Valley sports fans are more than glad to usher in the New Year and say goodbye to a disappointing 2008 for Arizona sports teams. Nearly every Arizona sports team failed to meet expectations this year, so I decided to recap the biggest disappointments of the year so that we can put them safely behind us and know that 2009 can’t possibly be as bad as 2008.
Suns fall to Spurs again, the end of an era
2008 was another disappointing year for the Phoenix Suns. Once again, they fell to the hated San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs. This failure, however, was the worst yet as Phoenix failed to make it past the first round for the first time during the Steve Nash era.
Worse yet, the Suns traded away Shawn Marion in exchange for Shaquille O’Neil, hoping that Shaq’s low post presence would be just the prescription Phoenix needed to combat Tim Duncan and cure their playoff woes.
Shaq was ushered in with much fan fare and hype. In his first appearance at US Airways Center Shaq stood and signaled as though he was adding another championship ring to his finger, much to the delight of Suns fans. But it was just another tease in what’s been a heartbreaking history of misfortune for the organization.
After a 4-1 first round series loss to San Antonio, Steve Kerr and Robert Sarver decided that something would have to change and asked coach Mike D’Antoni to concentrate a bit more on defense. D’Antoni became upset; feeling betrayed, he eventually decided to pursue other offers with the Bulls and Knicks. Ultimately D’Antoni decided to abandon the Valley and his “7 Seconds or Less” offense for the Big Apple.
Since the divorce things have only gotten uglier. With Mike D’Antoni blasting Steve Kerr and Robert Sarver in Peter Vecey’s NY Post article just prior to the Knicks coming to town for the first time in December.
Raja Bell, Steve Nash, and Amare Stoudemire all spoke out against the Suns new style that focused on getting the ball into Shaq early, then kicking it out to the shooters only if the Diesel didn’t have a shot.
Kerr and Sarver seemed to wipe away any resemblance of the team D’Antoni constructed by trading away his beloved Boris Diaw and a discontent Raja Bell (who as it came out days later had requested a trade) in exchange for the dynamic Jason Richardson.
The funny thing about the trade was that it was basically a confession that new coach Terry Porter had been wrong in trying to slow down the Suns, and the addition of J-Rich enabled the Suns to once again run-n-gun it with another athletic shooter on the floor.
The Suns would beat the Knicks, but were scrooged once again on Christmas Day by the San Antonio Spurs. This time though it may have hurt even more, as the Spurs had no Robert Horry or Bruce Bowen, and Manu Ginobili was a non-factor. This time it was Jason Richardson’s defensive meltdown and Roger Mason‘s buzzer beating three-pointer that stole Christmas.
It remains to be seen whether the Suns can come together and rally behind Coach Porter. Let’s just hope 2009 doesn’t end the way 2008, and for that matter 2007 ended for Phoenix.
ASU denied bowl appearance at the hands of UA
For the first time in the Rudy Carpenter era the ASU Sun Devils lost their prized Territorial Cup to the Arizona Wildcats in embarrassing fashion, falling 31-10 in Tucson.
But even more disappointing than that for the Maroon and Gold faithful was that the loss eliminated the Devils from bowl consideration, while at the same time punching UA’s ticket to the Las Vegas Bowl, where UA would come up with a surprising 31-21 victory over No. 16 BYU.
After a 10-3 2007 season, it appeared as though ASU football had turned the corner under the leadership of their newly proclaimed savior, Dennis Erickson.
ASU started out hot, beating NAU and blasting Pac-10 rival Stanford 41-17. However, the squad seemed to have a letdown against UNLV in week 3 as a Devils game-tying overtime field goal was blocked, giving the Rebels a 23-20 victory at Sun Devil Stadium.
Suddenly next week’s Georgia game, that the Sun Devils had been so focused on that they supposedly overlooked UNLV, lost much of its luster. While the game would still be nationally televised, ESPN’s College Gameday show would not be broadcasting live from the desert.
The reduced media attention was a good thing for the Devils as they were embarrassed by No. 3 Georgia 27-10 on their home field. From that point forward it was all downhill for ASU football.
The Sun Devils lost their next four games, setting their losing streak at 6 games before finally defeating hopeless Washington, Washington State, and UCLA teams to keep the Devils in bowl contention.
To finish off the season ASU would face Arizona for all the marbles - with certain Devils seeming to lose theirs… but let’s not discuss Rudy Carpenter.
ASU can only improve from their 5-7 season, right?
Cardinals surprise, then disappoint; oh ho-hum
2008 was a big year for the Arizona Cardinals, having moved into their new stadium a season ago, it was not make or break time. Would the organization continue to receive support and enthusiasm from Cards fans, or would the same ole’ birds return?
