Do you really care whether the games you’re watching are legitimate, or does winning the bet all that matters? Being a fan of a team, or wondering whether what we see is real or rigged, is starting to take a back seat to winning the bet. How many times have YOU put money down on the Arizona Cardinals to win through the years? How about cover? How about over/under? etc, etc, etc, etc. More and more, I run into those who want to brag about their betting habits(as if I’m impressed) rather than have a conversation about their favorite team. You going to put money on the Suns to beat OKC? Ok, YOU are the one. When I hear about “integrity of the sport”, I simply chuckle. because the circles I’m in just want to be entertained for three hours on a Sunday and cash out that night or Monday morning. Yell “rigged” all you want, but the ratings and betting dollars will only continue to grow. I don’t like it one bit…
Knicks head coach Mike Brown has taken New York by storm. Brown hooped in the Valley at Mesa Community College under legendary head coach Tom Bennett. Brown was recruited to the University of San Diego by current Arizona State head coach Randy Bennett(dad had some input on the recruitment). Mike Jones, who now runs Jones Automotive in Mesa, was on the Mesa CC team, and the two remain close. “We played a lot of one-on-one. I held my own; he was a tireless worker, Jones told me by text Wednesday morning. “Mike grew up very disciplined from two army parents who were strict. He folded his clothes, made his bed every morning, and kept his apartment neat. There is absolutely no surprise what he’s done because of how he treats and approaches life.”
Brown has won four NBA championship rings in an assistant’s role and two NBA Coach of the Year awards. Yet his name has never gained traction in Phoenix as a bench boss, even with the constant turnover at the position(11 head coaches have come and gone in Phoenix since 2008).
The Landry Shamet I saw with the Suns doesn’t resemble the present-day player with the Knicks. He is going to get PAID this offseason…
What IF the Suns had kept Mikal Bridges and not made the Durant deal? Sometimes the trades a team doesn’t make are the ones that keep a franchise from being mediocre for extended stretches…
At what point do the Diamondbacks rework Corbin Carroll’s current contract? He has outplayed the deal signed in 2023…
Good luck to former Perry High School star Koa Peat, who is keeping his name in the 2026 NBA Draft. His Arizona Wildcat teammate Brayden Burries will likely be taken before the tenth pick. Peat figures to go much later…
Former Sun Devil center Jayden Quaintance, who played part of this past season at Kentucky before being shutdown with knee issues, will likely be a name called on Draft night next month…
Thumbs up
The Phoenix Mercury broadcast package on Grey Media(Arizona Family Sports, 3TV) is a game-changer in the sports media rights space. The broadcasts are free. A full half-hour pre-game and post-game show anchored by an entirely female talent roster…
Thumbs down
Local newsrooms that devote extended airtime and resources to the Arizona Cardinals’ OTAs and shortchange everything else going on in the Valley/State. Nothing quite as thrilling as a 90-story about the new head coach and players saying they are learning plays in late May (zzzzzzzzzzz).
60 Minutes has lost two of its best reporters in the last month. Anderson Cooper and Sharyn Alfonsi are both out of the highest-rated non-sports weekly show on American Television. “Refusing to sanitize accurate reporting” is what the highly respected Alfonsi wrote in her goodbye message. It’s a trend that has taken hold of our industry in a big way. Both Cooper and Alfonsi have delivered amazing deep dive stories on a myriad of topics. My TV viewing list starts with 60 Minutes on Sunday nights. But in some circles (not all), carrying water for a politician or a pro football team is now a must. Too much money at stake in some of the weak-kneed media companies to grow a pair and speak the truth. I believe that mega talents like Stephen Cobert, Cooper, and Alfonsi will land on their feet. Censorship is bad. No way to sugarcoat it. Through the years, I’ve had Valley media executives tell me, “You have to play by our rules with the teams if you come over here. I kindly thank them and walk. I’ve also had three companies say, “Tell it like it is.” It’s a great place to be…
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Brad Cesmat
Media personality Brad Cesmat first rose to fame in Southern California with the launching of "The Mighty 690" all-sports radio station in the late 1980's and early 90's. Brad came to Arizona in 1993 to begin a 10-year run at KTAR Radio followed by nine years at KTVK-TV in Phoenix. Brad is the Founder/ CEO of Sports360AZ.com. His vision of multi platform content marketing through sports began in September of 2011. Cesmat has served on the Advisory Board for the Salvation Army for the last 18 years. He and his wife Chris have four children.