• Slug: Sports-ASU Defensive Line, 780 words.
• 3 photos available

By Justin de Haas
Cronkite News

TEMPE — With the NFL draft and transfer portal taking players from teams across the country, Arizona State is relying on returnees to bolster the defensive line.

ASU must deal with two big departures with defensive linemen B.J. Green and Dashaun Mallory going to Colorado and the draft, respectively. The Sun Devils will also be without graduate defensive lineman Anthonie Cooper this season after an ACL injury, so there are several major holes to fill.

Mallory is an especially difficult loss as he was a graduate transfer from Michigan State who provided leadership and was a run-stuffer up the middle. While Mallory hopes to be selected in the NFL draft, which begins Thursday night, ASU will evaluate potential replacements. Continue reading “After losing players to the transfer portal, Arizona State football looks to returnees to bolster defensive line”

• Slug: Sports-Cardinals NFL Draft, 600 words.
• Photo available

By James Morel
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Following the fast frenzy of free agent action that has taken place over the past few months, the Arizona Cardinals now have their eyes set on 11 total draft picks heading into the NFL draft. But it all starts with the fourth overall pick for a team looking to revamp and reload following a 4-13 season.

Last Thursday, Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort and coach Jonathan Gannon took the podium to discuss their plans for the draft, which begins Thursday and runs through Saturday.

With the clock quickly winding down, teams are scrambling to find the right players and the Cardinals seemed ready for when their name is called. Continue reading “Clock is ticking: Arizona Cardinals set eyes on NFL draft with fourth pick overall”

• Slug: Sports-Spencer Rattler Draft, 1,000 words.
• Photo available

By Brevan Branscum
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Ever since he was in middle school, Spencer Rattler has felt the hype around his name.

The Phoenix native was highly coveted by high schools in Arizona as his freshman year approached. During his senior year at Pinnacle High School, where Rattler grew into the consensus No. 1 quarterback in the 2019 recruiting class, he starred in the documentary “QB1: Beyond the Lights.” Described as confident and competitive from day one, he set state records during his high school tenure.

He committed to the University of Oklahoma during his sophomore year at Pinnacle High School, following in the cleats of two Heisman winners and one runner-up in coach Lincoln Riley’s offense. Continue reading “Pressure, resilience define former Pinnacle star Spencer Rattler’s unconventional journey to NFL draft”

• Slug: Sports-Mark Andrews Diabetes, 1,800 words.
• Two photos available

By John Busker
Cronkite News

MESA – Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews was not always a football star. When he was young growing up in Scottsdale, soccer was his sport of choice. However, it appeared his sports career might be in jeopardy when he and his family found out that he had type 1 diabetes.

Now, Andrews, a Scottsdale native who played wide receiver at Desert Mountain High School, is one of the NFL’s best tight ends, with three Pro Bowl appearances and a First-Team All-Pro nomination in 2021.

But even when his body started to show symptoms of the disease when he was a child, Andrews always knew he would be fine. He knew from his next soccer game after his diagnosis that he would be fine. His blood sugar was up near 450 mg/dL, which is very high. But despite his parents’ concern, Andrews said he needed to play. And that competitive edge has now helped him achieve success at the NFL level. Continue reading “NFL tight end Mark Andrews wants to inspire others with diabetes both on and off the field”

• Slug: Sports-LPGA Growth, 1,660 words.
• Two photos available

By Max Williams
Cronkite News

GILBERT – With talented golfers reaching new levels of success in the sport, the LPGA’s goal is to grow with every tournament. Slowly but surely, women’s golf has gained worldwide recognition since the LPGA launched 74 years ago, and it hopes to increase its popularity at a time of greater attention to female athletes.

Take Nelly Korda, the world’s top-ranked golfer on both the Rolex and CME leaderboards. The American has won five consecutive tournaments, including an impressive 20-under-par finish at the Ford Championship at Seville Golf and Country Club in Gilbert in late March.  

