the planet, causing cancellations, postponements or shortened seasons. But a few weeks ago, the Arizona Interscholastic Association approved its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee’s (SMAC) plan to return to fall sports, and now many schools across the state are preparing to play ball. While high school associations.

PHOENIX – On a hot summer afternoon, bags full of soccer equipment, clothing and shoes covered the floor of Monica McPherson’s garage, awaiting the arrival of a special group of kids from the North Phoenix Christian Soccer Club. Since January 2019, a Phoenix Rising FC supporters group called the Red Fury has helped provide thousands.

PHOENIX – Coming off their first defeat of the season, the Arizona Cardinals were disappointed in their level of execution. One thing that hasn’t changed, though? Their expectations. A sense remains inside the locker room that this could be a special season. And while players acknowledged the mistakes that led to Sunday’s 26-23 loss to.

On a bright winter day in 2006, Brinson and Steenn Pasichnuk were perched on a pair of five-gallon buckets that sat on the frozen sheet of ice covering Moose Lake in Bonnyville, a small town in the far eastern reaches of Alberta, Canada. They waited for hours with their fishing rods, patiently dangling bait below.

PHOENIX – Many high school seniors competing in fall sports have aspirations to play in college. For those in states where sports are on pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic, that goal might be difficult to reach if they don’t already have offers. But for high school athletes in Arizona, those dreams remain attainable. “We’ve.

In his homecoming to Arizona, Diamondbacks outfielder Kole Calhoun has been a bright spot during a difficult, pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Calhoun finished the season tied for third in the National League with 16 home runs and had his 40 runs driven in were good for a tie for ninth in the NL as he set.

PHOENIX – News of MLB’s decision to cancel the 2020 Arizona Fall League season left some players reminiscing on how the experience shaped their bond with the game. While there had been speculation about the AFL being canceled this year after the 2020 minor league season was scrapped, MLB made its decision official on Monday,.

PHOENIX – For the past six months, high school athletes have been left holding their breath. Ever since the World Health Organization (WHO) classified COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11, the future of Valley sports in the fall has been uncertain. “One day we’re playing, one day we’re not … now we are playing.

PHOENIX – The conclusion of Phoenix Rising FC’s recent match versus San Diego Loyal SC produced the strangest 20 minutes of play most soccer fans will ever likely see, and the match result (a 3-2 Rising loss) shook the United Soccer League Championship playoff picture. The bizarre run of play on Saturday night started in.

PHOENIX – After postponing fall sports in August, Pac-12 CEOs called an audible Thursday and voted to play a shortened football season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Conference teams will compete in a seven-game season beginning Nov. 6. The Pac-12 Championship game is scheduled for Dec. 18, enabling conference teams to be considered for the College.

PHOENIX – With the U.S. national team en route to its fourth World Cup championship in 2019, women’s soccer reached its zenith in popularity. It was the most watched ever, reaching more than 993.5 million individuals for at least a minute on television, and 1.12 billion viewers across all streaming platforms. Using that World Cup.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Cardinals are undefeated. Say it again, slowly, because Valley sports fans can use a reason to get excited. True, it’s only the third week of the NFL season, and a 2-0 record hardly means it’s time to break out the playoff pompoms. Will Kyler Murray’s dangerous yet highly entertaining (and effective).

PHOENIX – When Isabella Struckman decided in May to attend the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology this fall, she pictured herself going to classes, enjoying campus life and playing soccer for the MIT Engineers. Struckman belongs to a Scottsdale family with deep soccer roots. Both of her older sisters played youth soccer in the Valley.

PHOENIX – After police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin, shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, seven times from behind as they attempted to arrest him, NBA players decided to amplify their voices by silencing their game. The incident involving Blake came just months after police in Minneapolis were charged with killing another Black man, George Floyd,.

PHOENIX – When the executive board of the Arizona Interscholastic Association recently approved updated recommendations from its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, it cleared the way for the delayed 2020 fall sports season to kick off. However, some school districts might still decide not to play any sports in the fall because of safety concerns amid.

PHOENIX – For the most part, 2020 has been a disappointing year for the Arizona Diamondbacks. After several aggressive offseason moves, it looked like the team was preparing a serious challenge to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ reign in the National League West. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing MLB to sprint through a shortened 60-game.

PHOENIX – With the presidents and chancellors of Big Ten universities voting to resume football last week, players and fans called on Pac-12 Conference Commissioner Larry Scott to join other Power Five conferences and allow the football season to kick off. However, Scott said in a statement that universities in California and Oregon do not.

PHOENIX – In March, teams in the NBA and NHL were closing in on the playoffs, spring training was in full swing in Arizona’s Cactus League and Florida’s Grapefruit League. March Madness was about to unfold as college basketball teams competed in conference tournaments. Then it all came to a stunning, abrupt halt because of.

PHOENIX – Arizona’s second test of the 2020 NFL regular season, and first in it’s own backyard, is set to be lacking many of the qualities that, typically, present a home-squad with a true home-field advantage. When the Washington Football Team (1-0) arrives to duke it out with the Cardinals (1-0) at State Farm Stadium.

TEMPE – New technology aims to bridge the gap between social media and the college football recruitment process. Now, more than ever, players across America have easy access to a pathway that may amplify the odds of reaching the next level. Just ask former Chaparral and Sunrise Mountain high school standout Elijah Castro, and he’ll.

LOS ANGELES – A day after a written plea from the Southern Cal football team for a resumption of college sports in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said state guidelines do not restrict participation in Pac-12 football. “I want to make this crystal clear,” Newsom told reporters Wednesday. “Nothing in the state guidelines deny the ability.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Interscholastic Association’s decision to adjust a key COVID-19 metric opens the door for more high school football teams to start football on Sept. 30 and follows an outcry by parents upset by the original positive case ratio. The AIA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee announced Thursday that the ability to safely participate.

Sun Devil Stadium was expected to be a beehive of activity in 2020, a facility buzzing non-stop with football, live concerts, yoga, movies, obstacle courses and food festivals. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a hush to fall over the concrete playground in Tempe, plans are in place to ensure the stadium doesn’t remain completely.

PHOENIX – Phoenix Rising FC announced its signing of Jamaican international defender Damion Lowe Wednesday, but the center-back may have limited availability when the United Soccer League Championship playoffs kick off in October. Rising coach Rick Schantz announced Tuesday that the team brought Lowe in on a trial basis earlier in the week. The news.

David Mayer is on a mission, a longstanding quest to prevent those from dying at the hands of medical mistakes. A retired doctor and CEO of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, Mayer’s decades-long crusade has him crisscrossing the continental United States, meeting those dealt the unimaginable blow of losing their loved one to an error..

