Our own @jared_co wrote this column after Lute Olson passed, and after listening to @EspoAZ's latest podcast with Todd Walsh, I was wondering if any of you had a favorite Lute Olson memory.

Mine was watching a friend of mine, Johnny Cunningham, run over to be the first to shake his hand after getting in the game for the final four seconds of a blowout loss. Cunningham was a walk-on player at NAU out of Sedona High, and seeing how important it was for him to pay his respects to Lute in a meaningless game really cemented the fact in my mind that this man was a living legend while still coaching.

Here's where I'll post all of Chilly's weekly 2-piece shows

First up: May 5

ArizonaVarsity Managing Editor Ralph Amsden
Rivals.com's Alec Simpson
Higley Head Coach Eddy Zubey
Chris Eaton aka Gridiron Arizona
The Sideline Chick
Karina Covington

Players Mentioned:

Zaireon Tramble (La Joya)
Caleb Lyden (Walden Grove)
Joquarri Price (Desert Ridge/UCLA)
Regan Terry (Florence/Arizona)
Mark Chavez (Arizona College Prep)
Logan Corfield (Desert Edge)
Isaiah Newcombe (Casteel WR)
Gavin Smith (Notre Dame)
Gage Dayley (Highland)

Login to view embedded media

The second coach in the 'Building a Program' series: Rancho Solano Prep's Aaron Trigg.

For those of you who don't know, reality TV is my background noise of choice when editing video. Typically, it's competition based shows like The Challenge, and I just jumped into Survivor during quarantine (Season 27...I edit a lot), but I can get behind The Circle or Too Hot to Handle when I need to turn my brain off.

Which current Arizona athlete would have the best reality show?

If it were 36 hours ago, I would say Archie Bradley, but he has found himself in Cincinnati (fun fact: the D-backs had two top-10 picks in the 2011 draft: Trevor Bauer and Archie Bradley. Both now play for the Reds).

Off the top of my head, Diana Taurasi, Skylar Diggins-Smith, David Peralta, Eduardo Escobar, D-Book, Kelly Oubre Jr., Justin Pugh, D.J. Humphries, the Saguaro Cardinals all would be fun pro options.

Maybe players go in teams of two and compete against each other?

Who do you think would make for some good ridiculous TV?

Login to view embedded media
Love doing these live interviews with the athletes who commit from our state. In this show we have Chandler QB Mikey Keene breaking down his commitment to the University of Central Florida and Chandler DB Kentrell Williams breaking down his commitment to Eastern Washington.

If we have a season--looking like it may be Jan-March or a condensed March-May.
Either way I am being hopeful there will be a season..

So let's take a look at my Way Too Early Predictions:

Coach Jimerson @CoachJimerson has been involved for 20 years and wanted to start a track and field forum..

Anyone feel free to chime in.

Please introduce yourself Coach!

Burns lacks homers in his lineup, even with one on the bench.

In one of the classic episodes from a culture-defining show, season 3, episode 17 of The Simpsons broke ground with its star-studded list of legitimate athletic celebrities, but could Mr. Burns have created a better roster? Statistics suggest probably.

“Homer at the Bat” wowed audiences guest appearance list. In the episode, Mr. Burns hired then-MLB players Roger Clemens, Mike Scioscia, Don Mattingly, Steve Sax, Ozzie Smith, Wade Boggs, Darryl Strawberry, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Jose Canseco to play on the company softball team for its championship against Shelbyville. At the end, Homer is hit by a pitch to score the winning run, so the hero comes through.

To call the lineup – actually voiced by each of the players – one with heavy Arizona ties would be a complete stretch, but Steve Sax coached first base for the Diamondbacks for a year and Don Mattingly got some managerial experience in 2010 with the Arizona Fall League’s Phoenix Desert Dogs.

While the starting lineup would have certainly broken ground in a slow pitch softball league in the fictional town, Burns might have done better to simply pluck the starting batters from one of the last decade’s MLB National League All Star teams.