Indeed it was not the same old Cardinals, although they did bring back their older, wiser quarterback in Kurt Warner who beat out Matt Lienart for the starting job in the pre-season.
The Cards got off on the right foot with a pair of impressive victories, beating San Francisco on the road in week one, followed up by a 31-10 whipping of the Dolphins at home. All indications were this team had turned the corner, and could beat the Red Skins in Washington in week three.
All indications were wrong, as the Cardinals brought back glimpses of seasons past with their inability to win back East. Arizona fell to both the Red Skins and the Jets to even their record at 2-2.
Arizona would, however, bounce back at home and set their sights on their first division title since 1975, when the St. Louis Cardinals resided in the NFC East. Arizona handled Buffalo at home with a 41-17 victory as Kurt Warner threw for 250 yards.
After beating Buffalo the Cards faced long-time foe, the Dallas Cowboys at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cowboys joked that the game would feel like a home game to them, but the Cardinals got the last laugh, beating the Cowboys 30-24 in overtime.
The Red Birds had a chance two weeks later to beat Carolina on the road, but squandered the opportunity, handing Carolina a 27-23 victory, once again displaying their inability to win on the road back East.
But the resilient Arizona team would bounce back once again, winning three straight against lowly division foes, the Rams, 49ers, and Seahawks.
The New York Giants came to town in late November with a chance for Arizona to put the division on ice, but once again the Cardinals failed to win the big game, losing 37-29. Meanwhile, Kurt Warner had placed himself near the top of candidates in the MVP race, throwing for 300+ yards in each of his last 5 games.
Things weren’t quite so rosy for running back Edgerrin James. After failing to reach 100 yards in any game since week one, Edge was benched in favor of Tim Hightower in week nine. Shortly after, Edge would ask for his release, a request which was denied by the Cardinals.
The Cardinals had the opportunity to clinch their first playoff home game since 1947 on Thanksgiving Day as they traveled to Philadelphia to play a down-n-out Eagles team. Donovan McNabb had been benched in the second half the previous week, and the time seemed right for the Cards to finally win a meaningful game back East…
Don’t let the new uni’s fool ya! The same old birds showed up and were devoured by Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook on Thanksgiving Day. McNabb threw for 260 yards and 4 TDs while Westbrook tied a team record with four touchdowns in a single game. The Cardinals were embarrassed, 48-20, losing their second game in a row and failing to clinch the division title for the second straight week.
In their third attempt, the Cardinals eventually would clinch their first division title in 32 years as they beat the Rams once again.
With another attempt to prove themselves as real contenders in the playoffs the Cardinals lost to Minnesota at home, 35-14 in week 15. But wait! The Cardinals had the opportunity to make a statement, or at least come close by toughing out a late December game in New England and finally show their new team to the entire country!
Well, it was snowing, and any hope the Cards may have had leading up to the game went by the wayside before the game even started. Arizona was able to do nothing in the snow and freezing rain against the Patriots, losing 47-7.
The Cardinals did finally win again, beating the dreadful Seahawks at home 34-21, but it wasn’t without disappointment, as the Cardinals early mistakes had fans booing throughout the first half at University of Phoenix Stadium.
The Cardinals lost 4 of their last 6 games, playing uninspired football that has fans questioning how different this Cardinals team really is. Are they a new, reborn “Ken Wisenhunt team”, or are they just the same ole’ birds?
One can hardly blame Cards fans or the media for questioning the legitimacy of this team. Six of the Cardinals nine wins have come in the worst division in the NFL. Furthermore, the Cardinals failed to win big game after big game. What will happen when they are in the playoffs and every game is a big game?
We are about to find out as they host the Atlanta Falcons this Saturday.
D-Backs take step backwards, blow late lead, miss playoffs
Next up we have the Arizona Diamondbacks, the feel good story in Valley sports in 2007. The D-Backs surprised everyone, not only making it to the playoffs with a bunch of youngsters, but swept the Chicago Cubs in dominating fashion to advance to the NLCS. The D-Backs were handled easily by the Rockies in the NLCS, but the season was a huge success for Arizona, a team that many picked to finish at the bottom of the NL West. Their 2007 figured to be a nice launch pad for things to come in 2008.
Not so. After starting at a torrid 20-8 pace, the best in Major League Baseball, the Snakes began to fade quickly. By the All-Star break they had slipped to one game under .500 at 47-48. Despite going 19-40 since their hot start, they maintained their lead in the putrid NL West.
