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OK, so the story is that the Suns don’t want to offer Amare Stoudemire six years. Instead they want to offer half that. The Suns met with Amare Tuesday and the meeting lasted three hours. I guess they are going to talk about it some more Today. I just don’t see him coming back. There is a reason the Suns don’t want to offer him a long term contract. His Knees. From azcentral.com:

The Suns improved their offer earlier this month from a February offer that put off Stoudemire. But even a willingness to pay him maximum salaries is not enough, because the Suns do not want to commit to him for the maximum six years, a deal that would pay him more than $130 million but can’t be insured because of his knee and eye history. The Suns saw MRI exams on his knees recently and remain concerned. Walters said they were the same as last year.

Things are changing, Steve Kerr is back to commentating on TNT. I think that has got to be such a cake job. Traveling to watch basketball and getting paid for it. Must be nice. From valleyofthesuns.com:

With his contract expiring Wednesday, former Suns’ general manager Steve Kerr officially reclaimed his courtside seat for TNT Tuesday as the network officially announce his new analyst role. The network released a statement Tuesday, marking the final step in Kerr’s departure after three years as Suns GM. According to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic, Kerr is getting a five year contract. Kerr will begin work as an analyst with the 2010-2011 season. Kerr’s duties will include TNT’s Thursday night doubleheader coverage, NBA All-Star Weekend and the playoffs.

We lose Steve Kerr but we might get Charles Barkley in return. WTF? What a trade. I think Barkleys personalty would be fun to have around again. He is a walking party. On the business side, he is not in favor of signing STAT. From azcentral.com:

“I don’t think it’s a good job right now,” Barkley said. “But I would listen to the Suns because I love Phoenix. I would listen to Robert (Sarver) out of respect for working in Phoenix. But I’ll be honest: I would not re-sign Amar’e Stoudemire.” That’ll get the owner’s attention. “I wouldn’t do it for three reasons,” Barkley said. “One, his knees; two, his eyes; and three, he wants a maximum deal. Now, he’s a terrific player. Don’t get me wrong. But at this stage of his career, he’s never been the best player on his team. That’s not a max player.”

The Arizona Air National Guard is going to be flying around with a Diamondbacks Logo on their planes. I don’t know if I want to fly around in a plane sport’n a Dbacks logo these days. In World War II nose art was seen as good luck and a way to keep up morale. I don’t think either of those things apply to the Dbacks. Edwin Jackson’s no hitter has been the lone bright spot in what has been a disaster of a season. As for tonight, the Diamondbacks did’nt even show up. From azsnakepit.com:

Last night, Arizona might have felt more than a little aggrieved at having contrived a way to lose that one – if manager AJ Hinch has been losing sleep this season, that contest will have been one to keep him awake. He should sleep pretty well tonight, however, for his team were comprehensively outplayed in every department of the game. The Cardinals #2 and #3 hitters combined for more hits than the entire Diamondbacks line-up, and Dontrelle Willis handed out more free passes by the time he got his fifth out, than the St. Louis pitching staff would allow all night.

This season has become like the heat, unbearable. We need some excitement in this town!

This is what I am talking about baby! Cardinals training camp dates have been announced! This summer really seems to be flying by. From cardinals.clubs.nfl.com:

The team will report to NAU the night of Friday, July 30 and begin practice the following day. The Cardinals will break camp on Aug. 21. In all, the team will conduct a total of 25 practices during their three-week stay in Flagstaff. On Aug. 7 the Cardinals will host a special “Red & White” outdoor practice from 9:15-11:15 a.m. The practice will be preceded by a full-team autograph session (8:45-9:10 a.m.) and conclude with a live goal-line session. The Cardinals will also have a pair of Wednesday night practices on Aug. 4 and Aug. 18 from 7:05-9:15 p.m. Those sessions are scheduled to take place at Coconino High School in Flagstaff.

Love Flagstaff, nice cool weather for fans and players alike. It should be a good training camp for most but not everybody. Cardinals receiver Ed Grant will be going into camp knowing he will be missing the first four games of the season due to a suspension levied by the NFL. From raisingzona.com: And how about Deuce Lutui? Holy Hotdogs! Lutui has not missed a meal since the end of last season. Does this guy need to go on the Biggest Loser? From revengeofthebirds.com:

