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This is my favorite week of the year. Thanksgiving week means being with family and loved ones, seeing old friends and watching ASU vs UofA. Its a tradition I love and look forward to every year. Go out the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, get wasted. Have turkey hung over the next day, sleep and recover. Then start it all over for the big game. There is just going to be a ton of booze consumed today. I may not remember much, and that might be a good thing. Arizona was favored by 3 the last I heard. You can throw the records out the window in this game. For ASU this game is all about pride. We have nothing else to play for. I am hoping that will be enough for a victory. Samson Szakacsy will get the start Saturday. It’s safe to say this is the biggest game of his college career. From fanster.com; “Coming off a shaky performance at the Rose Bowl in the Sun Devils 23-13 loss to UCLA where he turned the ball over himself four times, Szakacsy is now tasked with the most important task of a second consecutive losing season. All he has to do to become a folk hero in Tempe is beat the Arizona Wildcats.” So what the fuck, lets go out with a bang and kick the shit out of the mildcats!!

The Sun Devils lost to Duke 64-53. ASU had the game tied 41 all at halftime. In the second half the Duke Blue Devils proved to be to much handle, their size and defense allowed the Blue Devils to pull away for the victory.  From azcentral.com; “Nothing came easy for us,” ASU coach Herb Sendek said. “Everything was challenged. And I think the difference in the game was their defensive effort in the second half.” Derek Glasser had 13 points. Eric Boateng had a horrible game with only four points and three rebounds. Redemption came today in the form of a 71-52 victory over LSU. Down by seven points at half, the Devils rallied behind Derek Glasser’s career high 24 points and some choice words from the coaching staff. From azcentral.com; “I’m not sure I can say some of those things,” senior point guard Derek Glasser said when asked for Sendek’s reaction at the midpoint of Friday’s NIT Season Tip-Off consolation game at Madison Square Garden. “None of the coaches were happy. They came in the locker room and let us have it. They gave us a little spark.” I think the Sun Devils earned a little bit of respect in the college basketball world.

Thank god basketball season is here to take our minds off the dismal football program. Herb Sendek Has the Sun Devils playing great ball to start the season. Tough pressure defense and great three point shooting has given this team a chance to play the Duke Blue Devils in the NIT pre-season tip off. Strength Of Schedule (SOS) has been a sore subject for Sun Devils Basketball but this season could change all that. From houseofsparky.com; ”With the invitation to the Preseason NIT, however, the Devils are about to experience a dramatic increase in Strength of Schedule. Regardless of outcome, ASU will be playing the #9 team in the country, Duke, and then either face #12 UConn or a solid LSU team that is 3-0 on the season. This serves ASU very well, considering the argument against them in 2007 was their weak SOS. After defeating Arizona (19-14) twice in conference play and having a better record than the Wildcats (ASU was 19-12), UA was still invited to the big dance based on their SOS (and their perceived prestige, I guarantee) while the Devils were relegated to #1 seed in the postseason NIT tournament.” It seems funny saying “ASU vs Duke”, its not every day you face such a famous basketball program. However  Coach Sendek and center Eric Boateng are both very familiar with the Duke. From azcentral.com;

In 10 seasons at North Carolina State, Herb Sendek went 3-21 against Duke. This isn’t a great memory for the fourth-year Arizona State coach, especially as the Sun Devils prepare to meet No. 7 Duke on Wednesday in the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals in New York. But all these years later, one triumph over the Blue Devils still sticks out during Sendek’s Atlantic Coast Conference days. It’s the first one, a win that came during the 1997 ACC Tournament, one that sent the eighth-seeded Wolfpack on a run that nearly landed an improbable automatic NCAA Tournament bid.” Eric Boateng transfered from Duke and I’m sure he wants to put in a god effort against his former team. The Game Is Wednesday night at 7pm on ESPN2. Good luck Sun Devils.

The Phoenix Suns have gotten off to great starts before but what sets this team apart from so many in the past is the play of the bench. Who’s your favorite, Jared Dudley or Lou Amondson? Leandro Barbosa or Jarron Collins? These players are smart, they hustle, and provide a spark/energy to the game that keeps leads and even extends them. The best thing, is you can throw any of these players in with the other starters and it doesn’t disrupt the chemistry. From brightsideofthesun.com;

