In most cities, there’s a “down” time for sports. Phoenix used to be that way, but not anymore. There is no rest for avid sports fans here in this major market called the valley of the sun. As I check the date, it’s March 5th…..and there’s so much going on right now (but then again, you can say that for every month of every year here). The Cardinals just signed the guy they HAD to sign….Kurt Warner is in for two more years and he deserves every penny he got! The Suns are trying to break through and be among the 8 playoff teams. It’ll be tough without Amare Stoudemire, but they should do it. By the way, Alvin Gentry is now 6-4 as head coach. The ASU Sun Devils are still vying for their first conference title in basketball and no doubt will be in the NCAA Tournament. Once you get in, who knows what can happen in March Madness. Of course even if ASU didn’t go, the valley would still be buzzing because we host a west regional this year.
Baseball needs it’s own paragraph. The regular season will be here in less than a month so right now spring training takes center stage. The Diamondbacks are going to get good pitching this year, but the defense and baserunning will have to improve. Hopefully that “timely” hitting from 2007 will return too! I will certainly have my eye on what Mark Reynolds does this season. I’m still shaking my head that he set the major league record in strikeouts AND led the league in errors last season!!!!! Let’s see how long Bob Melvin sticks with him as a starter if those numbers don’t drastically decrease. I know he’s got power at the plate, but if you’re going to strike out 204 times, you better hit at least 40 home runs and drive in 130!!! Matt Williams is working with him at third base this spring, so hopefully that will cut down on his errors. Most of his miscues last year were because of bad throws…..I never saw Williams make a bad throw in his career, so Reynolds can really learn from him. (I guess I should’ve said “Mark Reynolds” needs his own paragraph!!!)
Anyway, as a big sports fan, I’m excited about where we are right now in the valley and hopeful the Cardinals good fortune will be contagious.
My family can relate. We moved to AZ in 1990 from Colorado Springs, CO. We’re a sports loving family…not just as viewers, but also as participants. In CO, the baseball, softball, soccer, swimming, hiking, golf, and cycling seasons are very short. The only sport of our interest that wasn’t affected by weather conditions was basketball cuz you could play that indoors. My husband and I spent countless times on the sidelines of soccer fields at 8am in JUNE wearing ski parkas, ear muffs, gloves, and knitted neck scarves while watching our kids play. Then by 1pm of the same day we were wearing shorts at their baseball games. When we moved to AZ, our kids were thrilled that they could get an all-day pass at the local Jr. High School swimming pool for 50 cents. Not to mention, they could play all the above mentioned sports year round. Another great thing…there’s sooo many neighborhood parks here where you can play OUTDOOR basketball until 10pm when the park lights go out. Most are pick-up games, so you can just walk up to the court and ask to join in!! It’s no wonder that so many good athletes come out of AZ…they get so much more playing/practicing time than most other states!