Christmas in July…

My better half is consumed with Hallmark Channel’s “Christmas in July” marathon. Me? Well, let’s just say that I’m too well to attend…

The Hometown Nine ranks 21st in payroll at $116 million dollars and sits in first place over halfway through the season. The free-spending Padres have eight players making more than the Diamondbacks top paid player, Ketel Marte(11-million). San Diego is circling the drain in fourth place in the NL West.
Torrey Lovullo’s team has just 18 of their 79 remaining games against the Padres(7), Giants(6), Dodgers(5). If they play just .500 ball the rest of the season, they’ll hit 90 wins. A huge jump from the 74 wins in 2022.
Yet, I still believe that there’s work for the front office to do. I saw where Texas landed Aroldis Chapman, which makes them a better team. the Rangers already have a closer with 14 saves in Will Smith, but you can never have enough arms. The Diamondbacks NEED to add veteran pitching in the starting rotation. The Merrill Kelly injury, while apparently not a long term issue, is cause for concern. Tommy Henry is getting better and better but is he ready for nutt-cutting time in a September playoff race? I was concerned that he would need a neck brace after the Ohtani bomb Friday night. Whiplash for a near 500-foot homerun has got to hurt. Zach Davies and Ryne Nelson have lived dangerously more often than not. Perhaps they get it all together, but this team needs a 1A alongside of Zac Gallen.

The August 1st trade deadline is shaping up to be the most important in General Manager Mike Hazen’s six year tenure. The organization has done right by the fans the last two years. Weed out the overpriced veterans, take a beating, build through the system and now be in the position of buyers, not sellers. Adding to to the starting rotation has to be priority.

If the Mets keep fading will Max Scherzer become available? Blake Snell in San Diego? Would the Cubs part with either Marcus Stroman or Drew Smyly? Guardians Shane Bieber would look good in Sedona Red too.
The fan base is starting to come alive to this team. They are embraceable. Management needs to send a message to the clubhouse and the paying public that they aren’t just satisfied having a team built for the future. Over the next thirty days, pieces need to be added…

Screened the new Indiana Jones and Mission Impossible flicks this week. Can’t say much about Tom Cruise’s film until next week, but here’s a spoiler. Tom runs and there are motorcycles…
Indiana Jones will lead to an updated ride at Disneyland. It’s fine and fun. At 2-hours and 20-minutes(Mission Impossible was 2:40) you’ll need to stock up and take care of business before the movie starts. You can’t take a break from either one…

The great Michael Wilbon to me on the Suns without a true point guard, now that Chris Paul is gone. “I don’t see Devin Booker or Bradley Beal as a traditional point guard. I’m a traditionalist when it comes to basketball. I like a Chris Paul running my team. I’m somebody who believes in that.” He went one to talk about how the Chicago Bulls with non-tradiional point guards in Jordan and Pippen were able to win titles. We had a good chop-up session…

https://sports360az.com/2023/06/june-29th-podcast-michael-wilbon-sean-harvey-peter-nicks/

The second part of that podcast has the producer and one of the directors of Steph Curry’s new documentary that comes out on Apple TV later this month(July 21st) I’ve seen the doc, and it’s strong…

On the ESPN layoff’s, I go back to the day I was told I was being let go. The exact quote on the day of my nine year radio anniversary. “You’ve been here too long, you’ve been too loyal, you make too much money”. Looking back now, it was a absolute blessing for me(and them too). Employee ID number with a dollar figure in a spread sheet. That’s yesterday at ESPN. Too much talent to be sitting on the sidelines for long…

Good for Charli Turner Thorne!…

Pac-12 Football media day in Las Vegas is three weeks out. I’m guessing Deion Sanders riding Ralphie the Buffalo on the Strip could be a thing.

If not San Diego State and SMU then who?…

Please stop with the Arizona high school football is being “slept on” just because some silly preseason ranking leaves your school out. Enough of the hype. Show up, shut up and play. No one cares outside of your booster club about rankings.

Chapter in my upcoming book on “Crazy parents of high school, AAU, 7 on 7’s “, might just turn into it’s own project. The content never stops…