As the season wore on, the D-Backs were unable to hold their lead, looking like the hare that fell fast asleep, only to be passed up by the tortoise. The young team learned the hard way that a Major League Baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint.
One party that certainly cannot be blamed for not trying is the D-Backs front office who did everything they could to try to arm the team for victory. In an effort to hold on to the NL West lead, Arizona added David Eckstein, Jon Rauch, and slugger Adam Dunn late in the season to try to fend off the Manny-led Dodgers.
The Diamondbacks efforts would turn out to be in vane, as they coughed up their lead late to the Dodgers, losing the NL West by two games.
Now that the dust has settled, and the Dodgers failed to advance past the NLCS, things have only gotten worse for Arizona due to the teams deteriorating financial condition. In early November the team laid off 31 front office personnel, in addition the team was unable to re-sign Randy Johnson, Orlando Hudson, and Adam Dunn.
Randy Johnson has since signed with the San Francisco Giants, with a strong possibility that his 300th career victory could actually come against the D-Backs rather than for them!
Adam Dunn wanted to stay in Arizona, however the D-Backs declined to offer him arbitration, scared that he might accept and be granted a salary that the D-Backs could not afford. In the process the D-Backs lost Micah Owings and draft picks, pouring more salt on to their already blistering wound.
The offseason hasn’t been much to get excited about as it appears the D-Backs will be unable to sign any big name free agents. They fell short on offers to second basemen Ramon Vazquez and Mark Loretta, with Loretta ending up on the LA Dodgers. Arizona finally settled on a grossly overpriced Felipe Lopez.
Arizona hopes that the arms of Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, and Max Scherzer, and the resurgence of sluggers Mark Reynolds, Chris Young, Conor Jackson, and Justin Upton will be enough to get them back to the playoffs in 2009.
Coyotes close to bankruptcy?
After failing to reach the playoffs since the beginning of the Wayne Gretzky Era in 2005, the Coyotes currently find themselves in an unfamiliar position – in the playoffs! True it is early, but the Coyotes 17-15 records has them clinging to the eight position in the Western Conference. That’s the good news!
The bad news is the Coyotes are also wavering on the edge of bankruptcy, with reported losses in the $30 million range each of the past two seasons, and more significant losses likely in 2009.
Despite selling more tickets so far this season than last, and increasing television ratings, the team continues to lose money. The NHL is so concerned about the team that they have stepped in to help the Coyotes find new investors and sources of revenue.
Two notable sinkholes in the Coyotes pocketbook are their parking contract with the City of Glendale, and their salary owed to head coach Wayne Gretzky.
The Yotes currently pay the City of Glendale $2M per year in parking contracts, whereas, if they had control of the city’s parking lot on game nights they could earn up to $10M/season.
The second cash drain is Wayne Gretzky’s salary. The Coyotes coach makes more than any other coach in the league, and his $7 + million annual contract is outrageous when compared to the typical head coach’s salary of $1-$2M per/year.
But even if Wayne Gretzky agreed to coach for free, and the Coyotes did receive $10M in parking revenue, they’d still be losing money in bunches — nearly $13M/year.
With owner Jerry Moyes already in a heap of financial trouble due to the increase in gas prices followed by the downturn in the economy hammering his primary business, Swift Transportation, it remains unclear how long the Coyotes can keep burning truckloads of cash at $30M/year.
Rattlers 2009 season cancelled, team’s future uncertain
The Rattlers did manage to make it to the playoffs in 2008 with an 8-8 record but lost in the opening round of the playoffs 41-48 to Grand Rapids.
The season was a successful one for a team that was just 4-12 in 2007, however the success of the AFL was not as certain.
On Monday, December 15, 2008 to the surprise of few after much speculation, the AFL decided to cancel the 2009 season due to the downturn of the US economy. With the AFL’s Acting Commissioner, Ed Policy saying, “Every owner in the AFL is strongly committed to the League, the game, and, most importantly, the fans. Owners, however, recognize that, especially in light of the current unprecedented economic climate, the AFL, as a business enterprise, needs to be restructured if it is to continue to provide its unique brand of this affordable, fan-friendly sport.”
The future of the Arena Football League and the Arizona Rattlers is uncertain, with the likely contraction of league teams and no timetable set for a resumption of play. Will 2008 be the last year of arena football?
In hopes of a better 2009
Certainly the stars do not often align for everything to go right, but 2008 just seemed like a year where nothing went right for Arizona sports fans. Okay, maybe I’m being a bit of a pessimist, but we can at least agree that much more went wrong in Valley sports than right in 2008. Good riddance to bad rubbish! Bring on 09!