The series against the Yankees mirrored the Dbacks season. A great win followed by tough losses exemplified by our horrible bullpen. Monday was a great 10-4 win. It showcased the best this team has to offer. It was like 2001 all over again. A sellout crowd watched solid pitching by Rodrigo Lopez and outstanding hitting by the likes of Justin Upton. And that was it. The next two games it was the same old story. Dan Haren watched the bullpen allow 8 runs in the 8th inning and Dbacks fell 9-3 on Tuesday. In Wednesday’s 6-5 loss we put up a decent fight going 10 innings but the outcome was a familiar one. How about that attendance! Hate the Yankees if you want but they do draw the fans. From phoenix.bizjournals.com:

The Arizona Diamondbacks are getting a boost from this week’s home series against the New York Yankees. Monday night’s game drew 47,229 fans to Chase Field and Tuesday’s game another 45,776 as Yankees fans came out in force. The D-backs and Yankees end their three-game set Wednesday evening in downtown Phoenix.

Speaking of 2001 and the glory days the Arizona Diamondbacks are going to retire the number (20) of Luis Gonzalez. He’s the first Dbacks to have his number retired and will always be remembered for his game winning hit in game seven of the 2001 World Series. From azcentral.com:

For a franchise moving in reverse, the Diamondbacks are taking an important step forward. They are opening their doors to immortality. They will officially retire Luis Gonzalez’s No. 20 on Aug. 7, reversing team policy that required players to first make the Hall Of Fame. “It’s fitting that he’s first,” Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall said. “He’s the most popular player in the history of our franchise.” “It’s very humbling to be chosen as the first guy,” Gonzalez said. “This organization and the fans in Arizona have meant so much to me that it’s kind of overwhelming to have this honor.”

So should Luis Gonzalez make the Hall Of Fame? Tony Perez got in with a career .279 average and 380 home runs. Gonzales averaged .283 and had 354 home runs over 19 seasons. I think Perez got in because of his time with the “Big Red Machine” of the 1970’s. I don’t know if the Diamondbacks one World Series win will be enough “street rep” to get Gonzales into the Hall. But who knows.

South Carolina jumped all over the Sun Devils Tuesday, beating them 11-4 and sending the Devils home without a title for the 11th straight time. I thought we had one of the best pitching staffs in college baseball. Was something missing? From azcentral.com:

Arizona State’s two starting pitchers at the College World Series were rocked for a combined 17 hits and 13 runs in six innings. Junior right-handers Seth Blair and Merrill Kelly, who came here with a combined 22-2 record, struggled against lefty heavy Clemson and South Carolina lineups. Not having a left-handed starter caught up to ASU here. That role was to have been filled by Josh Spence, who was 10-1 in 2009 with two quality starts at the College World Series. But Spence sat out the season because of an arm injury and now is pitching in the Cape Cod League.

It can’t all be blamed on pitching, we had some costly errors and left a lot of men on base. From phoenix.fanster.com:

It’s certainly easy to point the finger at the pitching, but there were other areas of ASU’s game that were lacking at the College World Series. Their defense put them in a hole Monday vs. Clemson with two early errors. Their offense mustered just 7 runs in two games and batted just .279 after averaging 8.6 runs per game and hitting .338 as a team over the course of their first 60 games. The Pac-10 leaders in home runs didn’t have a long ball. And the team that stole 134 bases prior to arriving at the College World Series didn’t swipe a base until Drew Maggi stole second down 10-2 in the 7th inning on Tuesday.

I didn’t even recognize that team out there. To have such an impressive regular season, to being eliminated in two games. It is disappointing to say the least. Maybe we needed a cool motivational speech or two.

Gooooooaaaaallllll! That was an amazing last minute goal in stoppage time! Landon has stepped his game up. Oh boy, anyways were was I? Oh , the NBA draft. We don’t have a pick in the first round. Go figure. But don’t worry Steve Kerr and David Griffin are on top of things. What’s that? You thought they were gone? Not yet, they still got a job to do, and like good soldiers they are going to see it through. From azcentral.com:

The principal voices in the Suns draft room debated on how they assess players and needs as they form a list of 10 prospects they feel comfortable with drafting and being available at the Suns’ 46th and 60th picks Thursday. Steve Kerr and Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin worked year-round to prepare for this draft, their final acts as Suns employees. The Suns had said Kerr would handle any long-shot contract extension negotiations with Amar’e Stoudemire, but that upcoming final pitch will come from coach Alvin Gentry and Managing Partner Robert Sarver. “We’ve talked about this (free-agency period) throughout the year, so we’ve got a pretty good idea of what our plan is,” Kerr said. “Robert will execute it with Todd (Quinter, Suns director of player personnel) and with Alvin. I’m sure it’ll be very similar to what we would’ve done if it had not changed.

