Brad Cesmat
On the morning of February 8th, Mat Ishbia will be introduced as the new owner of the Phoenix Suns. The trade deadline is the next day. I haven’t had any doubts or concerns that the Suns will get back on track well before the playoffs. They have a nice trade chip in Jae Crowder. They’ve been like the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Cut off his legs, and arms, “I’ll bite ya”. It’s not been a fair fight, but it has given management a chance to look at the back-of-the-roster players who may or may not help with contracts in making a deal or two. In my 30 years here in the Valley, I’ve never seen a Suns team so decimated by injury and misfortune. My circles are buzzing about the new owner coming aboard…
Waiting for white smoke to appear from 8701 S. Hardy Drive.
Yep, your Cardinals are searching for another head coach. The fourth in the last ten years. Once they find him, they’ll hold a press conference and say all the usual things. Many in our business will scramble to grab an “exclusive” with the latest guy to be unemployed in five years or less. History doesn’t lie. It just repeats itself, right?
So, I suppose you could say, “well, they let go of the GM and didn’t hire from within, so the owner is figuring things out.” Unfortunately, the song and dance about protecting the nest have worn thin. Time for a new PR campaign because “here we go again” likely won’t sell tickets. My circles need consistency on the field, not “Hard Knocks” appearances, to try and take the focus off of the poor product we’ve been fed.
I don’t mind the wait for the next guy because there are only 32 of these jobs available. However, is Arizona a better spot than the openings in Denver, Houston, or Indy? This organization is committed to a quarterback with plenty to prove on the field and a decimal point wayyyy down the paycheck. If Sean Payton wanted the job, wouldn’t he have it by now? He’d be great in name value, but the only way we’ll know if the owner has figured things out is if we’re not left waiting for white smoke to come from 8701 S. Hardy Drive in four or five years…
Happy to see Rickie Fowler on page one of the leaderboard at Torrey Pines. I’ll be even more pleased if the 2019 WM Open winner at TPC Scottsdale is in the field next week…
What would it take to get Charles Barkley to play in a WM Open Pro-Am? It needs to happen…
Quarterback Dylan Raiola came to Chandler high school a year ago. He was the number-one-ranked quarterback in the class of 2024. The Wolves lost twice to Basha and by two points to Hamilton. According to my Sports360az teammate Eric Sorenson, Raiola is now transferring out of Chandler.
Hearing from multiple sources 2024 5-star quarterback Dylan Raiola is expected to transfer to Pinnacle. The former Ohio State commit played last season at Chandler. @Sports360AZ pic.twitter.com/pN8Mwy04Cd
— Eric Sorenson (@EricSports360AZ) January 28, 2023
Pinnacle lands Raiola, Saguaro has a new head coach, and Chandler will have a new quarterback. Storylines for 2023 Friday Night Lights won’t be hard to find…