PHOENIX – Arizona State has a rich history of producing professional golfers and competing on the PGA Tour. Phil Mickelson, John Rahm and Paul Casey each have made their mark at the highest level, further cementing the foundation of ASU’s golf program. That legacy continues to grow as current ASU golfer Chun An “Kevin” Yu.

PHOENIX – Puerto Rico is known for many things. Arroz con habichuelas, a spicy red-beans-and-rice combination, and tamale-like pasteles. Music artists Daddy Yankee, Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez also hail from Puerto Rico. In sports, Puerto Ricans have historically excelled in baseball and boxing. The U.S. territory in the Caribbean has produced world-class.

PHOENIX – After stepping out from being backstage for years, Shey Peddy finally got the center stage spotlight Tuesday night. With all eyes on her, the Phoenix Mercury guard hit a buzzer-beater 3-pointer that knocked her former team out of the playoffs. Peddy’s shot gave the Mercury an 85-84 win and a second-round playoff berth.

LOS ANGELES – When Nick Lima looks back on his soccer career, the defender for the San Jose Earthquakes remembers the talented athletes he played with before he went pro who never got a shot because the college admissions process didn’t recognize their struggle. “Some of the best athletes I played with growing up didn’t.

PHOENIX – While the Arizona Cardinals were led by second-year quarterback Kyler Murray and newcomer DeAndre Hopkins Sunday afternoon in Santa Clara, another performance stood out amid the absentee crowd. The one belonging to Cardinals General Manager Steve Keim. Keim delivered a trade for the ages in March when he sealed a deal that sent.

When the “Star-Spangled Banner” echoed in a fanless, smoke-shrouded Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, the Cardinals remained in the visitor’s locker room. Following George Floyd’s death at the hands of police in May, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray announced he would kneel during the national anthem in protest of social injustice. Instead, the Cardinals made.

SCOTTSDALE – Signs of a new normal for Arizona sports were apparent even in the parking lot outside Casino Arizona Field on Friday night, when for the time since COVID-19 swept the world, an Arizona professional sporting event took place before a live crowd. Cars of fans attending the Phoenix Rising FC and Las Vegas.

PHOENIX – ASU women’s basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne reminisced of days when her elementary school teachers would read books like “The Chronicles of Narnia” to her during classes, something she said was “one of my favorite times of the day.” She and the women’s basketball team recreated that experience with a now familiar twist.

Phoenix – Thursday night’s NFL opener in Kansas City marked the resumption of professional football games in America. It also marked the start of a regular season that is bound to be unlike any other in the history of the sport. Pregame narratives for the clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans focused.

PHOENIX – The vast desert landscape of Phoenix Raceway and the lush greenery around Richmond International Raceway are 2,269 miles apart. Although each track has unique characteristics, NASCAR Cup Series playoff teams have had Saturday’s Federated Auto Parts 400 in Virginia circled on their calendars since the 2020 schedule was released. When it was revealed.

PHOENIX – Food tends to bring back fond memories for most people. For Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson, the scent that wafted from his grandmother’s kitchen every Sunday evening when Peterson was a child still brings comfort. His grandmother may not be in the kitchen at the Valley’s United Methodist Outreach Ministries New Day Centers,.

PHOENIX – When the NCAA Board of Governors voted unanimously to allow athletes to make money off their names, images and likeness, it presented an interesting challenge: Navigating the murky waters of activism and branding can be tricky. With that bold change taking effect next year, athletes are being encouraged to build personal brands while.

PHOENIX – Phoenix Rising FC will make history Friday as the first professional sports team in Arizona to allow fans to experience in-stadium live sports since the COVID-19 shutdown. The Rising announced that the club will start allowing a limited number of fans – about 1,000 season-ticket holders – to attend home matches at Casino.

PHOENIX – Some of the country’s biggest sporting events have taken place in the Valley of the Sun. The Super Bowl, College Football Playoff’s National Championship and the NCAA Men’s Final Four have all called Arizona home at least once since 2015, with some of them due to return in the next few years. So.

PHOENIX – Phoenix Raceway, Arizona’s own diamond in the desert, will serve as the new host for NASCAR’s highly coveted Championship Weekend. The state of the art facility received a $178 million renovation that put immense emphasis on fan experience, so it should come as no surprise that the sport is switching venues for the.

Sunset Park, home for a variety of youth sporting events, sits on the west side of Wickenburg. The outfield features a backdrop of scenic mountains, and planes occasionally buzz overhead from the local municipal airport. Now it also houses a four-field complex named after one of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ longest tenured players, David Peralta. The.

For a city known for its diversity and the infinite possibilities it represents, it is fitting that the logo for Los Angeles’ 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games’ is the first of its kind. Built for the digital age the LA28 logo is actually many logos that interchange to show designs by athletes, celebrities, artists.

PHOENIX – On the heels of Arizona reporting at least 13 positive COVID-19 cases among its sports teams, Arizona State said it has no plans to release athlete-specific data. Seven Pac-12 schools share athlete results. Another, Colorado, has released limited findings, while UCLA numbers have been reported by L.A. County’s public health department. Only ASU,.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Coyotes and the city of Glendale announced Friday that Gila River Arena will be used as a voting center for the 2020 General Election from Oct. 28 to Nov. 3. Emily Kirkland, the executive director of Progress Now Arizona Institute, a One Arizona member organization, applauded the announcement. “It’s great to.

In August, fans were told Pac-12 athletics would have to wait until the spring of 2021 to resume. On Thursday, a decision was made that could change that. “This agreement is a major step in the safe return of sports competition in the Pac-12,” commissioner Larry Scott said. The conference’s partnership with Quidel Corporation, a.

Even though Pac-12 football has stalled due to the ongoing pandemic, Herm Edwards is having important conversations daily with his players at a time when social justice issues are dominating the news. The Arizona State football coach had his team meet with local police officers recently to address the current civil unrest across the nation..

PHOENIX – High school football is back. The Executive Board of the Arizona Interscholastic Association voted Wednesday to endorse the latest guidelines proposed by the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee for the safe implementation of a return to sport and activity. Football, as well as other fall sports, will continue as scheduled. Football can begin practice.

PHOENIX – Losers of 10 of their last 11 games, the Arizona Diamondbacks acted aggressively at Monday’s MLB trade deadline, moving four key players – including a fan favorite, relief pitcher Archie Bradley. The day’s transactions commenced with the Diamondbacks dealing starter Robbie Ray and cash considerations to the Toronto Blue Jays for left-handed reliever.

