With a large contingent of teams looking to upgrade in center field and few answers to be found in free agency, the Diamondbacks are in an enviable position this winter. They don’t just have one starting-caliber center fielder. They arguably have four. And there may be no time like the present to strike a deal, not just to capitalize when the market is hot, but to potentially solve one of the team’s on-going needs at another position. Making a deal happen will be easier said than done, however, for a couple of reasons. First, the D-backs’ asking price figures to be quite high, given how few center fielders are available in free agency and the fact that general manager Mike…

By all accounts, Damion Lee wasn’t expected to be where he is right now. Lee said as much when he told Suns.com that, due to oxygen problems, he came out of the womb purple, and doctors were concerned whether he’d be all right. After going undrafted, suffering two torn ACLs — one in college, the other in the G League — might have been an unscalable obstacle for some players. Even joining a title contender like the Phoenix Suns on a veteran minimum contract, expectations were tempered. And yet, even through all of that adversity, Lee persevered, bringing him to this exact moment where he’s become an intrinsic piece of Phoenix’s second unit. “Everybody says, ‘I’m blessed, I’m thankful to…

The Cardinals accomplished something on the offensive line Sunday they hadn’t done since Week 8 against the Vikings: Have all five starters play every snap in the game. Furthermore, that’s been the case in only three games this season. There had been the thought there would be a job-share at the guard spots with Rashaad Coward and Cody Ford on the left side and Max Garcia and Lecitus Smith on the right. However, Garcia, who was back on the field after missing four games with a shoulder injury, and Coward played all 66 offensive snaps. Left tackle Josh Jones, center Billy Price and right tackle Kelvin Beachum were the other starters. Right guard Will Hernandez and center Rodney Hudson, who…

Arizona hockey fans had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the future when prospect Josh Doan and prospect Logan Cooley squared off in a two-game series between Arizona State and Minnesota this past weekend at Mullett Arena. Fans can also watch prospects live in the CHL, USHL or NCAA on readily available streaming options. If fans want to watch European...

Coming off a playoff run and offseason that didn’t go according to plan, it was only fitting that Deandre Ayton’s start to the 2022-23 campaign followed suit. His widely publicized Game 7 spat with Monty Williams, rampant trade rumors, the fact that he had to sign an offer sheet with another team to force the Phoenix Suns’ hand in contract negotiations, whether he and his coach actually spoke over the summer — all of it loomed overhead (to say nothing of the Robert Sarver investigation). So despite his usual pre-season talk about wanting to take over games and dominate in all facets, the first month of Ayton’s fifth season largely underwhelmed. Through 12 games, he was averaging 14.6 points, a…

“They felt differently.” Those were the succinct words of Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury when asked after Sunday’s last-second, 25-24 loss to the Chargers if his coaches said anything to him after two crucial replay reviews negated potential turnovers that might have affected the game’s outcome. Throughout this season (and prior seasons), there have been numerous instances where it appeared plays were reversed when it wasn’t clear and obvious that the original ruling was wrong. That surely seemed to be the case Sunday, contrary to what NFL senior vice president of officiating Walt Anderson told me shortly after the end of the game. (I was representing the Professional Football Writers of America and was granted access to Anderson by phone and…

The design of the play was simple. The reward for proper execution was massive. About halfway through 3-on-3 overtime against the No. 2 Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday at Mullett Arena, ASU coach Greg Powers called a timeout. He wanted Josh Doan to take the faceoff, but he wanted his sophomore captain to do more than just win that draw. “Center wins it forward and when he does, the winger goes,” Powers explained. “Center sends it, breakaway.” Doan won the draw to the weak side and Robert Mastrosimone went, getting in alone to score the game-winner and give ASU a 6-5 win that it needed in the worst way. https://twitter.com/shawn_depaz/status/1596728499553075201 “Another benchmark win for us,” said Powers, who apologized for…

The Los Angeles Chargers hit the field Sunday at State Farm Stadium with a 5-5 record after losing to Kansas City 30-27 last Sunday and falling three games behind the Chiefs in the AFC West. However, it is effectively four games because of Kansas City’s head-to-head sweep. The NFL is usually defined by close games and a win would have left them one game back along with a split of the season series. Earlier in the season, the Chiefs also won by a field goal. Overall, the Chargers have lost three games by a total of 12 points, but they also have won four by a total of 13. They face a Cardinals team roiled again by adversity after the…

It’s rare to see a Coyotes draft pick play in Arizona in the same season in which he was drafted.  Jakob Chychrun made the NHL roster in his draft year of 2016 and Clayton Keller played three games for the Coyotes late that same season; games in which former coach Dave Tippett humorously noted that he looked like a child on the ice.  Mikkel Boedker and Viktor Tikhonov made the NHL roster in their draft year of 2008, Kyle Turris did it in 2007, and JJ Moser did it last season.That’s it. Until the past two years.  Sort of. Which is another way of saying just how much hockey has grown in Arizona since the Coyotes’ arrival in 1996. It…