“When you have star power like that, and (Korda) has been around for a while now, so many more people are taking notice of what she is doing,” LPGA Properties vice president Scott Wood said.  Continue reading “A walk toward growth: Success of Nelly Korda, improved marketing could help increase LPGA audience”

• Slug: Sports-Arizona HBCU camp. 740 words.
• One photo available

By Tyler Bednar
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The idea sprung into Britney Buckles’ head while she was watching her younger son, Xavier, play football at Williams Field High School.

Very few historically Black colleges and universities come to Arizona to recruit high school football players. She and her husband, Vince, were athletes at Howard University, an HBCU in Washington, D.C., and she decided to do something about it by creating a camp that would bring together HBCU coaches and Arizona athletes.

“Recruiting is really hard,” Buckles said. “We talked to a lot of coaches that there’s not a lot of HBCUs that come out here to recruit. So, we thought, ‘Let’s try to put something together where the Black colleges are out here recruiting, (and) the kids are learning about the opportunities they have.’” Continue reading “Inspired: Football mom’s idea brings HBCU programs, local players together at Arizona camp”

EDS: An earlier version of this story had an incorrect byline. The story below has been corrected to reflect it was written by Brett Lapinski, but clients who used previous versions are asked to run the correction found here.

• Slug: Sports-Catalina Foothills Tennis, 1,260 words.
• 3 photos available.

By Brett Lapinski
Cronkite News

TUCSON – The 2024 AIA Division II Team Championship tennis playoffs begin with first-round matches Tuesday for the girls and Wednesday for the boys.

Sixteen teams are vying for the championship in each bracket, but 15 of the schools in each bracket will be trying to do something no boys team has done since 2013 and no girls team has pulled off since 2018.

That’s taking down the tennis juggernaut that is Catalina Foothills High School in Tucson.  Continue reading “Game of Thrones: Kings, queens of Tucson Catalina Foothills High tennis seek another crown”

• Slug: Sports-Photo Essay: Top Rank Boxing, 450 words.
• 12 photos available.

By Joseph Eigo
Cronkite News

GLENDALE – The pageantry and build-up for a boxing match is unlike anything in sports.

For Top Rank’s latest event in Arizona, the intensity began to build during the Wednesday press conference before the March bout at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Phoenix.

In the main event, former two-division world champion Oscar Valdez took on Australia’s Liam Wilson for the WBO interim junior lightweight title. In the co-main event, four belts were on the line in the minimumweight title unification bout between Seniesa Estrada and Yokasta Valle.  Continue reading “Photo essay: Mexican fighters take center stage at Top Rank Boxing in Glendale”

• Slug: Sports-Arizona Vintage Baseball League, 1,600 words.
• 4 photos available.

By Aaron Decker
Cronkite News

BISBEE – In this historic mining town tucked into the Mule Mountains in southeast Arizona, time travel really is possible.

At picturesque Warren Ballpark, the town’s baseball field, a man wearing a top hat calls a strike, the players on the field catch the ball with bare hands, and pitchers throw underhand. The fans in the bleachers cheer and boo for teams with names like the Mesa Miners, Maricopa Maidens, Bisbee Black Sox and Higley Haymakers.

These teams play in the Arizona Vintage Base Ball League, a local league that plays a throw-back version of baseball, or rather base ball – two words, like the olden days – using rules from 1863. Continue reading “Cranks, bugs, hurlers and short scouts: Arizona Vintage Base Ball League celebrates sport’s history in yearly tournament”

• Slug: Sports-Coyotes Owner NHL Commissioner Speak, 1,300 words.
• Photo available.

By Zach Mott
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – A week of unbearable silence for Coyotes fans ended Friday with a spirited media session featuring two key players involved in the team’s relocation to Salt Lake City.

“I’ve been presented with the most painful decision in my life, in my 40 years of business,” Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo said. “My family and I are devastated.”

