Slug: Sports–Arizona Fall League Preview, 1050 words.
4 photos available.
By Grace Del Pizzo Cronkite News
SCOTTSDALE – Baseball in Arizona is truly a year-long love affair. It begins in February, when 15 big league teams make their spring home in the Cactus League.
It continues with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ season from March through at least September. And every October, the top prospects in baseball descend upon the Valley to make their mark in the Arizona Fall League, which began play Monday.
Slug: Sports–Coyotes Transition to Utah, 1,600 words.
Photos available.
By Chase Beardsley Cronkite News
SALT LAKE CITY – As the NHL drops the puck on the 2024-25 regular season Tuesday, Arizona hockey fans are facing off with the reality that their hockey club is gone.
The Arizona Coyotes are now the Utah Hockey Club, which opens the season against the Chicago Blackhawks at the Delta Center. In April, the NHL’s board of governors approved the sale of the team to tech billionaire Ryan Smith, who owns the NBA Utah Jazz, and signed off on the club’s relocation to Salt Lake City.
PHOENIX – Camping out before any event is nothing short of madness anyway, but almost 250 Grand Canyon University students took it to another level, setting up tents and hammocks to stand in line Thursday in record-breaking Arizona October heat.
For Lopes fans sweating out a chance to see their basketball team, it’s all worth it.
GCU hosted its annual Midnight Madness celebration Friday, unofficially tipping off the 2024-25 basketball seasons for the men and women’s teams. While the event is a party for the entire Lopes community, it is also a strong show of support for GCU’s athletes.
TEMPE – Minutes after Arizona State secured its first Big 12 Conference victory Saturday, quarterback Sam Leavitt was on the field praising coach Kenny Dillingham on national television for his work ethic and commitment to players.
In the postgame game interview room after the 35-31 victory over Kansas, running back Cam Skattebo snuck up on the coach with a bear hug and said, “This is the man right here! Love you coach.”
TEMPE – It’s not October football if you’re not breaking curses.
A nearly three-year hex followed the Arizona Cardinals into their game Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers but was broken when linebacker Kyzir White picked off quarterback Brock Purdy to seal a 24-23 victory.
The Cardinals entered Sunday with a four-game losing streak against to 49ers, which dates back to November 21, 2022, when they lost by 28 points.
The Cardinals’ last win over the 49ers was on November 7, 2021, when Colt McCoy threw for 249 yards and a touchdown to improve the team’s record to 8-1.
Slug: Sports–Suns v. Lakers Palm Springs. 872 words.
Photo available.
By Connor Moreno Cronkite News
PALM DESERT, Calif. – There would be no history if there wasn’t a first.
It was a night of firsts for the Suns and Los Angeles Lakers during a 118-114 Phoenix preseason victory over at Acrisure Arena Sunday. It was the Suns’ first game under new coach Mike Budenholzer. It was the first time their new point guard, Tyus Jones, took the floor with “SUNS” stitched across his jersey.
And it was the first time in NBA history that a father-son duo graced the floor together in either a preseason or regular-season NBA game.
TUCSON – Just when it appeared Arizona was ready to live up to preseason expectations after they upset top-10 ranked Utah on the road, the Wildcats wasted a strong defensive effort and lost at home to Texas Tech.
The Wildcats dominated in almost every area against the Red Raiders, except the one that counts most – the score.
Arizona beat Tech handily in time of possession, total yards and first downs. However, the Wildcats were unable to finish off drives, settling instead for five Tyler Loop field goals in a 28-22 loss at Arizona Stadium. The offensive woes wasted a solid Wildcats defensive performance against a good Red Raiders offense that came in averaging 41.6 points a game. Continue reading “Tech fall: Arizona slips to 3-2 with home loss to Red Raiders; road test at BYU next”
TEMPE – As Arizona State looks to earn its first Big 12 win at home against Kansas University on Saturday, the Sun Devils could benefit from a look at the program’s past and its first Pac-10 win and historic upset in 1978 against USC.
The Sun Devils had moved from the Western Atlantic Conference and were set to join the Pac-8, helping expand it to the Pac-10 for the 1978 season. Like the 2024 Sun Devils squad, the 1978 team lost its first conference game on the road to Washington State at 51-26.
CHANDLER – The memory still lingers as if it happened yesterday, the details as crisp and clear as the summer sky.
Arizona State defied all odds, down 34-32 with the football at their 28-yard-line and just 23 seconds to go and no timeouts remaining. After a strike down the middle of the field from Mike Bercovici to Gary Chambers to the 45-yard line, the Sun Devils spiked the ball and had one final play left in store with seven seconds remaining.