“This new philosophy has given the Suns a reliable bench that can spell the starters and often outplay the opponent’s bench players with energy and hustle. Players like Jared Dudley and Lou Amundson have become fan favorites and their solid performance has translated to the win column. Overall, we can say that the Suns bench is in the top 5 for blocks, a remarkable feat considering the team’s lack of size, and top 10 for steals and rebounds. Even when we account for the modest assists and points rankings, the Suns reserves are, on average, still top 10 in the league. It’s been a while since we could boast a top 10 bench. Probably we should all thank Alvin Gentry for believing in some unproven youngsters like Dragic and Dudley or almost unknown NBA-vagabonds like Lou Amundson.” I think one of my favorite players this year is Jared Dudley. He is throwing himself all over the floor, shooting the ball extremely well and is a great asset to the team. From fanster.com; ”This season, Dudley has a per game +/- of 6.0, and is averaging higher Player Efficiency Rating (PER), 17.2, than Battier has in his entire career. Along with PER, Dudley has a better True Shooting Percentage, Effeiciency Field Goal percentage and True Rebounding Percentage than Battier ever has for a season. Granted, these numbers are skewed due to the fact that Dudley has only played 12 games out of an 82 game season. When you combine those stats with his defensive abilities and energy, it goes to show just how big of an impact the Suns’ backup small forward has had on the Suns’ fast start.” This bench could be the deciding factor in getting us back in the playoffs.

Pretty much an all around complete game. The Phoenix Suns had a nice win against the Detroit Pistons 117-91, after a disappointing loss to the Hornets. Yep, this one looked easy. From brightsideofthesun.com; “Tonight, the Suns used a balanced, dominating attack to defeat the road weary Detroit Pistons.The Suns controlled the game in virtually every category tonight-they defended, they rebounded, they made shots, they even looked respectable from the free throw line. The Suns started hot, at one point shooting over 80% midway through the first quarter (9-11). Still, the Pistons hung around, keeping things close until the Suns bench took over in the second, extending the lead to 10.” Steve Nash was really looking to score in this game, with 20 points and 9 assists. Amare Stoudemire continues to play well putting up 21 points and 5 rebounds. From valleyofthesuns.com; “For the game Amare scored a game-high 21 points. He’s now recorded four straight 20-point outings since his stinker in Los Angeles, his longest such streak since pulling the trick 11 consecutive times Nov. 30-Dec. 25 of last year. Amare is averaging 24.3 points per game on 63.6 percent shooting the past four games and is starting to resemble the Amare of old. “Again, going seven months with no basketball is the longest I’ve ever went, so it’s slowly getting myself back into a rhythm out there, but it’s improving,” Amare said. Added Grant Hill: “I thought early on in the season he was settling for jump shots, and now he’s attacking. He’s getting to the rim, he’s getting to the free-throw line, he’s dunking on people. He’s mixing it up. Early on he was relying on his curveball. Now he’s mixing it up with his changeups, his curve, his fastball, and when he does that he’s hard to stop and we’re hard to stop as a team.” As usual the bench played great. I enjoy watching them as much as watching the starters. From Jared Dudleys hustle to Lou Amundson’s blocked shots, he had two sweet ones in this game, the bench is always impressive. Next up, the Grizzlies on Wednesday.

Arizona Cardinals sucked it up and held out for a win against the St. Louis Rams 21-13. I like these kind of wins, it shows you something about the resolve and character of this team. Kurt warner got the Cards off to a good start and had 21-3 lead late in the first half. But Warner didn’t finish the game. From raisingzona.com; “Cards quarterback Kurt Warner threw 15-19 for 202 yards and two touchdowns before leaving late in the first half with what coach Ken Whisenhunt described after the game as “concussion-like symptoms.”  He gave that info in his post game radio interview, continuing on by saying he was taken out more as a precaution and should be available next week.  However he said it will be monitored throughout this week.” Matt Leinart took the reigns in the second half. The Cards didn’t score again but they didn’t have to. The defense weathered a Rams comeback in the second half and Leinart did a good job of managing the game with no turnovers. One factor that helped Matt Leinrt a great deal was our running game. Beanie Wells rushed for 74 yards on 14 carries and Tim Hightower rushed for 110 yards on 14 carries. From revengeofthebirds.com; “The running game was also outstanding for a third week in a row. The Cardinals ran for 183 yards, their highest of the season. 50 of the rushing yards came on a big run by Tim Hightower, in which he broke through the line of scrimmage and ran into Rams territory. The Cardinals ability to run has dramatically made this offense better.” Next week the Cardinals are going to be in Jack Daniel’s country when they travel to Tennessee.