Those guys managed to find talent like Goran Dragic and Robin Lopez ao I feel like we are in good hands for now. Wit all this World Cup excitement I am surprised Steve Nash made it back to LA for his annual “Show Down In Chinatown” charity event. NBA guys playing soccer? Sounds interesting. From valleyofthesuns.com:

On the heels of a drama-packed, 91st-minute victory for the United States soccer team, Steve Nash will continue the soccer fun as he co-hosts the third annual Showdown in Chinatown help children in poverty across the globe. Here is a video of last year’s event courtesy of Fanhouse: charity soccer match at Sara D. Roosevelt Park in New York City tonight at 6. Last year it was guys like Chris Bosh and Grant Hill representing the NBA, and this time around Jared Dudley, Tony Parker, Brandon Jennings and Raja Bell will continue the tradition. And with JMZ in attendance, you can be sure there will be some form of post-game coverage. The event will benefit the Steve Nash Foundation and the Claudio Reyna Foundation, which both help children in poverty across the globe. Here is a video of last year’s event courtesy of Fanhouse:

Thank you Randy for that headline. What does the #1 seed get you? A big bulls eye on your back, that’s what. The Clemson Tigers came out strong and dealt the Arizona State Sun Devils a 6-3 loss. Now the Devils face an elimination game against South Carolina on Tuesday. Oh Boy. From azcentral.com:

Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year Seth Blair struggled for a second consecutive game Monday, an outing that No. 1-ranked Arizona State — unlike in the super regional — could not overcome at the College World Series. The Tigers (44-23) knocked Blair out after 4 1/3 innings (seven hits, five runs) in a 6-3 win that already puts ASU (52-9) on the brink of elimination.

That was a tough game to watch. A lot of missed opportunities. Poor defense and poor pitching cost us this game. From statepress.com:

“He just didn’t pound the zone,” Esmay said of Blair. “This time of the year, whether it’s Clemson or Arkansas, if you’re down in the count, their offense has done some things to get here, and you can’t keep pitching from behind, behind, behind.” Blair seemed to find his groove in the middle stages of the game, retiring six straight in the third and fourth innings to keep ASU in the contest. But Clemson, which tallied 14 hits that were all singles, continued to drive up the right-hander’s pitch count — Blair left after 4 1/3 innings and 110 pitches — and used three straight RBI singles in the fifth to jump to a 5-1 lead. One of the run-scoring singles came on a lazy fly ball to left that sophomore Drew Maggi lost in the sun.

Yeah I said it. Compared to last season the offensive line is better and that is going to make things easier for Matt Leinart and the running game. The Cards O line is ranked 13th, not to shabby. See things aren’t so bad after all. From sports.yahoo.com:

13. Arizona Cardinals: This is probably the one area of the Cardinals that you can say has truly improved over the past year. Every other position has regressed, primarily because of the loss of players. But the Cardinals are hoping they’ll make a transition to being more of a running team now that quarterback Kurt Warner(notes) is gone. With Levi Brown and Deuce Lutui(notes), there are a couple of strong starters and the work of offensive line coach Russ Grimm is outstanding. However, if quarterback Matt Leinart(notes) doesn’t learn to get rid of the ball, there could be problems.

I can’t talk about the Cards without throwing in some Darnell Dockett. Dockett was giving a radio interview for 106.7 the Fan , when he let this fly about Albert Haynesworth not attending Redskins mini camp. From phoenix.fanster.com:

“I was kind of disappointed to see him not want to be a part of his team after he got that money. I feel that he’s making it harder for guys like myself, guys like Kevin Williams, guys like Aubrayo Franklin in San Francisco, guys like Jay Ratliff in Dallas, these guys are going out balling every day showing up to OTAs that are not even mandatory. We’ve got to come and put down our work and show these teams that we want to get paid. Here you got a guy who is one of the highest paid defensive tackle in the league and he’s not even showing up. You making it harder for us to get paid. Teams are looking like, ‘Why should we pay this guy $50-60 million when this team just paid this guy $100 million and he’s acting the way he’s acting?’ I just feel salty by it.”

Watching ASU try to rally against Clemson. These guys had to be up at 6:00 in the morning for breakfast? So if you have been following this Suns drama you know one of the sources of contention is Robert Sarver seemingly refusal to spend any money on the team. So it came as no surprise when Sarver decided to pick up the option on Alvin Gentrys contract instead of offering a new contract and raise. From azcentral.com:

Gentry finished fifth for NBA Coach of the Year in voting based on the regular season. In his first full season as Suns coach, he took a team missed the playoffs last year to a 54-28 record that was fifth best in the NBA and a conference finals run. Gentry still ranks among the lowest paid coaches for the coming season at $1.95 million, which is less than the $2.5 million Terry Porter will receive from Phoenix for being a fired coach. Suns GM Steve Kerr had advocated picking up Gentry’s option and adding a year to the contract.