TEMPE – Since June of 2021, the wrongdoings of former Arizona State and current Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce and his staff have plagued the institution’s football program. Now, years later, the full extent of Pierce and his staff’s misconduct have been revealed.
Unethical paid expenses for recruits, prohibited visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, visits to gentlemen’s clubs with recruits’ parents, and trips to shooting ranges with recruits are only a fraction of the many violations the NCAA discovered in their investigation, according to the NCAA’s public infractions decision released today.
TEMPE – Arizona State safety Myles Rowser was surprised during practice Thursday when he looked up at the Mountain America Stadium concourse and saw a row of cars.
He was even more surprised afterward when he learned one of the new Ford Mustang Mach-E cars was for him.
CHANDLER – Grand Canyon men’s basketball coach Bryce Drew knows a thing or two about the role summer plays for a top recruit.
Named Indiana’s Mr. Basketball and the 1994 Gatorade Indiana Player of the Year during his senior season at Valparaiso High School, Drew credits productive summers as the key to having success during the high school season and in future careers.
PHOENIX – With harassment and racism suddenly serving as the soundtrack to the increasingly popular WNBA, the league hopes its recent news of expansion will shift the narrative.
The WNBA announced its return to Portland recently, giving the Phoenix Mercury a new opponent on the West Coast starting in 2026. The Rip City will be the WNBA’s 15th franchise, and it will join the Golden State Valkyries and Toronto in the league’s planned expansion from 12 teams.
“As we’ve seen throughout our 2024 record-breaking season, the demand for the W brand of basketball is unprecedented,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said while announcing the Portland expansion on Sept. 18. “We’re selling out games at historic pace, setting ratings records, introducing our veterans and new stars to new fans and the world.” Continue reading “Harassment, racism claims overshadow growth of WNBA, including Portland expansion”
TEMPE – Even with the scorching heat pummeling down on Arizona residents, hundreds of people still come out every Sunday morning to run on Tempe Town Lake because of the sense of community that BLK Arizona Run Club provides.
Every Sunday starts at 7:30 a.m. with a group stretch, with the runners surrounded by Black-owned business vendors. From fresh lemonade to granola bars, attendees are enticed by healthy options before, during and after running along the lake.
PHOENIX – A day after they were eliminated from the postseason, the mood in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ clubhouse mirrored the vacant Chase Field seats above.
Aside from designated hitter Joc Pederson quietly clearing out his stall, the clubhouse was empty with only the palpable sense of frustration and disappointment hanging in the air.
TACOMA – Jack Gohlke’s journey since he drilled 10 3-point shots to lead 14th seeded Oakland University to a Cinderella upset of third-seeded Kentucky in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament began as a nationwide tour.
TEMPE – Shawn Philips and Adam Miller are just entering their 20s, but in the Arizona State locker room, they are now considered the old heads. Philips and Miller are two of only four players remaining from last year’s ASU men’s basketball team who will embark on another campaign in the desert.
Despite massive roster upheaval – for a second consecutive offseason – coach Bobby Hurley is optimistic as the new-look Sun Devils head into their first season in the Big 12 Conference in 2024-25.
PHOENIX – The only way that Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia will feel vindicated is by winning a championship. And he expressed that desire Monday at Suns media day.
Ishbia’s goal this offseason after the Suns were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves was to cultivate a more collective winning culture. He believes that goal starts with him and putting his team in a position to succeed.
“I’m not trying to be the best player or the best coach or the best GM,” Ishbia said. “My job is to be the best owner in sports which means give (the Suns) the best resources.
PHOENIX – The Arizona Diamondbacks blew an eight-run lead to the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 22, but the unclear MLB postseason picture made foreshadowing the team’s fate impossible at the time.
Now, over a week later, the answer is clear.
While the Diamondbacks survived an extra day thanks to the postponement of the New York Mets-Atlanta Braves series to Monday due to Hurricane Helene, their 2024 season ended with the two teams splitting the doubleheader at Truist Park.
Making a strong case for Game of the Year, Monday’s first game started with Atlanta leading 3-0 through seven innings behind starting pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach’s five strikeouts and three hits allowed. A Mets leadoff double ended his night, then the Braves’ lead quickly evaporated.
