Brad Cesmat
Sunday Three Dots…
Stood in the end zone with Todd Graham and Mike Norvell Friday night at Chandler high school.
Twenty four hours earlier the two had suffered through an agonizing triple OT loss to Oregon, but were out on the recruiting trail at the Wolves-Hamilton game. “This reminds me of Texas high school football” Graham told me at halftime. “Big crowds, great atmosphere”. I saw Graham the previous week on a high school sideline checking out Basha quarterback Ryan Kelley. Friday night he had a plethora of talent on the field and terrific coaches on both sidelines to admire…
My Sports360az colleague Eric Sorenson(happy birthday!) made an astute observation on Fridays show. “Will Arizona State even be bowl eligible?” It stopped me in my tracks when he first asked it. But, if you go through the last four games, it’s not a given that they will get to six wins. At Washington State, Washington, Arizona, at Cal.
More on my thought that Rich Rod and Georgia would be a good match…CBS College Football analyst Gary Danielson put it well after the third quarter
of the Bulldogs blowout loss to Florida Saturday. “Remember, at the start of the year Georgia was picked to win the division and the Florida Gators were supposed to be rebuilding?”
Congrats go out to Arizona Christian University football coach Donnie Yantis. Saturday, the Firestorm won their league title in a 61-30 victory over Southwestern Assemblies of God. Over 70 players on this years team are from 
the state of Arizona. NAIA college football in our state is in great shape with ACU. I hope that the University can keep Yantis as the head coach. I’ve heard his name is becoming a hot commodity in coaching circles. Time to lock him up and continue to grow a program still in its infancy…
Arizona United Soccer owner Kyle Eng checked in with me on Friday about his search for a new head coach. “We are down to three, unless you have someone I should talk to” he said with a laugh.
Eng has met with candidates across from across the country and should have a decision in the next few weeks. I think this is a big hire for Eng and the Arizona soccer community in general. While AZ United SC has made big strides in it’s first two years, the hardest work of getting a Arizona MLS team is still in front of them. MLS wants to see franchises have their own youth academy and of course a soccer stadium. Eng has done much of the heavy lifting, but in order for United to do what others haven’t been able to do here in Arizona, he needs a few strong people along side of him. He is a bright and talented guy, but it’s too big of a job for one person to do…