PHOENIX – The U.S. Open usually acts as the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year, but when the matches get underway Monday, it will be just the second slam of a COVID-19 riddled 2020. With the uncertainty of the pandemic, Arizona State tennis conditioning coach Bret Waltz found out he would be making.

PHOENIX – To understand Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson is to appreciate his relationship with former player Josh Pastner. While at the University of Arizona, Pastner didn’t play much. If it was a “Pastner game,” that meant he entered during a blowout. During one that found the Wildcats down 25, Pastner waited for his.

PHOENIX – Prescott area residents have something to cheer for, again. Indoor Football League supporters sat several feet apart from one another inside Findlay Toyota Center Tuesday afternoon, watching the introductory press conference for Prescott Valley’s newest arena football team. “This has been a challenging year,” said Shane Cadwell, general manager of Findlay Toyota Center..

PHOENIX – A month ago, the Arizona Coyotes left their families behind to begin the long-awaited postseason journey at the NHL bubble in Edmonton, Canada. The Coyotes, one of 24 teams to qualify for the National Hockey League’s Phase 4 Return to Play, were quarantined in preparation for the expanded postseason format. As part of.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Cardinals are among at least seven NFL teams to cancel or postpone practices Thursday in light of protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury addressed the media via Zoom Thursday morning, emphasizing time with family and space to think as reasons for his decision.

PHOENIX – When the Milwaukee Bucks declined to take the floor for Game 5 of their series with the Orlando Magic Wednesday in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, their seismic decision reverberated throughout professional sports. One by one, the NBA’s three Wednesday playoff games were postponed. Hours later, the Milwaukee Brewers also.

PHOENIX – High school athletic directors and football coaches are eager to kick off the season – assuming the season even happens – but the COVID-19 pandemic likely means no fans in the stands, tough safety protocols for players on the field and tighter budgets for high school sports. That could lead to cuts to.

PHOENIX – In a sports world driven by stats, Tristen Turlington, Eric Amkraut and Kristy Salazar each boast an impressive one: 5.0. That’s the cumulative GPA these Arizona high school athletes managed during their academic and athletic careers. With dreams ranging from investment banker to environmental forensics expert to environmental scientist, they epitomize the term.

PHOENIX – The Cactus Bowl has had its fair share of sponsors over the more than 30 years it’s been played in Arizona, with several national companies putting their name to the annual Arizona-based college football bowl game. Another change came in late May, when Cactus Bowl’s most recent sponsor, Cheez-It, announced on their website.

PHOENIX – When Ray Anderson, Arizona State’s vice president for university athletics, first heard about the possible long-term heart issues connected to coronavirus, it immediately made him think of his father’s sudden death from a heart attack when Anderson was just 9 years old. Anderson feared a similar outcome might await an ASU athlete if.

PHOENIX – Former ASU Men’s basketball player Eric Jacobsen continues to make a living overseas, even as it remains uncertain when that happens. Jacobsen has agreed to re-sign with the Sendai 89ers in the B2 League in Japan, according to a report from asia-basket.com. The 6’10” power forward, who graduated from ASU in 2016, is.

PHOENIX – Arizona State University’s fledgling men’s tennis and hockey programs have emerged as powerhouse players in college recruitment, landing recruits in the top 10 this year. In men’s hockey, of six athletes joining the team from the 2020 signing class, two players are National Hockey League draft picks and three players are 4.25 star.

Every year for 46 years, hundreds of runners met at the village of Shungopavi, Second Mesa, on Hopi land, to race in honor of Louis Tewanima, a Hopi who won a silver medal in the Olympics in 1912. It was a gathering of community. “We see the camaraderie when all the runners are there, they.

PHOENIX – At 17, Adam Stewart was convicted of armed robbery and aggravated assault. Tried as an adult, he faced a maximum of 21 years. If that sounds like a lot, for Stewart it was the norm, going back decades. “My … dad, his brothers and grandpa: prison, prison, prison, prison, drugs,” Stewart said. But.

GILBERT – The most unusual Pac-12 football season will officially begin Sept. 26 and for Arizona State football, that’s definitely the case. ASU will open its season in Tucson, the conference announced Friday. It would be the first time since 1937 in the rivalry’s history that both Arizona schools begin their season against each other..

PHOENIX – When Rickie Fowler knocked his tee shot just 9 feet short of the pin in the third round of the 2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open, the rowdy fans at 16 roared their approval. So did viewers at home, who had a better understanding of the shot’s trajectory than even those in the stands..

PHOENIX – Research into sports-related concussions started with football injuries but has since spread to other activities where hits and falls are routine, such as hockey, soccer and cheerleading. The long-term effects of concussions, however, are still being studied. It is a subject important to Stephanie Cahill. She played club volleyball from 14 to 16.

PHOENIX – Phoenix Rising FC found itself on the positive end of an unfortunate situation. The team was scheduled to play New Mexico United on Aug. 8 in New Mexico, but travel restrictions and a mandatory 14-day quarantine because of the coronavirus have halted those plans. The teams are still scheduled to play, but the.

PHOENIX – Jason Franklin’s personality had taken a dramatic turn. The former Arizona State University linebacker, often described as upbeat and social by his friends and family, was withdrawn. He “would get lost in long, blank stares. He was not sleeping well. He was having memory problems,” his mother, Jan Franklin, later wrote of that.

PHOENIX – As the coronavirus pandemic disrupted practice schedules and cut short seasons, Ray Anderson challenged Arizona State coaches to find a way to make their programs stronger. Swimming and diving coach Bob Bowman came up with a unique solution: He is having every member of his team redshirt for the 2020-21 season. “The biggest.

PHOENIX – After Gov. Doug Ducey unveiled his plan Thursday for schools to reopen, the Arizona Interscholastic Association continued to prepare for a season of fall sports. Ducey’s plan calls for school districts and charter schools to begin distance-learning by the first day of their traditional instructional calendar. Schools will then use data from public.

PHOENIX – The Northern Arizona Suns leaving Prescott Valley for Phoenix is not a slam dunk after all. Despite a town news release July 7 that said the team would “be playing at a location, to be determined, in the Phoenix metro area” for the 2020-21 NBA G League season, the organization has not yet.

PHOENIX – The WNBA and NBA have allowed players to choose a variety of social justice messages they would like on the back of their jerseys once regular season basketball resumes. The Phoenix Mercury will be honoring the life of Breonna Taylor by showcasing her name on the back of every player’s uniform when their.

PHOENIX – Eight years ago, Jon Rahm came to Arizona State with little grasp of the English language. Today he is the No. 1 golfer in the world. Rahm’s victory in the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, Sunday thrust him to the top of the World Golf Rankings. For those close to him, including friends,.

