Baseball in March is often defined by early-game substitutions, unfamiliar names on backs of jerseys and games that have little to no meaning. All of that is okay; spring training is necessary. But, for Merrill Kelly, March baseball has looked quite different. For a little under two weeks, he was, in a sense, no longer a Diamondback. He was a member of Team USA. And, on Tuesday, instead of pitching in a non-televised game at Salt River Fields in front of 6,000 fans, Kelly started the World Baseball Classic championship game against Team Japan, with over 36,000 fans in attendance and nearly five million Americans tuning in. https://twitter.com/MLBONFOX/status/1638323233375105025?s=20 “It was incredible,” Kelly said, “from start to finish, just being able…

The second week of the 2023 NFL league year has just begun, yet it feels like it’s been going on for much longer. Perhaps that’s because nearly 400 players have either changed teams or re-signed in the last two weeks. Of that number, 190 will have new addresses this year. Those include players traded, signed as unrestricted free agents, signed after being released by another team or signed after not being tendered as restricted or exclusive-rights players. The Cardinals continued their bargain shopping this week by re-signing UFA cornerback Antonio Hamilton Sr. and quarterback David Blough, who didn’t receive the minimum RFA tender of $2.627 million. His contract details aren’t known yet, but the 1-year deal is expected to be…

The postseason is in full flower for college basketball, but for many Coyotes prospects, March Madness is just beginning. At least 17 players in Arizona’s pipeline have just started their postseason, or will in the coming days. This is the time of year that the management, scouting and development staffs love because it allows them to evaluate their prospects when the chips are down and the stakes are high. High-pressure situations can provide a glimpse into what these players will do at the NHL level. If you want to keep tabs on who is competing where, we have compiled a list of Coyotes prospects involved in their respective leagues’ postseasons. For purposes of this story, we excluded the AHL, which…

Coyotes fans who have followed me for a while know that I have a few crusades that I pursue with fervor. I don’t like poorly reasoned, factually flawed or poorly informed arguments. I don’t like lazy content such as trade grades or mock drafts. I don’t like ketchup on hot dogs, I don’t like IPAs anywhere, and I don’t like...

The Phoenix Suns have a top-four that’s more stacked than any other team in the NBA. Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Deandre Ayton form an undeniably potent, star-studded core. Come playoff time, the sheer firepower of that foursome will help mitigate concerns about the team’s overall depth, let alone who becomes the fifth starter/closer. However, over this prolonged stretch without KD, brief spell without Ayton, and Landry Shamet re-entering the fold those concerns about the bench rotations have resurfaced. Never mind that starters typically log 38-plus minutes on a nightly basis in the postseason. Never mind that the core four will be staggered, with one or two of them always on the court to minimize the damage of…

Two weeks ago, I wrote a column that asked and attempted to answer seven Coyotes-related questions in the wake of the NHL trade deadline. I liked the format so much that I decided to make it a recurring theme. Introducing the 7 wonders of Craig, a column in which I stare out a window with a cup of coffee nearby, exert minimal effort, conduct minimal reporting, yet still offer profound and definitive thoughts. In other words, 2023 style journalism. You may have missed the fact that the NHL held its GM meetings in Florida last week. If you did, that’s because little substance came out of them. This was supposed to be the first of many summits that would finally…

Wednesday was a weird day for the Diamondbacks. They were scheduled to play two games. They wound up playing less than half of one, as their afternoon game against the San Francisco Giants was rained out entirely and their night game against the Milwaukee Brewers was called in the fourth inning. Despite playing less than four innings of baseball, the Diamondbacks suffered their most troubling day of spring training on the injury front. Geraldo Perdomo, Diego Castillo, Corbin Martin and Mark Melancon were all banged up in some shape or form. While Perdomo and Castillo have already returned to Cactus League action following an infield collision, Martin and Melancon will both miss considerable time with shoulder injuries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJd_ct4N4Bs Melancon is…

On Thursday night, Terrence Ross faced his old team for the first time as a member of the Phoenix Suns. Although the game itself was close, it marked a tell-tale sign of just how drastically his surroundings have changed. As an 11-year NBA veteran who’d spent the last six years on Orlando Magic teams that only made the playoffs twice and never got out of the first round, Ross’ union with the Suns — fresh off a blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant — represents an opportunity to contend rather than rebuild. “It’s fun, man, it feels different,” Ross said. “I just came from a group where there was a ton of young guys, not too many older guys in the…

The first three days of this year’s free-agent period surely hasn’t been a frenzy for the Cardinals at least when it comes to money out the door. They have added three outside free agents (linebacker Kyzir White, interior lineman Hjalte Froholdt and defensive lineman Kevin Strong), while re-signing five of their own unrestricted free agents (tackle Kelvin Beachum, guard Will Hernandez, kicker Matt Prater, linebacker Ezekiel Turner and running back Corey Clement). The Cardinals also signed wide receiver Greg Dortch to his $1.01 million exclusive-rights tender and also tendered exclusive-rights defensive lineman Jonathan Ledbetter at $870,000. I won’t refer to those players as exclusive-rights “free agents” because they are prohibited from negotiating with other teams. The team’s Dollar-Store (or should…