Sports

In pro sports these days, analytics are everything. Forget about what you fee in your heart or gut — if a stat can’t capture it, it’s not real. This includes how prolific teammates are at congratulating one another. At the outset of the 2015 season, a Cal-Berkeley psychology professor —…

I’m having a party on the first Sunday of October. The point is to celebrate the life and times of the first important broadcaster in Arizona’s history: Vin Scully, who will be calling his final game in his 67th, and final, season for the Los Angeles Dodgers. From the early…

At a meeting of nine passionate mountain bikers on Wednesday evening under a ramada in Papago Park, emotions flared over the creation of a new, five-kilometer fitness trail that’s ruined their normal biking experience. Hearing that city officials insist other park users like the new trail, one quipped: “Who?” The…

The 2016 Summer Olympics have begun, and a slew of Arizona athletes are in Rio, going for gold. Arizona State University’s athletic department alone has reportedly sent at least 20 athletes who’ll compete in everything from swimming to tennis to volleyball and track and field events. Fact is, when it comes…

For the second straight year, the epic battle between LeBron James and Steph Curry in the NBA Finals wowed American sports fans. And for the second straight year, Suns fans could only watch with remorse. Both teams have key figures who were jettisoned by Suns owner Robert Sarver. Steve Kerr…

To the rest of the world, Muhammad Ali’s legacy will be that of the person who dragged sports out of the black-and-white 1950s and into a full-color world. As the first major athlete (and maybe the last in our lifetimes) to put principle over personal fortune and public approbation. As…

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali, a.k.a. “The Greatest,” one of the top sports figures of all time, died at age 74 at a Phoenix area hospital on Friday night. Ali was said to have died of complications from Parkinson’s disease, from which he’d suffered since the 1990s. Following medical setbacks that…

It’s no secret that the Arizona Diamondbacks are in “win mode” after their acquisition of two top-of-the-rotation starting pitchers, Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller. In honor of the $206.5 million dollar man, Grienke — who will wear number 21 and is scheduled to start on Opening Day 2016 at 6:40…

Nobody thought the Arizona Diamondbacks would land coveted free-agent pitcher Zack Greinke — not even the team’s front office. The rumors published in the baseball media in early December suggested that the 2009 Cy Young Award winner was choosing between offers from his current team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, as…

Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler, heir apparent to retiring Peyton Manning as the Super Bowl champions’ starting QB, doesn’t retaliate against a man shown in a video attacking him from behind. The altercation in Scottsdale began about 2 a.m. Saturday, a few hours after Osweiler watched singer Kelley James perform at the…

Okay, we’re late getting this story out because we spent Monday sleeping off our hangover from drinking ourselves numb after the Arizona Cardinals stunk up the Deep South Sunday night Damn, we don’t know what football team played against the Carolina Panthers in  the NFC Championship in Charlotte, because it…

We Arizona Cardinals fans are hot enough under the collar to melt the ice in frigid North Carolina.  Our blood is boiling about oddsmakers picking the Carolina Panthers over the Cards in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. And listening to sports wags slobbering praise all over enemy quarterback Cam Newton has…

Newsflash: Being a professional athlete can be very lucrative. Now, we don’t have access to the Arizona Cardinals’ Wells Fargo accounts, but based on earnings and endorsements, we can estimate the richest members of this year’s successful squad. And some of these players might surprise you, as suspended linebacker Daryl Washington…

If you’re anything like us, you’ve watched the weekend weather forecast for the mid-Atlantic states and thought how great it is live in Arizona.  Well, we must have collectively jinxed ourselves, because Winter Storm Jonas now is hitting too close to home. Airports up and down the East Coast are…

It’s been an amazing season for the Arizona Cardinals. Not only did the team achieve its best regular-season record in its 118-year history at 13-3 (including a nine-game winning streak) and led the league in total offense, its players amassed hefty accomplishments in the process. Quarterback Carson Palmer had the…

The Arizona Cardinals’ thrilling 26-20 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers this past weekend at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale was an epic victory for the Red Birds and one helluva football game — but it certainly wasn’t for the faint of heart. The back-and-forth divisional round playoff…

As he lay in an irrigation ditch in excruciating pain, the shot clock seemed to be running out for the final time for Bobby Hurley. A legendary college basketball player, Hurley had just finished playing his 19th NBA game for the Sacramento Kings. He had been broadsided by the driver…

CBS News anchor Bob Schieffer moderated a satirical debate between Arizona Senator John McCain and Minnesota Senator Al Franken before the Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings faced off at University of Phoenix stadium in Glendale Thursday night. And it actually was funny. Imitating the format of a political debate, Scheiffer…