This could be a long year for the Phoenix Suns. Tabbed as the least watchable team in the NBA, the Suns have no dominant players and questionable depth, which is generally a recipe for an early vacation and a high draft-pick. In spite of this, the Suns looked solid in…
Professional wrestling was so popular in the late 1990s that it’s sort of hard to explain how the “sport” lost its luster. Wrestling was, perhaps, a victim of its own popularity. Broader audiences drove major wrestling federations like the WWE to water down the product — making storylines less complex…
Few of the things we remember fondly from our youth actually hold up well. Voltron was horribly repetitive, pogs were stupid, and Hypercolor shirts just made you look like a really sloppy eater. Jim Henson’s Labryinth is one of those rare staples of 80’s nostalgia that manages to not be…
It’s safe to say that Tempe Town Lake hasn’t really lived up to expectations (unless you expected outbreaks of dengue and West Nile viruses). So it’s always nice to see it get some use. The lake will be getting some serious use this Saturday when it serves as the last…
There was much that merited disappointment during the second half of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 2013 season, but one of the biggest disappointments for D-Backs fans has been the atmosphere at home games. Arizona’s collapse seemed to suck the life — and the fun — out of Chase Field. Say what…
The Arizona State women’s soccer team has not advanced past the first round in the NCAA tournament since George W. Bush had strong approval ratings, but the team’s hopes are sky-high this year. The Sun Devils return a corps of starters from the team that finished fourth in the Pac-12,…
Reggie Bush is arguably the biggest everyman in the NFL. The hype surrounding the halfback when he left USC was incredible; people genuinely thought Bush would change the game. Instead, he was awful. Bush coasted by on his talent and struggled mightily. Instead of washing out, Bush reinvented himself as…
The Arizona State Sun Devil football team always seems on the cusp of greatness, but never quite seems to attain it. Every Sun Devil team that looks like a strong BCS candidate in September inevitably winds up playing in some weed-whacker bowl come December. In spite of this dubious track…
By most objective measures, the Phoenix Mercury’s current season has been a success. The Merc have rebounded from last year’s bottom table finish and looked like a legitimate playoff contender. But the team’s top brass clearly isn’t satisfied: they sacked coach and GM Corey Gaines at the start of the…
The Arizona Diamondbacks spent nearly all of first half of this season sitting comfortably atop the NL West, and a playoff spot seemed all but assured. Then July happened. There are plenty of explanations for the Diamondbacks’ collapse, but perhaps the biggest problem might have been an inability to beat…
There’s something about comedy that gets lost in translation if you’re not seeing it in person. “You had to be there” isn’t just cliché for crappy jokes, it’s also a genuine observation about the communal element of comedy. For whatever reason, comedy really is best enjoyed in groups. The jokes…
The Phoenix Mercury haven’t been the best team in the WNBA so far this season, but they’ve certainly been playing Phoenix’s favorite brand of basketball. Through the first half of the season the Mercury were both the league’s highest-scoring team and the league’s most scored-on team. The result: enough scoring…
The Arizona Rattlers have put together one of the most dominant regular seasons in franchise history. The team outscored its opponents by an average of 18 points per game en route to winning its eighth division title. In spite of this, you can make an argument that the Rattlers shouldn’t…
Perhaps no question is asked with less sincerity than “What did you do this weekend?” People ask it because it would be rude not to, but unless you did something really out of the ordinary your answer ends up being a chore for both parties. You have to try to…
Friday’s USL Pro match between the Richmond Kickers and the Phoenix Wolves is looking a lot like the plot OF an ’80s movie. The Richmond Kickers are one of the oldest American soccer clubs; the Wolves are new. The Kickers are undefeated; the Wolves are languishing at the bottom of…
America loves home runs. Our cultural fascination with dingers is why the Steroid Era was so popular, why Luis Gonzalez got his own milk flavor, and why Denny’s ultimately decided to rename the dreadfully unpopular “RBI Single Breakfast.”It’s also why Arizona Diamondbacks first-baseman Paul Goldschmidt is one of the most…
There’s no point in dressing it up: the New Orleans VooDoo are bad. No team in the Arena Football League has given up more points than the VooDoo, no team has gained fewer yards, and only one team in the league has a worse record. On paper, the VooDoo should…
For a team that looks like a prohibitive favorite to win its division, the Arizona Diamondbacks sure have looked weak when battling their division rivals. Despite being at or near the top of the NL West table all year, the snakes have a losing divisional record. Only one team in…
Anderson “Spider” Silva is the most dominant champion in Ultimate Fighting Championship history. The 38-year-old Brazilian middleweight has defended his championship a record 10 straight times — part of a record 16-fight winning streak — and none of the calls has been particularly close. It’s always tough to separate reality…
The Phoenix Mercury could not figure out the New York Liberty last year. While this was hardly a unique problem (let’s face it, the Merc struggled with everyone last year) the Liberty really had the Mercury’s number: New York outscored Phoenix by an average of 20 points while sweeping the…
The Arizona Diamondbacks have had plenty of good seasons, but their successes always seem to be fleeting. An NL West title in 1999 was followed by a mediocre 2000, the team that won the World Series in 2001 was a bottom dweller by 2003, the run to the 2007 NLCS…
With a healthy Diana Taurasi running the offense and rookie Wunderkind Brittney Griner anchoring the low post, the Phoenix Mercury were supposed to open the season on fire and quickly put last year’s season in the rear view mirror. Instead, Phoenix has stumbled out to a slow start — including…