In what is certainly unnecessary analysis, I compared the 1992 Springfield roster’s core batting statistics with those of the past decade’s NL All Star starting lineups. I excluded the DH from each of the past teams, as well as Roger Clemens from the ’92 squad for two reasons: equal batting numbers and because Clemens was hypnotized in the episode and spent the entire final game clucking like a chicken, unable to throw.

Because each of the players on the Power Plant roster have been long retired (the trouble with doing statistical analysis on an episode that aired nearly three decades prior) the simple act of tallying up career statistics would not be fair. The MLB players. Thus, the average of each player’s career batting average, RBI and home runs per-162 were tallied to create an average player from each roster.








Burns actually picked a solid team, in comparison, for batting average. His squad’s .283 is fourth of the eleven, narrowly behind the 2017 and 2010 lineups at .284 and .286, respectively. They could have used Tony Gwynn or any of the other stars of the time to get on base more, but it is still a respectable lineup.

However, when it comes to home runs and RBI, the average player on the 1992 team pales in comparison to recent NL All Star lineups. Even with power hitters like Griffey and Canseco on the roster, the 1992 Power Plant team’s players averaged just 19.38 jacks per 162 games. Just last season, the average player on the NL roster averaged 29.5 per 162, over ten more. As for RBI, the 1992 team barely squeaked by the 2011 lineup with an 81.38 average as opposed to a clean 81. Maybe Barry Bonds or Gary Sheffield could have been a legitimate upgrade.

While solid for a local softball league in 24 hours, as the plot explained, there could have been a far better roster with all of the league’s players to choose from. Monty Burns is a great businessman, but may lack a keen eye when it comes to a career as a baseball GM.

Side Note: eight of the nine players are unable to play due to a variety of comical reasons in the episode. Among the ailments is Ken Griffey, Jr., who experiences gigantism due to too much of a substance Burns calls “Brain and Nerve Tonic.” With Jose Canseco and Clemens on the roster, it could have been far more cutting to take one of them out because of abuse of a performing enhancing substance.

What football team do you think is going to surprise people with their success this season? Also, who is being projected highly that you aren’t so sure of

His game yesterday was phenomenal. He has perfected the step back and his range is from anywhere on the court. Saw a few NBA analysts list him as a Top 5 player currently in the NBA. Anyone agree or disagree? Also where do you think the Suns would be currently if they would have drafted Luka instead of Ayton?

Have always been a HUGE fan of this series. The documentary does a great job of showing the true JUCO grind, especially in this season at Laney College in Oakland, CA, where 6-8 players have to share a little tiny apartment because Bay Area rent is so high. And even then, those are the lucky ones. As you'll see in Season 5, Laney's best athlete is homeless and sleeps in a car. I have a ton of friends that played JUCO ball at these Northern California schools and hearing their stories of how tough that struggle really is, just to try and get another opportunity to play the sport you love at a 4-year University is crazy. Any fans of this show?? Season 6 will reportedly feature a Junior College basketball program @Gregg Rosenberg

What were some of your initial reactions to the NBA players boycotting the games today?

I honestly never thought it would happen, but I’m firmly in the camp of someone who’s glad it did, and glad they are using the platform to stand for something. Hopefully some change comes from it

In this thread I will be reaching out to former Track&Field Athletes. Will focus on why they started running, most favorable moments and what they do now.

Building a Program: Gilbert's Jay Caserio

https://arizonavarsity.rivals.com/news/building-a-program-gilbert-s-jay-caserio

I figured that if 2020 hasn't been a wake up call for an appreciation for personal health, then it's served no purpose at all. So for anyone who wants the extra encouragement and accountability, whether you're intent on getting in shape, or staying in shape, I think it'd be cool to have a thread where you can outline and track fitness goals.

I'm not in great shape, but I have dropped 40 pounds this year, mostly by putting an emphasis on sleeping at least 6.5 hours a night. Heading into 2020, my average over the previous few years was closer to 4:45. My goal is to take the momentum and extra energy and focus on building some better habits. Each week on Sunday I'll check in here and update my progress. If you feel like setting some public goals, I'd love for you to play along.