Meruelo and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman spoke to the media on the heels of Thursday’s announcement that the Coyotes would become inactive and that Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith and the Smith Entertainment Group would purchase team operations for $1.2 billion. Continue reading “‘Most painful decision in my life’: Meruelo, Bettman respond to criticism about Arizona Coyotes departure”

• Slug: Sports-ASU NCAA Infractions, 660 words.
• Photo available.

By Maxwell Williams
Cronkite News

TEMPE – As Arizona State prepares to shift from the Pac-12 Conference to the Big 12, it will do so with significant baggage.

On Friday, the NCAA Infractions Committee announced the athletic department faces four years of probation, scholarship reductions and recruiting restrictions for violations that occurred during Herm Edwards’ tenure as football coach.

The Level I violations also include fines, a 2023 season self-imposed football postseason ban, a vacation of records for contests that ineligible student-athletes competed in and the dissociation with an involved booster for five years. Continue reading “Walk of shame: ASU football slapped with probation, scholarship reductions due to violations during Herm Edwards era”

• Slug: Sports-Suns Playoff Preview, 1050 words.
• Photo available.

By Mason Byers
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns have been consistently inconsistent throughout the regular season, but the team hopes it has figured out the championship formula as the 2024 NBA playoffs get underway.

The Suns (49-33), struggling to string together a stretch of wins during many points this season, earned the sixth seed in the Western Conference with three straight victories and help from other teams to avoid the play-in game. Phoenix’s postseason starts Saturday on the road against a tough Minnesota Timberwolves, who the Suns beat 125-106 at the Target Center last Sunday to close out the regular season.

Despite a favorable matchup against Anthony Edwards & Co., the Suns’ standing is a long fall from preseason expectations, which predicted the talented trio of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal would contend with the Denver Nuggets for the West crown. Continue reading “‘We want to win a ring’: Phoenix Suns close out regular season strong, begin championship quest”

• Slug: Sports-ASU Women’s Golf, 840 words.
• 4 photos available.

By Brevan Branscum
Cronkite News

TEMPE – Arizona State women’s golf is hungry for more.

Already leading the NCAA in national championship wins, the team begins its quest to win a ninth NCAA title in school history, starting Sunday in the 2024 Pac-12 Women’s Golf Championship in Pullman, Washington.

The Sun Devils, ranked No. 12 in the nation by Spikemark’s national rankings, last won the Pac-12 championship in 2009. This season will mark their last shot at capturing conference gold ahead of next year’s move to the Big 12. Continue reading “ASU women’s golf carries momentum into final Pac-12 title run, NCAA championships”

• Slug: Sports-ASU Pitcher Race Car Driver, 1,200 words.
• 2 photos available.

By Dorian Zavala
Cronkite News

AVONDALE – Even in these days of specialization, two-sport high school athletes who excel on the field and the track aren’t unusual.

Unless the track is a raceway and the athlete’s “other” sport is professional stock car racing.

Meet Cody Kiemele, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound highly touted left-handed pitcher from Arlington High School, in Riverside, California, who has verbally committed to Arizona State. Continue reading “Driven: Sun Devils baseball recruit Cody Kiemele excels on diamond, oval”

• Slug: Sports-Coyotes Youth Movement Sale, 1,000 words.
• Photo available.

By Zach Mott
Cronkite News

TEMPE – The action never seemed to dissipate for the Arizona Coyotes this season.

What turned into a whirlwind of a season – on and off the ice – began with one of the franchise’s best starts in the last decade. The high point came at the end of November and transitioned into early December, when the Coyotes beat each of the last five Stanley Cup winners in a row (Vegas Golden Knights, Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, St Louis Blues, Washington Capitals). 

Heading into the All-Star break, the Coyotes sat firmly in contention for a postseason spot. But inconsistency followed an incredible stretch, as the Coyotes struggled to find their footing again. The season’s low point? A winless February, including a 14-game losing streak that hammered the team’s postseason hopes.  Continue reading “Arizona Coyotes’ turbulent season, young talent lay groundwork for fresh start in Utah”

• Slug: Sports-Coyotes Officially Gone, 620 words.
• Photo available.