PHOENIX – Phoenix Suns center Aron Baynes learned quickly that the coronavirus is no joke. “It put me on my butt for a good week,” he told Stadium on Wednesday. “I slept for four days straight.” Baynes revealed Wednesday he had tested positive for COVID-19 after it was reported Monday by the Arizona Republic that.

PHOENIX – Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s announcement Tuesday that fans will not be allowed to attend college sporting events in the state of New York during the fall shed light on an interesting discrepancy between New York and Arizona. One has a lot of colleges. The other does not. New York has 102 schools that sport.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Diamondbacks caught their first glimpse of pandemic baseball. Cardboard cutouts and piped in fan noise were among the oddities as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks 9-2 in an exhibition game Sunday at Dodger Stadium. It was the first time Diamondbacks fans saw the team in game action since March.

PHOENIX – A new rivalry is brewing in the Southwest. Phoenix Rising FC and New Mexico United, despite playing only three games against each other, have the makings to be the USL Championship’s next great showdown. Why? Seventeen yellow cards, three games level past 90 minutes and a surprising offseason decision have all contributed to.

PHOENIX – Coach Monty Williams and the Phoenix Suns continue to prepare for the NBA restart at Walt Disney World in Orlando. The team has held several intrasquad practices but has not yet scrimmaged or played simulated games against other teams. Until that happens, Williams said the team’s readiness for the restart is unknown. “I.

PHOENIX – On the same day the NFL Players Association reported 72 positive tests for league athletes, it shared a map that tagged Phoenix as the No. 2 hotspot for the virus among the 32 metropolitan areas where the NFL plays. The NFLPA has voiced concerns about players reporting to training camp on July 28.

PHOENIX – Phoenix Rising FC is set to play its first away match of the season Thursday. The opponent is Orange County FC in California, which was shut down Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. This included a number of things, but maybe most important, restaurants. “There are three things a football player needs: a good.

PHOENIX – Two-time Super Bowl champion Chris Long and his foundation are donating $100,000 to the Navajo Nation to improve access to water on the reservation. The money, which will go to DigDeep’s Navajo Water Project, will be used to install 1,200-gallon solar-powered water systems under hundreds of homes to ensure that families have reliable,.

PHOENIX – The Phoenix Mercury have been inside the WNBA’s “bubble” at IMG Academy for about a week now and, despite the chatter from other players on social media, they seem to be adjusting well. Mercury guard Diana Taurasi sounded excited when asked how life inside the bubble was treating her. “It’s really like the.

PHOENIX – On the heels of a report that the NFL Players Association is concerned about opening training camps in “hot spot cities,” season ticket holders for the Arizona Cardinals are awaiting news on their options for 2020. The Washington Post reported the NFLPA is concerned about beginning practices in places that have been hit.

PHOENIX – Washington’s NFL team on Monday officially dropped its name, a derogatory term for Native Americans that the team has held since 1933. Native leaders and supporters in Arizona hailed a change activists have been working toward for years. The reactions ranged from relief to reflection. Reflecting on a victory years in the making.

PHOENIX – With the Suns inside the NBA’s Orlando “bubble” for almost a week now, Devin Booker is adjusting to a new lifestyle pace. While some players have shared images on social media of fishing or participating in other activities, Booker told reporters on a Zoom call Monday that his days “just consist of practice.

PHOENIX – Following the lead of the Big Ten and others, the Pac-12 Conference announced its football teams will play only conference games in 2020. “Arizona State University and Sun Devil Athletics support the Pac-12’s announcement of a strictly conference schedule for the 2020 football and fall sports season,” said Ray Anderson, ASU’s vice president.

PHOENIX – Amid pressure from sponsors including Nike and FedEx, Washington’s NFL team is undergoing discussions to change its name, a move some prominent voices in the Arizona Native American community feel is long overdue. “A lot of Native American people do not want to be looked at as a sidekick, a caricature or a.

PHOENIX – When his high school coach reached out for a jersey donation, Arizona Cardinals kicker Zane Gonzalez was on board. Soon, however, he decided it wasn’t enough. As he watched the COVID-19 pandemic affect families financially in his hometown of Deer Park, Texas, Gonzalez, a former standout at Arizona State, decided to provide scholarships.

PHOENIX – Citing economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Northern Arizona Suns announced they will leave Prescott Valley for a location closer to the Phoenix metropolitan area. “I don’t think that anywhere else could host the Suns in the state like Prescott and Prescott Valley can,” team public address announcer George Werner said.

PHOENIX – Playoff hockey is arguably the most electric postseason in all of sports, a grueling four rounds and best-of-seven series that culminate with lifting the Stanley Cup. This NHL postseason, however, is going to be different for players who have been off the ice for two months. The NHL regular season was cut short.

PHOENIX – Jenaye Coleman, a former Division I lacrosse player at Marquette University, saw many teammates experience gruesome knee injuries in practice and games. During her four years playing on artificial turf, it created a dark cloud of fear about stepping onto the field. “Once we saw probably like, I don’t know, four girls tear.

PHOENIX – The news that gyms would be shut down as part of Gov. Doug Ducey’s latest executive order to slow the spread of COVID-19 has blindsided those who work in the fitness industry. “We had just been getting things going,” said Maddi Briguglio, a personal trainer at Jab Fitness in Tempe. “Clients had just.

PHOENIX – Win your state. Keep the top talent home. These tried and true recruiting maxims have informed the recruiting strategies of nearly every Division I football program. Yet in Arizona in the class of 2021, high school prospects are committing to programs everywhere but in state. Top prospects Ty Thompson and Bram Walden are.

PHOENIX – Riot Games’ “Valorant” could be the next big collegiate esport in Arizona. The free-to-play game is blend of “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” style gameplay and objectives and “Overwatch” style abilities and player characters has drawn players from those games. Grand Canyon University, Arizona State University and the University of Arizona are fielding teams that.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Diamondbacks announced their 60-man roster for their upcoming summer training camp Monday, but the biggest news was which player on that list would not be joining the team. Mike Leake, a key rotation piece and pending free agent, notified the club that he will exercise his ability to opt out of.

PHOENIX – Several Scottsdale bars and restaurants labeled “bad actors” by Gov. Doug Ducey have shut down temporarily, and they’re pushing back on his allegations that they disregarded safety protocols meant to curb the spread of COVID-19. Ducey labeled eight Scottsdale establishments “bad actors” at a news conference Thursday. The admonishment came after city authorities.

PHOENIX – Just about two weeks away from the United Soccer League restarting, Phoenix Rising FC has been drawn into a group consisting of teams mainly from the West Coast. Group B also includes La Galaxy II, Las Vegas Lights FC, Orange County SC and San Diego Loyal SC. These four teams plus the Rising.

