Tim Barber, a Tempe police detective who died last Saturday morning, was laid to rest in Chandler this morning. The 42-year-old died a little more than a day after he made a gutsy appearance at a very successful fund-raising barbeque at the east Valley agency’s Apache subdivision. …
Back in 2006, the Valley was stunned by the murders in east Mesa of an extended family of five, the youngest being a 10-year-old boy shot in the head at point-blank range. Police reports released after subsequent arrest of talkative William Craig Miller depicted a pathetic narcissist whose motive for…
Just back to the shop a bit ago from a going-away luncheon for beloved jailhouse psychiatrist Leonardo Garcia-Bunuel, at the medical ward of the Estrella County Jail in south Phoenix. Garcia-Bunuel, who is 84, is moving to Reno with his lovely bride, where a retirement surrounded by family, his books and his…
Let’s put it this way: When two of your starters are (yikes!) each batting .152 (Cody Ransom and Collin Cowgill), your centerfielder (Chris Young) has dipped to .232 after a promising start to his season, and no one remotely could be called hot with the stick, you’re probably not going…
We hung in there last night as the Arizona Diamondbacks fell behind 5-1 to the lowly Houston Astros at Chase Field. Memories of Tuesday night’s classic comeback win over the `Stros (down 7-1 in that one) were fresh in our minds, as was the spunk that the first-place locals (first…
The Arizona Department of Corrections has released Danny Carbajal, who served 3 1/2 years behind bars for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement and property accounts from his estranged (and then murdered) wife, Sally. Danny also allegedly ripped off his younger brother Michael–Phoenix’s greatest pugilist–of millions of…
John Teets, the rich and powerful onetime CEO of what once was the Phoenix-based Dial/Greyhound companies, died a few days ago at the age of 77 from complications related to Alzheimer’s Disease. The late John Teets, a Phoenix bigshot back in the day Mr. Teets was a doggedly tough…
The San Francisco Giants have just beaten the Arizona Diamondbacks by a score of 8-1 to move back into first place in the NL West. We love running this graphic–good memories! But the resurgent D-Backs proved in winning two of three games in the critical Bay Area series that…
Talk about throwing a rookie into the pot of boiling water, just like that little bunny in the creepy Michael Douglas vehicle, “Fatal Attraction.” Arizona Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson took no time in seeing what newly arrived first-baseman Paul Goldschmidt could bring to the table in what is the biggest…
A buddy of ours from Mobile (Alabama, not that tiny burg tucked into the mountains southeast of Phoenix) has been yapping at us all year about one Paul Goldschmidt, a young first-baseman who has been hitting the crap out of the ball. “He’s the next Mark McGwire,” our friend likes…
We are huge fans of modern gospel music, having been turned onto it many years ago by one Buddy Strong, then a South Mountain High music wunderkind and now one of the most sought-after and respected sidemen in the biz. (Here is our long-ago story on Mr. Strong, who still…
A three-game sweep would have been nice, and it was there for the taking, but the Arizona Diamondbacks faltered midway through yesterday’s 4-3 road loss to the San Diego Padres. The D-Backs led 2-0 before starting pitcher Daniel Hudson imploded with two outs in the sixth and no one on…
Orlando “O-Dog” Hudson was one of our favorite Arizona Diamondbacks during his three years in Phoenix (2006-08), an upbeat second-baseman who was an All-Star and won a pair of Gold Gloves awards. But Hudson split for the big money after the 2008 season, and has bounced around since then,…
Talk about a change of fortunes. On this date (July 26) last season, the Arizona Diamondbacks at this point in the season were buried in the NL West cellar with a dismal 37-62 record, while the San Diego Padres were in first place by three games over the eventual World…
[jump] The 30-year-old victim was a project manager for a Scottsdale firm.The story described how Phoenix police found the battered body of Ms. Kaur face-down in a bathtub at her home near the intersection of 40th Street and Pecos, in Ahwatukee.On a couch in the family room was a note…
Before retiring to civilian life a few years ago, Paul Penzone did a very nice job as the Phoenix Police Department’s “face” of its Silent Witness program. He always came across in the media as compassionate, concerned, and genuine, Penzone’s embarrassing-to-watch recent appearances on Nancy Grace’s ever-angry show on…
About six years ago, a brilliant and troubled soul named Chris Shelton came to realize that methamphetamine was going to kill him. In 1998, psychologists had diagnosed Shelton with a serious mental illness called “schizoaffective disorder,” which causes periods of losing touch with reality and crippling mood problems, including severe…
One thing for certain: If Milwaukee Brewers’ outfielder Ryan Braun played in a larger media market, say New York City, he would be one of baseball’s biggest superstars. Braun hit one of Milwaukee’s five home runs last night as the visitors from Wisconsin put it to the D-Backs by a…
Last night’s Home Run Derby was surprisingly terrific entertainment, and we were fortunate (thanks to a pal) to be seated just a few feet from the owner’s box near the third-base dugout. Robinson Cano’s superman hitting show was one for the ages, made even sweeter when we realized that his…
Another list for you folks to mull over as the All-Star break nears and Phoenix gets ready to host Tuesday night’s game at Chase Field–this one (as the others) is obviously utterly subjective and subject to debate/dispute. We pulled up our most vivid ten D-Backs memories from the recesses…
Don’t take this personally, guys (I’m sure you could give a hoot), but here’s our least favorite D-Backs over the course of the team’s 11-year history. 1. ARMANDO REYNOSO–Was popular in the clubhouse, but the right-hander from Mexico drove us crazy during his 66 starts here by being the slowest…
As baseball fans from around the nation and, indeed, the world, trickle into the Valley of the Sauna for the All-Star festivities, we thought this would be a fine time to shout out a few lists. We’ve literally been on hand since the first pitch (by right-hander Andy Benes, March…