By Zach Mott
Cronkite News

TEMPE – The Mullett Arena crowd roared as the Arizona Coyotes scored five goals Wednesday in their season finale. The onslaught started just under three minutes into the first period, when forward Liam O’Brien ripped one past Edmonton Oilers netminder Calvin Pickard. The Coyotes would pile on four more goals in securing a 5-2 win.

It was a season-ending victory that would normally excite fans as a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season. But most everyone in attendance at the 5,000-seat arena – along with legions of fans who had followed the Coyotes in the desert for 28 years – viewed the game as an afterthought.

They were waiting on a definitive answer from the NHL about the team’s future. Continue reading “It’s official: NHL approves Arizona Coyotes’ $1.2B Sale, relocation to Utah”

• Slug: Sports-New ASU Swimming Coach, 970 words.
• 4 photos available.

By Stephen Buxton
Cronkite News

TEMPE – Eleven years ago, Herbie Behm was an athlete swimming at Arizona State. Now at his alma mater, Behm takes the reins of one of the country’s premier programs – a program completely shaped in the image of one man, Bob Bowman.

Bowman’s sudden departure to assume a newly-created role at the University of Texas after leading ASU to its first national championship last weekend left his replacement, Behm, with little time to process the move and sizable shoes to fill.

“I was told at 9:30 a.m. on Monday,” Behm said of learning Bowman was leaving ASU to become the Longhorns’ director of swimming and diving and head men’s swimming and diving coach. “We had a conversation with the (athletic directors), and Bob told me he was leaving for Texas.” Continue reading “Herbie Behm takes coaching reins from Bob Bowman, aims to keep ASU swimming on top”

• Slug: Sports-Coyotes Fans, Players Reax, 680 words.
• 4 photos available.

By Josh Jones
Cronkite News

TEMPE – As the season – and 28 years of ice hockey in the desert – came to a close, Arizona Coyotes players removed their jerseys and tossed them to chosen fans. There was no rush to get off the ice because nobody wanted to leave. The players stayed to sign autographs and tossed merchandise over the glass, while spectators and team employees choked back tears.

For upwards of 40 minutes postgame, the sold-out hometown crowd and the Coyotes shared one final moment in a season finale that brought on mixed emotions – from crying and cheers to hugs and shared memories throughout the concourse at Mullett Arena.

Wednesday night marked the end of a long, up-and-down era for the Coyotes, who are relocating to Salt Lake City after nearly three decades in the Valley, similar to how the game played out in Arizona’s 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Continue reading “Paradise lost: Coyotes, fans share emotional embrace in likely Arizona swan song”

• Slug: Sports-Coyotes Last Hurrah, 600 words.
• 2 photos available.
• 1 video available

By Zach Mott
Cronkite News

SCOTTSDALE – While so many questions remain unanswered, fans will say goodbye Wednesday in what is likely the final game for the Coyotes in Arizona.

As the day started, it was certain to be unlike any other for Coyotes players. At 10:30 a.m., the optional morning skate at the Ice Den in Scottsdale was already under way. The team had practiced Tuesday, so several veterans were granted the opportunity for the morning off.

Following the morning skate, Josh Doan remained on the ice, long after everyone else had departed. Why? To pick up pucks, of course. Continue reading “Farewell to the desert? Coyotes’ potential finale in Arizona draws emotions and memories”

• Slug: Sports-Writer Rockies Pitcher Connection, 1,800 words.
• 4 photos available.

By Josh Amick
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – In early November 2022, my life, college career and aspirations came to a screeching halt. The discovery of a mass led to a diagnosis of Stage 3 testicular cancer.

I was devastated.

The cancer, which is the most common among men 20 to 40 years old, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, required extensive chemotherapy, which greatly affected my physical and mental well-being. After doctors initially told me I would need three rounds of chemo, it soon became four. Then I learned I would need additional surgery to remove lymph nodes in my stomach, which meant 8-10 more weeks of recovery. Continue reading “Life’s curveballs: A writer and a righty find connection through health scares”