PHOENIX – Making a college decision is hard enough. Add in a deadly global pandemic and continued participation in a dangerous full-contact sport, and the decision becomes harder. Yet nearly 1,300 class of 2021 high school football prospects have already committed to Division I universities according to 247Sports, a number that grows by the day..

PHOENIX – The 2020-21 school year for Maricopa County community colleges may not include sports, as administrators from the district await a decision to be made next week by Chancellor Steven Gonzales. Despite reports of the cancellation being completed Thursday morning, Matt Hasson, the chief communications officer for the Maricopa County Community Colleges District, said.

PHOENIX – A somber Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday addressed Arizona’s record surge in COVID-19 cases, urging individuals to slow down and “do the right thing” but taking no new actions. “This is Arizona’s first wave and it will not be our last wave,” he said in a teleconference. “Where we are right now and.

PHOENIX – First it was the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Coyotes. Now, just as sports were beginning to start up again, players on the Phoenix Rising and Grand Canyon University men’s basketball team have tested positive for COVID-19. Phoenix Rising FC General Manager Bobby Dulle announced Wednesday that four players on the team tested positive.

PHOENIX – When Major League Baseball canceled the remainder of spring training games on March 12 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, it was with the initial hope of holding Opening Day for the 2020 season on April 9. That hope never manifested as the spread of the coronavirus forced the league and its players.

PHOENIX – Much has changed from four years ago, when the Phoenix Mercury were fined for wearing Black Lives Matter T-shirts over their warmups. These days the WNBA is encouraging its players to find their voices, one piece of a complicated puzzle the league faces as it prepares to return to play. “This is our.

PHOENIX – Stephen Shackleford had to make a tough decision when the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated in March. As the co-founder of SAK Gaming, a grassroots esports organization that organizes tournaments in Arizona, Shackleford closed down the SAK Gaming Lounge, an esports venue in Tempe where high school and college-age Arizona residents gathered regularly to play.

PHOENIX – Typically soft spoken, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray didn’t pause when asked Wednesday about the possibility of kneeling during the national anthem this season. “Yeah, I will be kneeling. Like I said, I stand for what is right and that’s the bottom line,” he said. “You know, I call it like I see. What’s.

PHOENIX – The only thing Phoenix Rising FC players knew is that they would return to play on July 11. Finally, it appears additional details are about to surface. The USL Championship announced June 4 that its Board of Governors had voted in favor of returning to play for the 2020 season. On Wednesday, several.

GLENDALE – Alex Meruelo made history in July when he became the first Latino controlling owner in NHL history after he purchased the Arizona Coyotes. He made more history on June 8 when he announced the hiring of Xavier A. Gutierrez to become the new CEO and President of the Coyotes, the first time a.

PHOENIX – Arizona State, determined not to suffer a similar fate as the University of Houston, is testing all its athletes for COVID-19 as part of the protocol for them to return to campus. Members of ASU’s athletic administration detailed plans for resuming voluntary workouts in a Zoom call with news media on Friday. Athletes.

PHOENIX – The first time Deric Ladnier, the Diamondbacks’ director of amateur scouting, saw Bryce Jarvis, he knew he wasn’t ready for the big leagues. “The stuff that was coming out was very marginal. And I remember telling (his father Kevin Jarvis), I said, ‘I like him. He’s not where he needs to be,’” Ladnier.

PHOENIX – As a NASCAR decision to ban Confederate flags at future events sparked heavy debate, Tucson driver Alex Bowman said he supported the decision. “There’s no reason to have anything that makes anybody uncomfortable to come to a NASCAR race,” Bowman said. “I think it’s a family event. We wanna put on a great.

PHOENIX – Rick Monday. Floyd Bannister. Bob Horner. And now, Spencer Torkelson. When the Detroit Tigers selected the Arizona State slugger No. 1 overall in the 2020 MLB Draft on Wednesday, Torkelson became the fourth ASU baseball player drafted No. 1 overall. “It’s unbelievable to be in the same conversation as those amazing players and.

PHOENIX – Masks during workouts and daily health checks are among the phase 1 requirements the University of Arizona has put in place for its athletes to return to sports participation. Members of the school’s athletics administration spoke Thursday via Zoom about a re-entry plan that is scheduled to begin Monday. “Our plan as a.

PHOENIX – They grew up on different continents nearly 8,000 miles apart, with different life experiences in matters of race. But what two Arizona professional athletes did share is a desire to speak out about the protests over the death of George Floyd. Cardinals wide receiver Christian Kirk grew up in Scottsdale, the son of.

PHOENIX – Nearly two weeks after protests for George Floyd’s death began to spread across the country, Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said he wants the dialogue about race to continue, on his team and throughout the world. “As an organization, we recognized what happened to George Floyd was a terrible tragedy. It was a.

PHOENIX – After an unprecedented postponement of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Suns are going to be playing basketball again. The NBA return-to-play plan is expected to be ratified by owners on Thursday. The story was first reported Wednesday by The Athletic’s Shams Charania and later detailed by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN..

PHOENIX – The Phoenix Mercury had a deadline. By June 1, the team had to cut its roster to 12 to ensure players would receive paychecks despite the suspension of the season. It did, one of many surreal scenarios faced by a league that was supposed to start May 24 but saw its season stalled.

PHOENIX – Derek Stepan was ecstatic over the news that the Arizona Coyotes would be returning to the ice this season. “We got a second chance, and we get to play in the playoffs,” the forward said. “I’ve been saying it since I got down to Arizona. This type of series hockey is just so.

PHOENIX – Unrest over George Floyd’s death continues to spread, prompting reaction from many, including those in the sports world. In Arizona, the only state in the country with African-American coaches overseeing an NBA team and two Power Five football teams, coaches at all levels are feeling a responsibility to speak up in a sports.

PHOENIX – It looks like the Phoenix Suns just might play basketball again after all. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN recently reported that the NBA is in favor of, and most likely going to approve a return-to-play format that involves 22 teams, one of them being the Phoenix Suns. The 22-team format brings back every team.

PHOENIX – In the days since Gov. Doug Ducey announced the reopening of Arizona schools this fall and youth sports this summer, the Arizona Department of Health Services has reported 2,173 new cases of COVID-19, with Friday and Saturday setting successive single-day records of 702 and 790 cases, respectively. The state has issued guidance on.

PHOENIX – Arizona schools will reopen this fall, and youth sports will return this summer, Gov. Doug Ducey told reporters Thursday. The move comes despite the fact Arizona remains in phase one of federal guidelines for reopening. Although different schools will have different needs and reopen dates, Ducey said, “we can tailor guidance to meet.

