1996 Sun Devil football vs now, SEC arrogance, happy trails to many, more…

It feels a bit like 1996 doesn’t it?
An upstart football team that isn’t in the national spotlight at the start of the season, finding their way into the mainstream conversation by years end. A Heisman Trophy candidate who was deserving of the award only to be forgotten by those east of the Mississippi. A quarterback who plays with guts and guile. I’m not saying that top to bottom this 2024 version of Arizona State football is a spitting image of the 97 Rose Bowl team, but there are some similarities. This is an embraceable group of players and coaches, just like that Rose Bowl team. So now Texas is on the radar. Give me college football any day, any time…

Wise guys in Vegas have Texas as an almost two-touchdown favorite. Been the script for the 2024 Sun Devils…

SEC arrogance is similar to trying to talk sense to a Dallas Cowboy fan. It’s simply not possible…

Tennessee didn’t deserve to be in the college football playoff. Hey, I’m just trying to follow the logic of the SEC homers…

Jake Plummer is coming to Atlanta for the Peach Bowl. Looking forward to some conversations with Jake on not just the Sun Devils, but also his business ventures that include Health and Wellness through mushrooms and his burgeoning pickle ball career…

An AFC front office man to me on Cam Skattebo. “He’s a third round pick”. Same guy on quarterback Sam Leavitt, “Love him, he’s got a big future in front of him”.

Unless it is a flat miss, I won’t go after Arizona or Arizona State for lack of recruiting local kids anymore. Different time, different era. Let a local player go away, chase playing time, money, get them to come back. Finish second in the recruiting process…

Took my better half to Costco on Saturday morning to grab “a few things”. Have you ever gone to Costco and come out with just “a few things”. It’s like going to Target and not spending less than $100 bucks. It just doesn’t happen…

Happy trails to four of my former KTAR colleagues. Detour Dan Beach, Jayme West, Jim Cross and Jeff Munn. On to the next page or retirement…

620am signal is going to be the new home for a local sports show starting in January. A couple of familiar Valley voices…

And now Devin Booker is going to miss a few games. The NBA in December, it’s FAAAAAAANNNNNNNTASSSSTTTTIICCCCCC

While I’ve spent plenty of space on the lack of direction from central campus at Arizona State on the badly needed renovations of Desert Financial Arena(to deaf ears), how is it that a university with such a storied track and field program doesn’t have a world class facility for that sport?…

Is it true that Arizona State and the Fiesta Bowl powers that be are working on getting out of the sandbox and mending fences after many, many years? That’s the word around town. We shall see…

College Football Playoff > NFL on Saturday. Didn’t watch one moment of the pro stuff…

Christian Walker will be missed, but can be replaced. Last time I checked, we are all replaceable. The Diamondbacks haven’t needed to do tinker much with what they have on the roster, and while parting with a promising arm like Slade Circonni certainly will be second guessed by some, I’m on the side of the street of getting left-handed hitting, 27-year-old first baseman coming into his contract year. Josh Naylor hit 31 home runs(career high) and drove in 108 last season. Defense isn’t his calling card, but I’ll take the rest of the resume…

Rickey Henderson leading off meant you had to be in your seat at first pitch. A single meant a double. A double was a triple. He stole 1406 bases!…

Sports story of the year locally is Arizona State Football. Nationally, it’s Caitlin Clark…