So how would you feel if you took a team that some doubted would make the playoffs, all the way to the Western Conference Finals and were not offered a new contract? Disrespected? From valleyofthesuns.com :

It was one thing to ask Steve Kerr to take a pay cut, but for Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver to pick up Alvin Gentry’s 2011-12 team option is a slap in the face to the man who orchestrated the chemistry-laden team that was two wins short of the NBA Finals. It is mind boggling that Sarver wouldn’t fairly compensate the man that saved him millions of dollars by returning the Suns to relevancy after the mess that Terry Porter left. Gentry did it all last season, from instilling confidence in youngsters like Goran Dragic, to relating to the Steve Nashs and Grant Hills of the club. And the simple fact that he was able to gain the respect of Amare Stoudemire and keep any tension from reaching the locker room speaks volumes about his ability to relate to his players. He is truly the perfect fit for this group. Yes, a man who finished fifth in the NBA in Coach of the Year voting and led his team to the NBA’s fifth-best record is making less money next season than the sorry, excuse-of-a coach who almost set the franchise back for multiple seasons. It’s mind boggling.

How have the did the Dbacks do this past week? Swept by Boston , Lost the opener to the Tigers. I think we lost like 14 games in a row on the road. This team is bad. Specifically the bullpen is bad and the hitting is inconsistent at best. Our last two seasons our starting pitching has been our strong point. From azsnakepit.com:

The manager is not the problem, learn the game. Our bullpen is just abysmal, do you realize that our bullpen ERA is well above 7.00? The worst full-season bullpen ERA in the past 25 years was 6.16 by Tampa Bay in 2007. The Starting pitching has been realtively good all season. The bats are definitely streaky and the biggest problem there is unproductive outs and hits with RISP. It is absolutely unbelievable that the Dbacks have only won 3, yes 3, games this year where they have scored less than 5 runs. And, just to add I think we should keep Haren, Jackson and Kennedy.

And man, being on a losing team really hurts your shit-talking ability. Take the recent war of words between Miguel Montero and Jose Valverde. These two hate each other. From azcentral.com:

Montero used some choice words in calling Valverde unprofessional after Friday night’s game, in which Valverde, known for his wild histrionics, hopped off the mound after striking out Montero on three pitches. “If you don’t want to strike out, don’t play baseball,” Valverde said. “Sit down on the bench. He was looking for a fastball? No. Go to the cage. “I’m making $14 million for two years,” he said. “And thank god, because that team is in last place.” The Diamondbacks have been unable to get consistent, late-inning relief work since trading Valverde after the 2007 season, in which he recorded a franchise-record 47 saves.

That’s good news for everybody. Who doesn’t like a trip up north for some cooler weather. Flagstaff is good times when it’s 110 in the valley. I like that the team travels and stays together for training camp. I always felt it brings the team together. I wish the Sun Devils still did that. And it looks like the Cards are going to continue this tradition in Flagstaff for another three years. From azcentral.com:

The Cardinals and Northern Arizona University agreed to a three-year contract extension that will keep the team’s summer training camp in Flagstaff through at least 2012. The Cardinals have trained in Flagstaff every year but one since moving to Arizona in 1988. In 2005, they trained in Prescott after a virus broke out in dormitories at NAU. brings an estimated $2 million to northern Arizona’s economy, according to the team. Officials estimate that about 10,000 fans attended the team’s annual “Red and White” practice in Flagstaff.

I love hiking Camelback Mountain. And it looks like the Cards do as well check out this Video of the Cardinals rookies hittin the trail. Welcome to the valley guys.

It takes a lot to take the names of Jan Brewer and Joe Arpaio out of the local headlines. In the last few days Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver has done just that. Sarver has become the bad guy, with fans begging him to sell the team to some one who will spend the money. From azcentral.com:

The drama is becoming ridiculous. This is not to pick at old wounds, how the Suns owner once incensed Joe Johnson, how he wanted to low-ball Alvin Gentry, or how he asked Grant Hill to take a pay cut after playing 82 games for the first time in his life. He has blown through three coaches and three general managers in six years. The culture of ownership clearly is a problem, and why Sarver needs to fade into the background, giving his staff necessary room to breathe and funds to operate. Courtside is too close for an NBA owner. Robert Sarver needs to back off. And if he can’t afford the Suns, he needs to sell the team.

