Brad Cesmat
If Brock Purdy plays well on Sunday, the 49ers will likely move on to the Super Bowl. If he doesn’t, they probably won’t. It goes with the position of NFL quarterback. Pretty simple, right? I bring this up because last week, our industry was filled with provocation on Purdy analysis. Some of it is fair, and some of it is nothing more than just trying to be in the schools of carp at the boat dock fighting over bread crumbs(clicks). 
Last I checked, Purdy played well enough to beat Green Bay. He is leading his team to the NFC Championship game against Detroit. Only three other quarterbacks can say they are playing for a berth in the Super Bowl. In a week where Sports Illustrated laid off their staff and the LA Times decided they didn’t need a talented beat writer to cover Ohtani and the Dodgers as part of a resounding round of layoffs, I’ve heard and seen way too much puke debating Purdy like watching The View. Fortunately, I’m too well to attend, clicking on most of the noise…
This and that…
If Philadelphia’s Joel Embid misses six more games with injury, he won’t be eligible for the NBA MVP Award. You can’t tell me that Kevin Durant shouldn’t then become the front-runner. Of course, Jokic will disagree…
Putting up big numbers and winning the game > putting up big numbers…
Sat at a table with Al McCoy on Friday at Camelback Inn for the Arizona Media Awards lunch. Bruce Cooper was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Pat McMahon was on stage. Jeff Scott(who should be in the AMA Hall of Fame) sat beside me, and I chopped it up with Gibby Parra. I’m fortunate to call all of them teammates during my time here in Arizona…
At what point do Arizona Wildcat Basketball fans acknowledge that they have a problem with winning away from Tucson?…
Keep waiting for GCU to hit a wall, and they don’t. A close road loss at a bandbox in Seattle is no reason to panic. Two road wins in Texas show that as we turn the calendar to February, the ‘Lopes are one of those intriguing teams for the Tournament 
Committee. How high do you seed them? Bryce Drew’s team may be hovering around 32 wins by the time the bracket is to be decided.
Under the headline, “Good Things Happen to Good People, Brett Hansen hired by the Arizona Diamondbacks as Director of Broadcast…
Big 12 is expected to release its 2024 football schedule this week(likely Tuesday). One can only hope that the powers that be move the T-Cup away from Thanksgiving weekend, where they fill three hours of airtime with less-than-miniscule ratings opposite Alabama-Auburn and on the same day of Ohio St. vs. Michigan. It’s just not that hard. There will always be the vocal few that go with the outdated “well, that’s how it’s always been” narrative…
Lot of smoke Dr. Crow will retire from Arizona State in the Spring. If so, does the new president make the athletic director hire for the Sun Devils? One name I’d inquire about is Mike Iaquatta, who was cut loose by the Cardinals in a round of layoffs earlier this month. He is highly regarded and respected around the Valley in his former role of Director of Business Development. The job of an athletic director has changed into a fundraiser. Find the right people around the AD to cover the old-school model while the AD is fundraising. Eventually, NIL will go in-house to the universities, and the AD will need to be the first one asking for greenbacks…
Former Hamilton football coach Mike Zdebski goes to Shadow Ridge on the westside…