PHOENIX – Eliminating high fives, coaching in groups of 10 people or less and administering regular temperature checks are among the recommendations the Arizona Interscholastic Association is endorsing for high school athletes as they begin practice for the fall sports season. The AIA, the state’s governing body for high school sports, is following guidelines produced.

PHOENIX – Although the Pac-12 has suggested an on-time start to the college football season is possible, the conference still must wait to see how the six states where the teams are located are handling the pandemic. The league said in a statement Tuesday that it will allow voluntary in-person athletic workouts for all sports.

PHOENIX – Teaching, mentoring, planning. Just because Pac-12 football coaches have to practice social distancing with their players, their work hasn’t stopped. The needs of their players still have to be met. On a Zoom webinar, UCLA’s Chip Kelly, Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith and Arizona State’s Herm Edwards dished on how they’re handling the unusual.

PHOENIX – It was a common sight to see Michael Fletcher walk the halls of Trevor Browne High School with a stern look on his face that made him seem unapproachable. That stone cold expression would quickly turn into a smile when he greeted familiar faces. After more than 20 years of coaching Trevor Browne’s.

PHOENIX – About this time eight years ago, Justyce McClain, a 15-year-old softball standout at Sandra Day O’Connor High School in north Phoenix, sealed her path to higher education with a verbal commitment to attend McNeese State University in Louisiana on a full-ride athletic scholarship. Her sister, Syd Williams, who’s 12, aspires to follow in.

PHOENIX – It’s 4 a.m. on Nov. 5, 2001. An insignificant time and date for most people, but not for Steven Anderson, who’s celebrating in his living room. Awakened by the racket, his mother quickly reminds him he’s still expected to go to school that day. He doesn’t care. The Arizona Diamondbacks are shocking the.

SURPRISE – In early March, Texas Rangers pitchers and catchers would frequently walk from their clubhouse to the back fields together, talking and laughing. The moments symbolized how important the relationship between pitcher and catcher is in baseball, similar to a marriage, where communication is key. Among the nuances impacted by the postponement of the.

PHOENIX – At this point, hockey players have come up with just about every creative way to manage their time while quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rollerblading? Tried it. In-home gyms? Everybody has one. Doing squats while using the family dog as weight? Check. But Kyle Aucoin, 17, a top NHL prospect whose father is.

PRESCOTT VALLEY – Tucked away in the city’s center is the Findlay Toyota Center, an arena known to many for housing the NBA G League’s Northern Arizona Suns. But not too long ago, it was the home of the Arizona Sundogs, a professional minor league hockey team that brought together a community. The Sundogs played.

TEMPE – Although wrestling is thriving at the developmental level in the West, the same can’t be said of the sport at Division I universities. And it’s prompting some of the best young talent to head east. Of the country’s 79 Division I programs, only 18 are west of the Mississippi River and just 10.

PHOENIX – In the midst of uncertainty surrounding the NHL season, Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun finds solace in the piano handed down from his grandmother. “She always says that now that I have it in my house that it’s like I always have a little piece of me with her, so it’s really special,”.

SURPRISE – The 2019 season was Chris Woodward’s first as manager of the Texas Rangers, but his leadership style was years in the making. He was looking forward to employing more of those lessons in his second season – before Major League Baseball shut down due to COVID-19. He and his wife, Erin, a nurse.

PHOENIX – For Pedro Gomez, the analogy came easily. “This was a lightning bolt.” In more than 30 years covering baseball, first for newspapers and now ESPN, Gomez has seen just about everything. But nothing produced a jolt quite like March 12 when Major League Baseball abruptly suspended spring training and put the 2020 season.

TEMPE – The Arizona State men’s and women’s basketball teams were on their way to NCAA Tournament berths before the outbreak of COVID-19 shut down their sport. They believe they still have something to celebrate. During this final week of spring semester classes, the programs can reflect on their commitment to the “student” part of.

LOS ANGELES – Although Michael Jordan is one of the most famous athletes in the world, there’s a lot that isn’t known about the NBA legend. However, the ESPN documentary “The Last Dance” – a revealing glimpse behind the scenes of the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls’ road to their sixth NBA title in eight years –.

PHOENIX – For sports fans such as Jake Santo, a team’s promotional schedule is just as important as its game schedule. Santo and many other memorabilia collectors monitor the calendar for bobblehead giveaways – a staple event for professional sports teams – and a big reason they attend games. “I think what makes it special.

PHOENIX – Cole Walsh stood on the runway, gazing at a large mat 100 feet away. The Arizona heat blistered the high school freshman as he prepared for his first-ever vault. With a pole held next to his hips, Walsh’s feet started shuffling. The approach began. Sprinting closer and closer to the mat, Walsh lowered.

PHOENIX – Spencer Torkelson sat on a Zoom call, his hat perched backward, AirPods in place, fielding questions from a virtual scrum of reporters from his family’s California home. A candidate to be the No. 1 pick in June’s Major League Baseball Draft, the Arizona State slugger spoke about the heartbreaking suspension of his junior.

PHOENIX – As the world wages war with the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional institutions are adjusting to a new normal. The phrase “social distancing” has entered the modern lexicon, and “flattening the curve” isn’t something from the dictionary of baseball jargon. Nobody knows when games will begin again, or whether fans will even be allowed to.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – April 2004 was a significant month in Phoenix Suns history. For an NBA record $401 million franchise selling price, businessman Robert Sarver and.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – Entering the 1997 NBA Playoffs, no one in league history had drained more than eight 3-pointers in one postseason game. That record was.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – As dusk falls, the sky above the city turns from baby blue to cotton candy, streaked with orange and purple. Sunsets are one.

PHOENIX – Josh Jones sat in his house Friday night, wondering why he hadn’t been selected as the NFL Draft moved into the third round. Despite a late-first round to late-second round projection, Jones was still on the board early into the third. Shortly afterward, the Arizona Cardinals drafted the offensive tackle from Houston with.

PHOENIX – The start of the 2020 NFL Draft shaped up favorably for the Arizona Cardinals. Three quarterbacks were selected in the top six picks leaving Arizona, picking eighth, with a lot of talent to pick from in an effort to bulk up a weak offensive line or add firepower to the defense. The Cardinals.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – Dennis Green made a promise to Larry Fitzgerald Sr. on April 24, 2004. “‘If your son’s there at No. 3,” Fitzgerald Sr. remembers.

PHOENIX – Josh Christopher was still in high school when he jumped into the game of college trash talking. As Utah was about to play Arizona State in men’s basketball, Utes freshman Hunter Mecum started talking smack with Christopher, his former Mayfair High teammate. Christopher, a consensus five-star recruit, was visiting Tempe that weekend in.