I thought that the only thing we were going to be talking about his summer was where Amare Stoudemire was going to be playing. Was it going to be with the Suns or somewhere else? Now everything seems to be in doubt. It makes Suns fans very uneasy. This has become a stressful summer for Planet Orange. From brightsideofthesun.com:

Hello? Bob? You there? Listen, I’ll be honest, you aren’t looking so good right now. We don’t really trust you and we have no idea what comes next. What are your motives? You can understand us being nervous, right? I mean, are you trying to fund a villa in Nice, or a yacht bigger than most of our homes, or are you trying to get the Suns franchise over the hump and into championship contention? Doesn’t sound like the latter to me. In fact, it kind of seems like every time we have reason to believe we’re going in the right direction as a franchise, you make Negative Nancys out of us.

Just not going to happen. Try as they might the Arizona Diamondbacks can’t get one on the road, losing to the Red Sox 6-2 at Fenway. From arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com:

The losing streak away from Chase Field now stands at a club-record 12 games. The only comfort the D-backs can take is that they did go 6-4 on their recent homestand. That followed an 0-9 trip, a loss in the final game of their road trip prior to that and defeats in the first two of the three-game series against the Red Sox. “To be honest with you, there’s been a wide enough gap between our last road trip and this road trip that I don’t even really want to tie it together,” Hinch said. “We had a 10-day homestand where we played pretty well. We need to find some wins, and I don’t care if they’re at home or on the road, but we need a mixture of both to feel good about ourselves.”

What else happened Wednesday? Oh yeah Sam Demel made his MLB debut. How did he do? Meh.. From azsnakepit.com:

Though that was it for the scoring, there were other storylines at play. For one, Sam Demel made his big league debut, and had a strong inning. He worked through the law agency of Drew, Beltre and Cameron with relative ease, punching out the latter to end the inning. Took just 13 pitches to do it, too. The trade of Conor Jackson was thus declared to be the best thing ever — until we realized that Conor was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored leading off for the A’s tonight. Ah well. Demel received the postgame interview, which was a pleasant switch from having to put up with someone from the winning side. He also had Snyder hang on to his strikeout ball for him. Welcome to the bigs, kid.

We got some arms baby! The Sun Devils have one of the best pitching staffs in the nation giving us an opportunity for a great run in the College World Series. From azcentral.com:

No. 1 ASU (52-8) could get by with two starters in Omaha by winning its four-team bracket in three games and sweeping a best-of-three championship series. But that best-case scenario rarely unfolds, and more often the national champion is the team with the deepest pitching staff, which on paper is ASU or UCLA. The Pac-10 rivals are in opposite brackets and would meet only in the championship series. ASU is 47-0 when leading after seven innings, speaking to the back-end steadiness of Lambson (8-2, 2.10 ERA, 3 saves) and Swagerty (2-0, 2.06 school record 14 saves). Mix in three starting pitchers with double-digit wins and role pitchers such as Rodgers, Patterson and Jake Barrett, and the Sun Devils are perhaps better armed for Omaha than at any time since the Floyd Bannister era (1975-76).

So I happened to be out & about over the weekend and didn’t get a chance to listen to any of the Sun Devils games (keeping score over my phone) which means I missed out on hearing Morgan Ensberg do the color commentary for the games on ESPN. Not everybody is a fan of his work, especially on twitter. From phoenix.fanster.com:

The two running back system, everybody is doing it. The beating a running back takes in this league is to much to bare for a single guy. Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower will be sharing duties in the backfield once again this season. Its a good system because it means not one back has to be out there for every down. It will keep them fresh throughout the game and the season. From azcardinals.com:

Coach Ken Whisenhunt uses multiple backs. That’s a philosophy with which he arrived with from Pittsburgh, the notion that a stable of running backs give a team diverse weapons against an opponent. Maybe it could help a back like for instance, a young Beanie Wells, last a little longer in the NFL – “Let’s face it, if you are getting 50 or 60 snaps as a running back in a game, you’re going to wear down,” Whisenhunt said – but it isn’t the reason for working the depth chart.

Who ever is in the backfield is going to see more carries this year. We can’t have Matt Leinart carry the entire offensive burden. He is going to need help. How much help? Probably a lot. sbnation.com has ranked the 32 NFL starting quarterbacks and has Leinart at number 23. “Weapons galore and an easy schedule, but has a lot to learn.” That sounds about right.