Sun Devils lost another one to UCLA 23-13. The defense played good, they have been the only bright spot all season. The offense was horrible. Turning the ball over four times is unacceptable. Samson Szakacsy threw a pick 6 in the first possession, then Szakacsy was stripped , UCLA recovered and ran it in for a touchdown. Then there were fumbles by tight end Trevor Kohl and Jamal Miles. Did anything go right? Did anything look promising? From fanster.com; “What can you say about Dimitri Nance? The senior tailback was again one of the few bright spots for the Sun Devils on Saturday. Nance ran for 110 yards on 21 carries in the loss to UCLA. He had 76 of those yards in the first quarter. He’s good at protecting the ball, and is constantly applauded by the coaching staff for his solid work in pass protection. But, his lack of speed has really cost the Sun Devils this season. It was very evident, especially early in the game, vs. UCLA, that the mere presence of the fleet-footed Szakacsy in the backfield really spread out things in the interior of UCLA’s defensive front. In the first quarter, Nance was running through gigantic holes in the Bruins’ line, and on a couple of occasions, was a half-step away from breaking long touchdown runs. I’m inclined to think that if freshman tailback Cameron Marshall (who didn’t get one carry on Saturday) was running through those same holes, he’d have broken a couple of long ones–or at least gain more than 15 yards, which was Nance’s longest run against the Bruins.” This season is a complete loss. The only thing that can salvage it is a win against UofA. Jeez what a season.

Arizona Cardinals defensive end Darnell Dockett said the elbow pressed into Matt Hasselbecks throat while he was on the ground was just an accident. From ktar.com; Arizona defensive tackle Darnell Dockett says he has talked to Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck and “everything’s cool” between him and the Seahawks quarterback. “I’m not going to sit here all mad about Seattle,” Dockett said after Wednesday’s practice. “I’ve got much respect for Matt Hasselbeck and the things he’s done. If I had a personal tough man award I would give it to him.” Matt Hasselbecks brother Tim is still fired up over the incident. From revengeofthebirds.com; ”Tim Hasselbeck, Matt’s brother who was also a quarterback in the league (For the Cardinals in 2007) had this to say, “Let me tell you something, that was a dirty, cheap shot move by Darnell Dockett,” Tim Hasselbeck told 710ESPN Seattle. “I don’t care what he wants to say now. I’ve been on teams with good guys, and I’ve been on teams with bad guys — bad guy. And, what he did was flat-out dirty and I hope the league fines him, and I hope they fine him heavily, because I think he deserves it.”  Today the NFL fined Dockett $7,500. I always think of Dockett as a big lovable teddy bear. Who could kill you.

Wow, sad day for the Sun Devil Nation. I did not see this coming at all. No word yet as to why he would be walking away from a program that had a great run in the College World Series with a lot of key players coming back. From azcentral.com;

“Coach Murphy has an outstanding record of success on the playing field,” said Lisa Love, university vice president for athletics said in a statement. “I thank him for 16 years of hard work and service to the university and the sport.”

Murphy became ASU¹s head baseball coach in August 1994. During his tenure, he was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year four times, his teams took three straight Pac-10 titles and two World Series berths, and in 1998 he was named the National Coach of the Year. This sucks. The Sun Devils will begin a national search for a new coach immediately.

The Phoenix Suns lost to the Hornets last night 103-110. We didn’t seem to have the fire or intensity we have shown in our other games. And of course we didn’t shoot the ball very well from behind the line (%39) below our season average. Amare Stoudemire had 23 points and Steve Nash added 10 assists. The story of the game was rebounding. At the beginning of the season it was thought that would be our biggest weakness. However, due to the effort the Suns have put into it, rebounding has not been a huge problem for this team. Except for last night. The effort just wasn’t there. From valleyofthesuns.com; ”The Hornets pulled away late as a result of the aforementioned threes, but as I said before, the story of the game was rebounding. It seemed like it would only be a matter of time before the Suns’ rebounding was exposed. The whole gang rebounding strategy simply seemed too good to be true. The Suns were, however, only five rebounds below their season average of 43.3, but the Hornets’ 56 rebounds — 49 of which came through three quarters — stifled the once red-hot Phoenix Suns.”  The Suns have an opportunity for a W when they face the Pistons on Sunday.

