At the time, it seemed audacious even to Paul Westphal, the first-year head coach who had guided the Phoenix Suns to the best record in the NBA during the 1992-93 regular season.
But in the first round of the 1993 NBA playoffs, the Suns lost the first two games of the best-of-five series against the Los Angeles Lakers, at home no less. No team in NBA history ever had escaped from such a fix.
Three Arizona State freshmen pitchers combined to limit Arizona to three runs Saturday night in a 6-3 baseball win that takes the entire Territorial Cup Series down to the final rivalry meeting of the school year.
The winner of Sunday’s 12:30 p.m. game wins the baseball point in the Territorial Cup Series, which ASU believes it leads 9.5 points to 8.5 and UA insists is tied at 8.5. The schools are in dispute over whether men’s indoor track should count in the series.
It isn’t easy to take the circle a day after throwing a no-hitter, and somehow one-up your own performance.
But that’s exactly what Dallas Escobedo did Saturday, tossing a one-hit shutout as No. 5 Arizona State defeated Georgia 2-0 in the Tempe Regional at Farrington Stadium.
Charles Barkley was traded to the Phoenix Suns prior to the 1992-93 season. During his time in Phoenix, he was a colorful, quote machine.
On his knowledge of history:
My first extended stay in Phoenix occurred in 1993, when I covered the Western Conference finals for the Chicago Sun-Times. My job was chronicling the Bulls’ next opponent and, eventually, the NBA Finals.
I remember a lot.
The Suns are a Valley rarity. They have unbreakable roots and a deep well of loyalty. Many consider them part of the family.
But it’s not by accident. It’s not because Arizonans love basketball more than anything else, or because the Suns are our first major professional sports franchise.
CHICAGO — The Suns have a better chance of landing the No. 1 prize in Tuesday’s NBA draft lottery than they had of winning Saturday’s $600 million Powerball lottery prize.
The draft lottery determines the top three picks in the June 27 draft, which seem to have a rare consensus for the trio of Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, Kansas shooting guard Ben McLemore and Georgetown small forward Otto Porter Jr.
MIAMI — Third baseman Eric Chavez has said since spring training that if he’s healthy, he expects to be a productive player. Since the Diamondbacks’ mid-April visit to New York, he’s been both.
While the club was there for a series against the Yankees, Chavez visited a specialist he’s been seeing for years. He even brought along a member of the Diamondbacks training staff, strength and conditioning coach Nate Shaw, to observe in hopes of being able to use the same techniques throughout the season.
MIAMI — Brandon McCarthy didn’t feel good saying it, didn’t like the way it sounded, but he believed luck was a contributing factor to his brutal first month of the season. He admitted to being far from perfect, but he also was hoping for a hard-hit ball or two to start finding his defenders’ gloves.
There wasn’t much in the way of loud contact off McCarthy on Saturday night, but none of the line drives or sharply hit balls did any damage, and the Diamondbacks right-hander cruised to the third shutout of his career, beating the Miami Marlins 1-0 at Marlins Park.
My Sunday best …
Andrew Walter’s announcement that he is running for Congress in Arizona’s 9th District is hardly a surprise for anyone who was around the quarterback during his Arizona State days.
He was compelled to write a note. To show his appreciation. His excitement.
When Mercury General Manager and coach Corey Gaines saw point guard Samantha Prahalis last month when she reported to the team, he saw a different person. When he witnessed her play in informal workouts, he saw a better player. A more dedicated one.
BALTIMORE — Horse racing’s search for another Triple Crown winner will stretch into almost its fourth decade as Kentucky Derby winner Orb lost the Preakness Stakes to Oxbow, who won in a wire-to-wire finish.
Oxbow, with veteran jockey Gary Stevens aboard, finished unofficially in 1:57.54. Itsmylucky day was second, Mylute third and Orb fourth.
Sitting in an Italian restaurant in Manhattan back in 1988, Jerry Colangelo listened intently as Commissioner David Stern outlined for NBA owners how the league’s new unrestricted free-agency rules would work and which players would qualify.
Colangelo glanced down the table at Barry Ackerley, the owner of the Seattle SuperSonics at the time.