PHOENIX – Phoenix Suns broadcaster Tom Leander said he’s proud his daughter, an intensive-care nurse, stood up to demonstrators protesting stay-at-home orders at the state Capitol this week. In photos that have gone viral, Lauren Leander is seen in her scrubs silently facing down protesters who arrived at the Capitol to demand Gov. Doug Ducey.

PHOENIX – Entering his sixth season, defensive tackle Jordan Phillips is trying to prove that last year wasn’t a one-off, that he is worth the three-year, $30 million contract he signed this offseason with the Arizona Cardinals. After posting a career-high 9½ sacks for the Buffalo Bills last year, more than he had in the.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. GLENDALE – For a hockey franchise still trying to find its roots in the desert, the Coyotes sure knew how to make their playoff series.

PHOENIX – At a time when COVID-19 has stiff-armed sporting events, the television industry’s opinionated personalities are front and center. After all, you don’t need competition to spout an opinion. The changing landscape has shined a spotlight on television’s hierarchy: TV sports personalities like Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless yield multi-million dollar salaries for.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. TEMPE – In the culmination of the NFL’s marketing campaign to celebrate the league’s 100th anniversary, a spot aired during Fox’s broadcast of Super Bowl.

PHOENIX – Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Justin Pugh did not spend his draft day in the green room at Radio City Music Hall. He did not bro-hug the commissioner or have a jersey and hat presented to him on national television. Despite being drafted 19th overall by the New York Giants in 2013, Pugh was.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – It has been eight years since the Arizona Coyotes, still known as the Phoenix Coyotes at the time, last reached the NHL playoffs..

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – During the 1998 baseball offseason, the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks had just completed their inaugural season under the watchful eye of manager Buck Showalter,.

PHOENIX – The life of a college athlete can be stressful. Balancing academic and sports or taking the game-winning shot against a Top 10 team involves pressure. Former Arizona State basketball player Michelle Tom did both, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to down No. 7 Washington in 1999. Now she deals with more serious stress: treating.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – The buzzer sounded inside Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum as coach John MacLeod’s team inched one step closer to the ultimate prize, an NBA.

PHOENIX – The cancellation of the 2020 Native American Basketball Invitational means more to that community than simply taking a summer off from playing ball. Its loss could have a major impact on the lives of many young native people. A major purpose of the event is to help players attend college, whether as a.

PHOENIX – A month ago, Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly didn’t expect he would have time for some of his hobbies. The Arizona State product was in the middle of his second spring training with the club, looking to build on a solid rookie season and earn a spot at the back end of an.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – By the time the 1997 NFL Draft rolled around on this day 23 years ago, Jake Plummer had already built quite the reputation.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – On a Tuesday night in 2006 at Chase Field, the Diamondbacks’ Luis Gonzalez drove an RBI double off of San Francisco’s Matt Morris.

PHOENIX – The Phoenix Mercury selected Virginia guard Jocelyn Willoughby 10th overall in the first round of the 2020 WNBA Draft Friday. However, she did not stay for long. The Mercury traded the reigning ACC scoring leader to the New York Liberty for point guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough. “I was in shock but excited,” Willoughby said.

GLENDALE – Newly acquired Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is already making an impact in the Valley, familiarizing himself with his new teammates and showing leadership through philanthropic work. Since arriving in Arizona as the centerpiece of an offseason trade with the Houston Texans, Hopkins said the outpouring of support from the Red Sea.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – With the infield pushed in, on a 2-2 count in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, Luis Gonzalez hit a bloop single.

PHOENIX – The WNBA Draft might be a virtual event this year, but the player the Phoenix Mercury come away with Friday night will be the real deal. At least, that’s the plan. The Mercury are mulling its options to find a player who will best complement the team’s newly-formed “big three,” said coach Sandy.

PHOENIX – Imagine an empty Chase Field as a ballgame between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers is played. All 48,519 seats are vacant, save for a few cardboard cutouts, and every sound carries through the entire stadium: the crack of the bat, the pop of a catcher’s mitt, communication between teammates. It.

LOS ANGELES – One month ago, every sporting event in the nation came to a screeching halt to thwart the rapid spread of deadly COVID-19. The first to shut down were the professional leagues – and then came the biggest competition in college basketball: March Madness. “For those of us who love and treasure college.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. TEMPE – In 2004, the shocking news that Pat Tillman, a former Arizona State and Arizona Cardinals defensive standout, had been killed in action while.

PHOENIX – Several members of Arizona State’s women’s basketball team were getting treatment in a training room at Weatherup Center in Tempe on March 12, knowing that in just four days the entire team would be watching ESPN’s Women’s NCAA Tournament Selection Special together. The Sun Devils were fresh off of a disappointing first-round exit.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – Despite a franchise-worst 7-27 season, the Phoenix Mercury were optimistic about the franchise’s future as the 2013 WNBA Draft approached. And why not?.

PHOENIX – Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley received headline-making news Monday night when five-star guard Josh Christopher from Mayfair High School in Lakewood, California, announced his commitment to the Sun Devil men’s basketball program. In the latest ESPN rankings, Christopher is rated as the 10th-best player in his class, and he will join the No..

PHOENIX – Game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals is viewed by many analysts as the greatest NBA game ever played. It included wild swings of fortune and emotion. It included the storied Boston Celtics and the upstart Phoenix Suns. It included three overtimes. One man remained calm amid the chaos at Boston Garden that.

PHOENIX – Zoom meetings, online film sessions and remote workouts. Those are just some of the creative solutions that high school football coaches are employing to conduct spring practices in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Spring football is typically a three-week session. It is, as three Arizona coaches noted, a crucial part of the.

TEMPE – Americans continue to live in a world without sports, open restaurants, bars and most stores. Many states have enacted lengthy stay-at-home orders in an effort to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus, but people are still permitted to go outside and get exercise as long as they practice safe social-distancing. Those living.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Coyotes announced Friday that 50% of their staff will be furloughed through June 30 due to the COVID-19 pandemic that forced the pausing of the NHL and AHL seasons. Coyotes owner, chairman and governor Alex Meruelo said the decision was necessary, given the unlikelihood of the NHL season resuming in the.

PHOENIX – Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Phoenix Children’s Hospital is receiving financial support from FaZe Adapt, a popular member of the local gaming community. In a Twitch stream to support the local hospital and in partnership with Extra Life, Adapt and FaZe Swagg – both Phoenix natives – raised more than $2,000 that will benefit.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – On this day in 2009, the Arizona Diamondbacks got their wish. “Major League Baseball is proud to announce that the Arizona Diamondbacks will.