Three Braves relievers allowed five earned runs on five hits, turning a once-rowdy crowd to stunned silence. However, moments later, the stunned crowd turned into a frenzy after Atlanta’s four-run eighth inning — capped off with Ozzie Albies’ bases-clearing double — gave the Braves a 7-6 lead.
The final act of the drama came from Mets superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor, who blasted a game-winning two-run home run to right-center field in the ninth inning to secure a playoff berth.
By Game 2, Diamondbacks fans gathered at Guy Fieri’s DTPHX Kitchen + Bar and nxiously optimistic fans watched as Atlanta took care of New York 3-0, which secured the final wild-card berth for the Braves.
Despite the disappointing results Monday, some fans applauded the team’s fight all season long.
“Honestly, there were a lot of really fun moments,” said Diamondbacks fan Julian Miller. “Just every game that they were down in that they came back and won, really was just a great moment. I mean, we have the Rally-backs, which is our form of cheerleaders, almost, but it’s true that we are the Rally-backs. The Diamondbacks, throughout the season, have been rallying back.
“Seeing them work through the adversity and everything like that has really been special to see, and hopefully they can bring a little bit of that magic to the playoffs, if we’re so fortunate to do so.”
For the second consecutive year, the Diamondbacks handed the keys to their postseason fate
to another team. Last season, the Diamondbacks lost the last four games, before the St. Louis Cardinals secured a postseason berth for Arizona by defeating the Cincinnati Reds 15-6 on Sept. 30.
Despite the team’s familiarity with these late-season situations, they were unable to clinch a second consecutive postseason appearance after making a World Series run in 2023.
“Yeah, it’s very similar, and I can draw from those experiences,” manager Torey Lovullo said Friday before the team’s game against the San Diego Padres. “I know that it wasn’t easy for us last year. From start to finish, we caught a tailwind at the right time of the year and got hot.”
The Diamondbacks lost five of their last seven games to end the regular season, including losing two of three games to the division-rival San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres, and blowing the eight-run lead to the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field.
Other factors also contributed to the team falling short this season. The Diamondbacks suffered from the World Series hangover for the first two months of the season. The month of May ended with a season-high five-game losing streak, which brought the team’s record to 25-32.
During the peak summer season, the Diamondbacks played their best baseball. August was the most successful, as the team rattled off two season-high six-game winning streaks. Rookie catcher Adrian Del Castillo played a huge role in the team’s dominance after he was called up to replace Gold Glove catcher Gabriel Moreno, who suffered a left adductor strain in early August and missed a month of action.
Del Castillo’s bat proved big-league ready right away. He hit a ninth-inning walk-off home run in his second game and became the first player in franchise history to hit a walk-off for their first career home run.
A week-and-a-half later, Del Castillo put together a career game with his friends and family in attendance at loanDepot Park, where he hit his first career grand slam and contributed six RBI in a 9-6 victory. He had 14 RBI through his first nine big-league games — second-most in MLB history since RBI became an official statistic in 1920.
Arizona won 16 of the 25 games Del Castillo appeared in, including winning his first six games.
Other key players experienced injuries during the latter half of the season. Two-time Gold Glove first baseman Christian Walker missed the entire month of August, before returning in early September. When he returned, Walker continued his dominant ways, by securing his third consecutive 25-home run, 25-double season.
2023 All-Star Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who missed three weeks in September, batted .370 with one home run, one triple and five RBI over the last eight games.
Still, Arizona had its chances and couldn’t come through nor get the help they needed Monday. The MLB-leading team in runs scored were shut out twice in the final five games of the year, which proved to be crucial losses.
“It’s definitely been kind of a rocky last couple weeks,” relief pitcher Kevin Ginkel said Friday. “We played pretty much flawless baseball up until early September, and then we kind of had some games here and there that haven’t gone the way we wanted (them) to.”
Manager Torey Lovullo and the Arizona Diamondbacks miss their goal of reaching the 2024 MLB Postseason after the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves split their doubleheader Monday. (Photo by Spencer Barnes/Cronkite News)A season full of challenges ends in disappointment as the Arizona Diamondbacks miss the 2024 MLB Postseason. (Photo by Dylan Wickman/Cronkite News)
TEMPE – Arizona State football remains a work in progress.
Coming off a bye week, coach Kenny Dillingham said Monday that his team is working to return to the same level of play the Sun Devils showed during a 3-0 start to the season as they prepare for their Big 12 Conference home opener against Kansas Saturday at Mountain America Stadium.
”We have to get back to what we’re good at,” Dillingham said. “We have to get back to playing the game really hard.”