Grant Hills basketball career has had its ups and downs. He won championships on those legendary Duke teams from the 90′s. drafted third by Detroit he was expected by some to be Michael Jordans Replacement. He immediatly began playing to his potential then the injurys set in. With Orlando he missed 374 games. However with the Suns he has been “born again” From granthill.com; ”There were times last year where I did things and I’m running down the court [and I say to myself], ‘Man, I haven’t done that since I was in Detroit,’” Hill said. that has continued this season. Hill is averaging 13.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Best of all, Phoenix has started the season with a 7-1 record that includes an impressive road victory against the Boston Celtics. Miami’s Dwyane Wade approached Hill during a recent game and asked, “What do you do, man? I want to do what you do when I’m 37.” I know the Suns world renowned training staff has something to do with his re-emergance as a top player in this league but Grant Hills diet has a lot to do with it too. “Hill started to monitor his diet carefully around 2001 or 2002 so he wouldn’t gain weight as he recovered from surgery on his left ankle.” Hill and Steve Nash both watch what they eat, their diets are a major reason why they appear to have reversed their aging. Damn!! Diets. I guess there is no other way.

That was a dog fight! ASU and TCU were battling it out trading leads all night. But with less than 4 minutes to play TCU took an 8 point lead. The Sun Devils fought back with Ty Abbott putting them in the lead with a floater in the lane. It was definetly a team effort, however one Sun Devil stood out. Eric Boateng. Boateng had a career high 22 points and 12 rebounds. That was also his first double double. From statepress.com; “What can you say about Eric? He literally put us on his back and carried us across the finish line,” Sendek said. “He got good post position and took his time and then he finished.” Boateng said that there was no panic after falling behind by eight. “We tried to stick together and stay together and do what we do,” Boateng said. “We are learning things about each other and today was a situation where we had to come together and overcome some things.” Nice win Devils! Now it’s off the New York to play at Madison Sqaure Garden for the first four of the preseason NIT!

I like watching a good comeback, the team really came together on that one. The fourth quarter defense was awesome. The bench played great, this time the star sixth man was Jarron Collins. From azcentral.com; “The Suns are playing fourth-quarter defense like they dreamed of doing the past five years. The Suns slowed Houston’s speedsters to 9-of-28 shooting in the fourth, putting their opponent fourth-quarter shooting at 40.4 percent in the 10 wins. Phoenix forced the Rockets into jumpers and challenged them inside, thanks in large part to the surprise crunch-time play by center Jarron Collins. In 13 minutes, Collins had six points, six rebounds, two blocks and solid screens not seen since Kurt Thomas played for the Suns.” Jason Richardson had a hot third quarter scoring 12 points and finished with 20. Amare Stoudemire added 23 points (game high) and 6 rebounds. Steve Nash had 16 assists. What else do you expect? And did you see that sweet block by Barbosa!?!? Good stuff. We take on the Hornets again Thursday.

So who is going to be the starting QB for the Sun Devils this week vs UCLA on Saturday? Does it even matter? Everybody seems banged up, Danny Sullivan with a bicep injury, Brock Osweiler has a hurt shoulder (non-throwing arm) and Samson Szakacsy has had a bad elbow all year. Szakacsy did a pretty Ok job in the loss to Oregon. From houseofsparky.com; ”It wasn’t ALL bad, however. Samson Szakacsy played well given the circumstances, and it is nice to get him playing time in a loud environment such as Autzen Stadium. He ended up going 13/22 with a TD pass, and he also ran for 9 yards on 5 attempts.” As a fan I don’t know what to expect from these guys anymore and my expectations are low. It looks like Szakacsy is going to get the start for better or worse. From ktar.com; ”With all of those factors in play Erickson is not going to rush to make a decision about who will be the signal caller when the Sun Devils travel to UCLA on Saturday. “We’ll just wait and see, I haven’t decided what we are going to do yet,” Erickson said. Erickson does expect Sullivan and Osweiler to be back and available but will need to see how practice goes throughout the week. In practice Szakacsy is expected to take most of the snaps with the first team this week. If Szakacsy would start on Saturday if would be his first career start.”

I guess they are trying to get more people to go to these games. I don’t know how many people are going to these games. I have heard they are good times, lots of giveaways. Everyone I have talked to has had a good time at the games. The problem is all these fans are mainly in the East Valley. Jobing.com arena is far for everybody unless you live in Glendale. I went to Foo Fighters concert at Jobing.com arena a year or two ago and the cab ride from Scottsdale cost like $90 dollars (I did a little drinking). Insane. To deal with this problem The Coyotes are offering a shuttle service from the East Valley. You can get the shuttle service in combination with a ticket purchase. From coyotes.nhl.com; “Fans who choose to utilize the shuttle service can purchase a $20 upper level ticket or a $30 lower level ticket and will receive a ride to and from Jobing.com Arena from one of two locations. The two pick-up and drop-off locations are the Arizona State University Main Campus (Lot 16) in Tempe and the Gila River Wild Horse Pass Casino (casino entrance) in Chandler. The Wild Horse Pass Casino location will only shuttle fans for weekday games (Mon.-Fri.).”