PHOENIX – Hidden within the exploding global esports movement lies Grand Canyon’s burgeoning program, headed by athletic esports coordinator Albert Lee. GCU has emerged as one of the premier universities in the country housing esports, offering a diverse set of games in the competitive scene, and being one of the first schools to offer scholarships.

TEMPE – Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews and Jack Johnson all had something in common before becoming hockey superstars. The trio are alumni of the prestigious Shattuck-Saint Mary’s school and hockey program in Minnesota. Duncan Shin, a 15-year-old from Chandler, Arizona, attends the elite school where those players once roamed and is following in their skates..

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – On April 10, 2010, the then-Phoenix Coyotes wrapped up the franchise’s best regular season in Arizona, finishing with 107 points after a shootout.

PHOENIX – Sydney Wiese knew something wasn’t right. “I know my body and I don’t get sick that often,” Wiese said. “When I get a cold, I know what that feels like. I know what it’s like to have the flu. This felt different.” A Phoenix native who plays guard for the Los Angeles Sparks.

PHOENIX – Despite the lack of organized team activities and the general uncertainty surrounding the 2020 season, Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury believes familiarity among players and staff will help the team kick it into gear once football resumes. With the sports world on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone in the NFL is adjusting..

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – The long hours spent at the free throw line. Shot after shot after shot after shot. It’s a tedious, monotonous grind, and every.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX — Ask anybody and they’ll tell you: Ice in a desert won’t last very long. Yet 23 seasons and a couple name changes later,.

PHOENIX – On Tuesday, March 31, despite a raging pandemic, the Arizona Coyotes live-streamed their game against the Colorado Avalanche on their YouTube, Facebook and Twitch accounts. Like every other Coyotes broadcast, it started with pregame analysis from play-by-play broadcaster Matt McConnell and analyst Tyson Nash, with both emphasizing how critical the game was to.

PHOENIX – Nearly a month has passed since the COVID-19 pandemic brought the sports world to a halt. Every active league postponed or canceled seasons, including Major League Baseball. But MLB is working on a plan to reboot the sport in a move that will be judged bold or foolish, depending on how it unfolds..

PHOENIX – The NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship game was supposed to unfold Monday with more than 70,000 fans watching at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and millions more tuning in on television or streaming the game live. Instead, March Madness ended before it ever started, wiped out by COVID-19. But recently, a Twitter account –.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – The Phoenix Coyotes faced a lot of obstacles during the 2011-12 NHL season. The biggest ones were off the ice. Despite back-to-back playoff.

GLENDALE – When Ahron Cohen took over as president and CEO of the Arizona Coyotes in the summer of 2018, expanding the hockey culture – especially the Coyotes’ hockey culture in the desert – was pinned at the top of his to-do list. “Our mentality has been to attack this state from a grassroots perspective.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – Gil Morgan made a name for himself on the PGA Tour, winning seven tournaments in a career that spanned more than two decades..

PHOENIX – Doctors have stressed the importance of children remaining physically active in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, hoping to prevent kids from tumbling down a dangerous, unhealthy path due to the absence of school and structure. “The important thing that I would push is a schedule, a routine, trying to schedule a bit.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – Weeks have passed without sports. Television shows and movies can only be watched so many times. New hobbies don’t always last because shooting.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – Fresh off their inaugural season, the Arizona Diamondbacks went for the biggest fish in a loaded free agent ocean during the winter of.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – The Phoenix Mercury beat the odds in the WNBA draft lottery following the 2006 season, emerging with the No. 1 overall selection despite.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – On Opening Day in 2001, the Diamondbacks were a team loaded with veteran players and the dynamic one-two punch of ace pitchers Randy.

PHOENIX – With the sports world at a standstill during the COVID-19 pandemic, one platform may change how fans take in sports for years to come. Virtual reality could serve as a way to provide fans with experiences previously thought only possible at in-person events. During the first session of a two-part virtual conference called.

PHOENIX – March 12 was an odd day for many people, including Arizona Coyotes broadcaster Matt McConnell. The NHL had canceled morning skates, but the Coyotes were still slated to take on the Vancouver Canucks that night at Gila River Arena. McConnell met with his broadcast partner, Tyson Nash, and producer Graham Taylor at a.

TEMPE – Brinson Pasichnuk recalls when he first realized he wanted to play in the National Hockey League. “I think (Sidney) Crosby said a quote. I heard it when I was young. It said, ‘Imagine waking up everyday and your job isn’t work,’” the ASU senior defenseman said. “It’s not the exact quote, but imagine.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. TEMPE – Tuesday, April 2, 2019, was an ordinary day for defensive lineman Dylan Wynn and his Arizona Hotshots teammates – until it wasn’t. It.

PHOENIX – Grand Canyon University’s beach volleyball program was on the doorstep of making school history, with all the pieces falling into place for the Lopes to contend for a national title in May. Then, like so much in society during 2020, GCU’s dream season was derailed by something with far more historic significance. The.

LOS ANGELES – Athletes everywhere are refocusing and reworking their training regimens now that the 2020 Summer Olympics have been pushed back a year. One of them is Canadian swimmer Taylor Ruck, 19, of Scottsdale, who took off a year from Stanford University to train for Tokyo. “The only thing that’s changing is based on.

With the sports world on hold, Cronkite News will take a daily look at this day in sports history and reflect on some of the biggest moments in Arizona sports. PHOENIX – The kid came out of Jersey City from a legendary basketball family, already something of a star. With Bobby Hurley running the point,.

PHOENIX – Brett Hundley loves to run. Not just when he steps under center on an NFL field, or when he made Pac-12 defenses look silly at UCLA. He has had a deep passion for it most of his life, from running through his local neighborhoods to racing across the world in the offseason. “When.

PHOENIX – Opening Day has come and gone, but the main attraction, the centerpiece of it all, wasn’t there. In 2020, it was just a date on a calendar. There was no baseball on March 26, when all 30 major league clubs were scheduled to play. There was no call from the plate umpire to.

GLENDALE – Michael Bidwill’s Tuesday morning wasn’t about the upcoming NFL Draft or sharing his excitement over the team acquiring wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. It was about blood. Bidwill was included among the 500-plus people who donated blood Tuesday at State Farm Stadium during a Cardinals blood drive with partners Dignity Health and Cigna. Due.

PHOENIX – Although records of women playing organized tackle football can be found as early as the 1920s, the sport has struggled to sustain any momentum. That could be changing with the emergence of more women in NFL coaching positions and the presence of teams such as the Phoenix Phantomz. The Phantomz are members of.