TEMPE — The defending national champion Arizona baseball team showed up Friday night at Packard Stadium, more so than the struggling Wildcats who dropped six of their preceding seven games.
Playing for its postseason life, UA broke on top 9-0 in the first 2 1/2 innings against No. 15 Arizona State then hung on to win 10-7 behind junior right-hander Konner Wade.
Injuries have so profoundly impacted the NBA playoffs this year that one can put together a pretty good All-Star Game made up only of players who are missing the playoffs because of various ailments, or have at least missed some games or had their minutes dramatically limited because of them.
And we’re not even counting a lot of players who have sucked it up to play at least close to their normal minutes despite injuries, such as Miami’s Dwyane Wade or Golden State’s Stephen Curry. Nor are we counting star players whose teams did not even make it to the postseason, such as Kevin Love of the Timberwolves.
MIAMI – Daniel Hudson already had thrown simulated games and faced hitters in a batting practice environment, but he didn’t feel like his return from elbow surgery was getting closer until he pitched to hitters wearing different uniforms on Friday morning.
“The light at the end of the tunnel is getting a little bit brighter now,” Hudson said after throwing four innings against Los Angeles Angels minor-leaguers in an extended spring-training game at Salt River Fields.
TUCSON — Since Sean Miller last held a news conference back in March, the Arizona Wildcats have made 10 player-personnel moves, lost an associate head coach and hired a former star as an assistant head coach.
Oh, yeah: There was that Pac-12 officials controversy, too.
MIAMI — Paul Goldschmidt clubbed two home runs and added two more hits in the Diamondbacks’ 9-2 rout of the Miami Marlins on Friday night, and perhaps the ultimate compliment for the burgeoning superstar is that no one seemed the least bit surprised.
“Every time he goes to the plate,” third baseman Martin Prado said, “you’re just waiting for something to happen.”
CHICAGO — Some basketball dreamers will tell you that they eat and sleep hoops.
It is apparent that Carrick Felix does neither.
Dallas Escobedo does her best to not get flustered in the circle. But after giving up two runs in the first inning to San Jose State on Friday, thanks to a walk, a hit batter and a costly two-run error, the junior right-hander couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated.
That frustration didn’t knock her off her game, however, as Escobedo shut down San Jose State from there to throw the first postseason no-hitter in Arizona State softball history. No. 5 ASU came from behind to defeat San Jose State 5-2 at Farrington Stadium in the Sun Devils’ first game of the Tempe Regional.
Blake Leeper used to cut to the chase in explaining his athletic career by saying he competes against Oscar Pistorius.
“People would get it, just like that,” Leeper said, immediately making the leap to the South African who last year became the first double amputee to run track at the Olympics. At the Paralympics — also in London — Leeper was silver medalist behind Pistorius in the 400 meters and won bronze behind Brazil’s Alan Oliveira and Pistorius in the 200.
For years, NFL coaches thought most rookies should be neither seen nor heard on game days. Less experience meant more mistakes which meant a greater chance that coaches would be fired.
But times are changing. For a variety of factors, rookies are far more likely to start games than they were five years ago, and Cardinals fans can expect to witness the trend this fall.
CHICAGO — A year from now, the jubilation of landing the top NBA draft pick will be extremely different if Kansas-bound Andrew Wiggins and Duke-bound Jabari Parker live up to billing as generation players.
If the Suns’ 11.9 percent draft lottery chance at this year’s No. 1 pick comes to fruition, the ESPN camera will get a glimpse of Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby’s vertical leap, but the prize figures to give the winning franchise a hop rather than a leap.
Diana Taurasi can be salty and cynical. She’s allergic to hype. Her candor is uncompromised.
These traits make her original, lovable, a Valley favorite and occasional marketing headache for the WNBA.
CHICAGO – Suns interim head coach Lindsey Hunter was first on Ryan McDonough’s interview list, but it would be shocking if Hunter wound up in that order when the new Suns general manager picks his first head coach.
Beyond Hunter’s Wednesday interview in Chicago, the Suns’ target group includes experienced assistant head coaches, although some head college coaches and a former NBA coach are getting consideration, too.
