A disturbing trend is emerging in Arizona Diamondbacks land, one that fans have seen before in these parts. What we’re talking about is the team’s inability to produce enough runs per game to win. Dropping nine on the Los Angeles Dodgers during Friday’s 9-4 victory — a win that featured…
The National League West might have three of the top players in the game in L.A.’s Manny Ramirez, San Francisco’s Tim Lintecum, and Arizona’s Brandon Webb, but it remains one of the sorriest divisions in the bigs. The West’s two presumptive contenders, the Diamondbacks and Dodgers, flip-flopped division titles the…
“We’re still going to play to win games. I told them, ‘We’re all paid a lot of money and we’re supposed to be professional, so we’re going to play out the season right.'” So said Phoenix Suns head coach Alvin Gentry previous to Wednesday night’s game in New Orleans against…
The Phoenix Suns were impressive against a good team Wednesday night, beating the New Orleans Hornets 105-100 on sterling play by their team leaders. But it doesn’t matter. The Dallas Mavericks demolished the Utah Jazz 130-101 later in the evening and knocked Phoenix out of the playoffs. Remember, going into Wednesday…
Boos from a two-thirds-empty Chase Field rained down upon the once-beloved Eric Byrnes as he walked to the plate in the fourth inning Wednesday afternoon in the rubber game and series finale 9-2 loss against the Colorado Rockies. Byrnes, who wowed Arizona fans in 2007 after becoming one of only…
The New York Knicks were eliminated from the playoffs last Saturday, less than 24 hours before the Phoenix Suns were in every way but mathematically terminated by the Dallas Mavericks. Anyone but a Mike D’Antoni/Planet Orange hardcore might see humor in that ironic turn. Probably not Mike D’Antoni himself. He’s a…
Along with spotty defense, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ biggest issue to rectify in the 2009 season is scoring production. Yeah, looks like they should have saved some of Monday’s offensive firepower for last night’s game against the Colorado Rockies. Facing right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez (1-0) — armed with a fastball that consistently…
Swimming enthusiasts are hoping a lake competition coming to the Valley this summer and fall puts Arizona on the map for open water events. The Arizona Open Water Swim Series will begin on May 2 with 2K and 4K events in Saguaro Lake, then on to Lake Pleasant and back to Saguaro…
A funny thing happened this afternoon during the Arizona Diamondbacks’ first home regular season opener since 2005. A college baseball-like game in terms of offensive firepower and unpredictability broke out. (All that was missing were those annoying aluminum pings.) The storyline at Chase Field included the Colorado Rockies, the D-Backs…
Mark Reynolds has a giant black hole in his swing, and one that’s almost as big in his mitt. Eric Byrnes has a couple of cut-rate hammies. Chad Qualls is a 6-foot-5 question mark. The Arizona Diamondbacks face numerous issues as they head into their season-opening series against the Colorado…
They’re not statistically out of it, but the Phoenix Suns have hoisted the white flag. The good news is that that they destroyed the Sacramento Kings Friday night at US Airways Center, 139-111. But the disturbingly bad news is that they got their asses handed to them by the Mavericks Sunday afternoon in Dallas,…
Following the Phoenix Suns’ 114-109 defeat of the Houston Rockets on Wednesday — coupled with the Dallas Mavericks’ 98-96 victory over the Miami Heat — Planet Orange remains 4 games back from the eighth-and-final postseason spot, with 7 to go. Can we say season over for the Suns? Not officially,…
The most lopsided statistic in the Phoenix Suns’ 5-point victory over the powerhouse Houston Rockets Wednesday night was fast-break points. The Suns had 18 and the Rockets had 4. It was run-and-gun basketball as only the Suns can do it (when their heads are in the game). But the Suns also beat one of the…
On paper, the loss of Amar’e Stoudemire to eye surgery ripped the heart out of the Phoenix Suns — or at least their playoff chances. When the Houston Rockets’ perennial All-Star shooting guard Tracy McGrady voluntarily opted for microfracture knee surgery (the same procedure that knocked Amar’e out in 2005,…
We never thought we’d be writing the following words: The Arizona Wildcats men’s basketball team will take the floor against the top-ranked Louisville Wildcats in Sweet 16 action late this afternoon. Channel 5 will air the game in the Valley at 4 p.m. The 12th-seeded Wildcats–by far the lowest-ranked team…
When you’re facing a solid opponent that’s the second youngest squad in the league and hasn’t played in four days, it’s going to be tough to win, especially when you’ve had to grind out two tough victories in three days while fighting for your playoff lives. That’s the best way…
Deeee-Fence! We never thought we’d be saying this, but the Phoenix Suns won the last two games against tough Western Conference foes with solid D, and now find themselves on a 6-game winning streak. Of course, this offsets the 6-game losing streak the team endured immediately preceding, but let’s not talk about that now…
Poor AIG. All it wanted was a few good bailout dollars, but taxpayers can’t seem to understand why it’s crucial for employees to attend lavish conferences and receive jackpot bonuses. It’s the company people like to kick around, so it fits that AIG is spending $100 million on an advertising deal with…
Hey, Suns fans. Steve Nash and company have you exactly where they want you after its epic 118-115 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. Only three games behind the Dallas Mavericks, all hopeful and stuff, and ready to Sharpie-in that eighth and final playoff position in the West…
We’ve always enjoyed a good relationship with former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, except when he got pissy with us for a long while over the infamous “hot dog vendor” spoof back in the day. Woods is a savvy and funny guy, something in fairly short supply among the legal beagles…
It was the first time since March 1 that the Suns have beaten a good team. And the Phoenix Suns’ 118-115 win over the Denver Nuggets gives them their longest winning streak of the year, 5-0. Unfortunately, they’ve had a longer losing streak, 0-6, that began just after that last victory…
Who would have thought that the Arizona State Sun Devils could win an NCAA game with star James Harden held to just nine points? Well, they just did, beating the Temple Owls in Miami by a score of 66-57 (we predicted a 62-57 ASU win in a blog post just…
