Women’s college softball is terrific these days — these girls can really play ball, and they all look so damn coachable. So, natch, it’s very hard to win a national championship, no matter the level, no matter the sport, and Division I fast-pitch definitely is no exception. The Arizona State…
Back in the day, we had several occasions to bat against Mike White, a native New Zealander who happened to be one of the greatest fastpitch-softball pitchers of all-time. Whitey wasn’t a big guy, but he had great command of all of his pitches, and was an absolutely fierce competitor. …
It was October 1989 when we went to the Arizona State Fair for a boxing card that included our friend Michael Carbajal, then an up-and-comer straight from the Olympic Games in South Korea one year earlier. On the undercard was a 22-year-old from Albuquerque who weighed in at 115 pounds,…
The defending national champion ASU Sun Devils softball team will have to beat tough Louisiana-Lafayette twice tonight to advance to the College World Series in Oklahoma City.That, after the Ragin’ Cajuns routed the Devils 6-0 last night in Tempe in the first of the best-of-three Super Regionals series. The big…
Everyone on the Arizona Diamondbacks had a float in the hit parade last night at Chase Field, as the Snakes drowned the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers 11-4.Sure, 36-year-old Ted Lilly was on the mound for the Dodgers, but the D’Backs handed him his first loss of the season as he…
The Phoenix Coyotes’ season came to an end last night, in the form of a 4-3 overtime loss at home to the Los Angeles Kings in game five of the Western Conference finals.It was really only a slightly disappointing end to what was the greatest Coyotes season in franchise history.The…
Big day for local women’s college sports yesterday, specifically fastpitch softball, a sport near and dear to our heart.First, the big-time (i.e. Division I) news: Arizona State moved on to the Super-Regionals as the solar eclipse faded into the night, beating scrappy Syracuse 4-0 in the elimination “if” game in Tempe.Sophomore…
The Phoenix Coyotes live to play another game this season, after shutting out the Los Angeles Kings 2-0 at the Staples Center yesterday.Captain Shane Doan scored two goals, and goaltender Mike Smith recorded his third shutout of the playoffs in the Coyotes’ first win of the Western Conference finals.The Coyotes…
The Phoenix Coyotes’ incredible run this year is one loss away from being over.The Coyotes lost 2-1 to the Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center last night, in what was probably the closest shot for the Coyotes to win a game over this three-game stretch in the Western Conference…
After an awful loss in Glendale on Tuesday, the Phoenix Coyotes dropped to 0-2 against the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference finals.The Coyotes haven’t played well — at all — in the first two games, and despite three Coyotes players being booted from the last game for playing…
The Phoenix Coyotes were absolutely demolished by the Los Angeles Kings last night, losing 4-0 for their second defeat in two games in the Western Conference finals.Three of the best Coyotes players were booted from the game, while Kings center Jeff Carter dropped a hat trick on Coyotes goalie Mike…
Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith made somewhat of a prophetic comment the other day, but his prediction — like Sunday night’s game in Glendale — didn’t turn out in the Coyotes’ favor.”The first five, 10 minutes is obviously going to be a huge part of momentum swings in the series,”…
The St. Louis Cardinals may have lost Albert Pujols to the Los Angeles Angels through free agency (i.e. “taking care of his family”), but this team surely should contend for a repeat World Series The Cards massacred the Arizona Diamondbacks last night at Chase Field, a 7-2 win over the…
The Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ian Kennedy pitched five very good innings on Tuesday night at Chase Field against the St. Louis Cardinals. Unfortunately, those five shut-out frames came after the ace couldn’t get anybody out in the first two innings, in which he gave up a pair of homers (including a…
How many pitchers does it take to give up nine runs — including five home runs — to the St. Louis Cardinals? For the Arizona Diamondbacks last night, the answer was half of them. There are 12 pitchers on the D’Backs active roster, and six of them pitched last night…
It’s been almost two years since Valley sports fans got the opportunity to use their favorite playoff-time refrain: Beat L.A.It’s not the Phoenix Suns this time, though. It’s the Phoenix Coyotes who are slated for a series against the Los Angeles Kings.The Coyotes defeated the Nashville Predators 2-1 last night…
The Phoenix Coyotes are now one win away from the Western Conference finals after a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators in Tennessee on Friday.Coyotes captain Shane Doan scored the game’s lone goal in the first period, and goalie Mike Smith was phenomenal yet again.Smith doesn’t quite get all the…
If this is your first time hearing about the Washington Nationals’ youngster phenom Bryce Harper, we’ll warn you now that it won’t be the last time.Harper hit an RBI double in the sixth inning off D’Backs starter Ian Kennedy in last night’s game, putting the Nats up 2-1, which would…
The Phoenix Coyotes were shut out in Tennessee last night by the Nashville Predators, but still maintain a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference semifinals.For most of the game, it wasn’t Predators goalie Pekka Rinne keeping the Coyotes scoreless, it was the offensive play of the Coyotes.Phoenix had eight…
The Arizona Diamondbacks’ 5-4 road loss to the Washington Nationals may be remembered longer for the arrival of 19-year-old phenom Bryce Harper than for the two-run, two-out, walk-off bomb by Ian Desmond that abruptly ended things. Harper was involved in just about every big play in the see-saw battle, both…
The Arizona Diamondbacks continued to seemingly regain their footing in the young season as they beat the Washington Nationals in D.C. on Tuesday. Unfortunately for the Nats, it was their fifth-straight loss and the home debut of baseball’s top prospect, 19-year-old left fielder Bryce Harper. For the D-Backs, it was…
Amar’e Stoudemire won us over during his eight-year stint with the Phoenix Suns, with his sheer strength and remarkable athletic ability. We never saw him as the “next” Michael Jordan or whoever, but as an All-Star level player when healthy who — serious defensive liabilities aside — put his team…