In order to conquer an enemy, you have to identify it. My three biggest hurdles to getting in shape are 1) a lack of sleep, 2) late night fourth-mealing, and 3) an affinity for comfort (I don't much care for being sore, ).

My overall goal is to drop 60+ more pounds, and develop consistent sleep/exercise routines. I'm trying to get there by upping my sleep to an average of 6:45, putting an average at least 12 hours between dinner and breakfast, and taking in <2000 calories and a gallon of water a day.

As far as exercise goes, I'm nursing a bum left foot and left elbow, but if you want things to be different, you've gotta be different, so I'm shooting for an average of 20k steps a day, and 100 push ups.

We have all covered MANY high school football games here in Arizona? My question is what factors go into where you will be on a given Friday night during the season, assuming its your decision? Is it distance from where you live, certain players or teams that you want to see? Combination, etc....

I usually look for appealing games in Chandler/Gilbert first and if nothing jumps out I'll head to either Ahwatukee or Queen Creek. I'll also look for games where I probably wouldn't see the visiting team often. For instance in week 1 I would have gone to Desert Edge @ Campo Verde

Here's the thread for any and all Phoenix Suns News and discussions...

If you were a head coach of team sport and it is your first season at a program that has been in the doldrums for a few years, what would be more important to have on your roster as you try and build that program:
Chemistry or talent?

I feel like in that first season, I'd rather have chemistry. That first year sets the foundation and tone for the program moving forward. If the team has been bad for a few years, it is vital to get some good vibes surrounding the program. While it is true talent can lead to wins which creates good vibes, but if the talent doesn't lead to winning and the chemistry is bad it can blow up real quick.
Now, if the team is paying poorly that first season but the chemistry not only remains intact but strong then it can start bringing out talent and maybe even draw some talent into the program.

What do you think?

Be Michael Jordan and/or Joe Montana where you go 6-0 and 4-0, respectively, in the Finals and Super Bowl
Or
Be LeBron James, who made eight finals but is 3-5 or Tom Brady who is 6-3 in the Super Bowl.

So unblemished or more appearances but with a few defeats on your record in the big series/game.

I'm Jordan's 6-0 over James' 3-5 but I'd take Brady's 6-3 over Montana's 4-0.
Guess I didn't really pick one side or the other.
How about you?

In this thread I will list all the transfers that I am at least aware of LOL

If you know of a player who has transferred, please chime in with the info!
Thank you

Decided to jump in here and ask for some reactions from all of you surrounding the reports this morning that both the Big Ten and Pac-12 are cancelling the fall football season. Those same reports from Dan Patrick say the ACC and Big 12 are on the fence while the SEC is trying to "buy time" and have other schools join them this season.

Overall, what is your immediate reaction to the news and do you believe this will affect the high school football season here in Arizona?

So--new news..

There is a West Coast POST GRAD team with ALL these kids that missed opportunities to be seen

What happens when your safe haven becomes a potential risk?

Jason Skoda attempts to work through the paternal concerns that come with a return to sports.

via @JasonPSkoda

https://arizonavarsity.rivals.com/news/pandemic-brings-paternal-concern-about-return-to-sport

If you are watching the MLB, you have seen the cardboard cutouts. Some teams have taken to putting former greats in the crowd.
It got me thinking, if you could invite four people involved in baseball in anyway who would you want to attend a game with, talk shop, share a bag of peanuts and sing the seventh inning stretch with if we ever get back to going to games again.
Me - Ted Williams (my favorite player I've never seen play); Vin Scully (shared an elevator with him - just me, him and the elevator attendant - at Chase Field and only managed to say a few words), Tony Gwynn (he and Williams would have an amazing conversation) and Mark Fidrych (for the entertainment value).
How about you?

Was driving around last night and tuned into the D-backs game. Schulte made it clear they were broadcasting from empty Chase Field while watching the game from LA on monitors. Also brought up the fact that there are no fans in LA. Despite all of that, there was fake crowd noise on the broadcast.

I personally am bothered by it. Why act like everything is normal when it obviously isn't? Plus, a low murmur of noise is annoying as it does change with the moment.

Where do you stand?