Wednesday, September 9, 2020
PHOENIX – Some of the country’s biggest sporting events have taken place in the Valley of the Sun. The Super Bowl, College Football Playoff’s National Championship and the NCAA Men’s Final Four have all called Arizona home at least once since 2015, with some of them due to return in the next few years.
So what’s missing from this impressive resume?
“It’s in our DNA to host these championships,” Brooke Todare said. “For us, the Women’s Final Four is the missing piece of that.”
Todare, who played golf at ASU, is co-chair of the local committee pushing for Phoenix to host the NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2026. She and her team made a virtual pitch to the NCAA Thursday.
“We made sure to tell the story as to why Phoenix is where they want to be in 2026,” Todare said in an interview with Cronkite News.
Phoenix previously bid to host the 2007 Women’s Final Four, but lost out to Cleveland. Todare believes the NCAA won’t pass on Phoenix this time.
“Since the ‘07 bid, we’re a completely different city,” Todare said. “We’ve made the investments needed to host these events … I think it’s just the perfect package for the NCAA and their student-athletes.”
Along with improved hotels and better public transportation, Todare cited the $230 million renovations to Talking Stick Resort Arena as one of the main reasons why this bid will be different from the last.
“Any time you can show a beautiful new arena and the investments being made in that … That’s extremely attractive for the NCAA and the women’s basketball committee,” Todare said.
Todare believes hosting the Women’s Final Four would help Phoenix economically more than the other tournaments because it would take place in the heart of downtown, as opposed to State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
“What’s unique about this championship is its entire footprint is downtown,” Todare said. “It would be extremely beneficial for the state from an economic standpoint to have it.”
According to Visit Tampa Bay, where the 2019 tournament was held, 21,000 people visited Tampa Bay for the tournament, and with them came a $16 million impact on the local economy.
But for Todare, hosting the tournament means more than just an economic boom.
“That’s not entirely our focus in going after this,” Todare said. “We just believe in the diversity of the event, what it’ll bring for the community, and what the NCAA championship coming here can do for their coaches and student-athletes.”
Todare and her team’s main focus is on preparing for the bid’s final pitch later in September, but their presentation Thursday gave them confidence.
“I don’t think we could’ve done anything differently or better,” Todare said. “We put our best foot forward, we had all the right community partners show up and participate, and we all feel really, really good that we were able to show them why Phoenix is where they want to be in 2026.”
Thursday, September 3, 2020
The Arizona Interscholastic Association is allowing the upcoming high school fall sports season to proceed after recent state metrics show COVID-19 cases on a downward trend.
Football practice for many Arizona high schools could begin as soon as Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7.
“The metrics have gotten to a place that we can start football practice,” AIA Executive Director David Hines said. “We can get kids in a helmet and shoulder pads and begin doing work.”
During a special meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 2, the AIA Executive Board voted in favor of endorsing guidelines set by the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee. The SMAC guidelines include social distancing, staying home when sick and no physical contact like high fives or fist bumps.
Modifications are being made to team schedules, and the qualification process for postseason advancement. The AIA plans on announcing the updates shortly once finalized.
Schools across the state will have control over when they allow fans back to watch the fall season in person. For more information, contact your local school to see if they’re allowing fans in the stands.
The 2020-2021 winter sports season is still expected to start one week later than previously scheduled to accommodate for amendments to the fall sports season, according to the AIA Executive Board.
AIA Fall Sports Schedule:
Football
First Practice: Sept. 7
First Competition: Sept. 30-Oct. 3
Championships: Dec. 11/12 (4A-6A & Open)
The 1A-3A conferences are currently discussing possibilities for length of their regular seasons and when to hold state championships.
Friday, August 28, 2020
Multiple Major League Baseball teams followed their lead. The Arizona Diamondbacks did not on Wednesday, but on Thursday elected not to play.
“Today is not necessarily about not playing. It’s about creating an avenue to discuss why we aren’t playing. … It’s about making people better, making people aware,” pitcher Archie Bradley said.
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Arizona Daily Star Sports Columnist Greg Hason tweeted prayers for Olson would be welcomed by the Hall of Fame coach while commenting on how he is "in the fight of his life" and ESPN Tucson radio host Justin Speers tweeted "He is easily the most beloved person in Tucson."
If you believe in the power of prayer, your positive thoughts would be welcomed by Lute Olson. The Tucson legend is in the fight of his life.
— Greg Hansen (@ghansen711) August 25, 2020
The 85-year-old coaching legend suffered a stroke in February 2019 and rarely has been seen in public since.Lute Olson is Arizona basketball. Lute is Tucson. Didn’t matter what side of town you grew up on, Foothills or the South Side, he brought so many Tucsonans together every year with his teams. He is easily the most beloved person in Tucson.
— Justin Spears (@JustinESports) August 26, 2020
I’m in disbelief right now.
Olson is the most successful basketball coach in UA athletics history since arriving in the Old Pueblo in 1983. During his time, he led the Wildcats to an NCAA national championship in 1997, three NCAA Final Four appearances, 22 NCAA Tournament appearances and won 11 Pac-10 championships before retiring in 2008.
UA Football defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil tweeted his support for Olson during this time.
Wildcats Radio 1290 assistant program director and co-host Michael Luke tweeted the station would not be discussing Olson's health until a statement from the family is released.Many prayers for my friend and fellow Wildcat Lute Olson. We love you Coach. 🙏🏼 #BearDown
— Chuck Cecil (@chuckcecil26) August 26, 2020
Regarding Lute Olson:
— WildcatsRadio1290 (@Wildcats1290) August 26, 2020
On 1290, we won't be addressing the rumors about Coach's health.
This is, and always should have been a private matter for the family and we will continue to respect those wishes.
When, and if, there is a statement released we will address it.
-Mike
Olson even got some love and support from the voice of his biggest advesary—the ASU Sun Devil nation. ASU announcer Tim Healey commented about the coach's graciousness when interviewed on Healey's pre-game show years back.
Prayers up from Sun Devil Nation for Hall-of-Fame former UA MBB coach Lute Olson. Lute was always gracious with his time visiting with me for pregame interviews when ASU played his Wildcats. The 1990’s Bank One commercials with Lute & Bill Frieder were TV classics! pic.twitter.com/VEtXAI1idP
— Tim Healey (@TimHealeyASU) August 26, 2020
One Olson fan's tweet sums up how we're all feeling right now.
Man. Don’t take Lute Olson. Fuck 2020. 😪
— Michael Evenchik (@Jewlympian) August 25, 2020
Monday, August 17, 2020
That could lead to cuts to equipment expenditures and, perhaps, to smaller sports programs that depend on revenue from football in the fall and basketball in the winter.
High school sports in Arizona have been stopped, revived and delayed again under state orders and limits issued by the Arizona Interscholastic Association, the governing body for high school sports. But the situation is fluid, similar to that of college and professional sports pondering whether it’s possible to have a 2020 season at all.
“You miss hearing the sounds of the gym and the weight room,” said Pete Jelovic, athletic director at Centennial High School in Peoria. “Even when school starts, the passing periods or the lunch periods, you hear all of those things and you get to interact and you build up towards events.
“We miss having that interaction on our campus and that routine, and just the daily things that happen on a high school campus. We would like to get back to normal as quickly as possible, but we also have to do it safely.”
Tuesday, August 11, 2020
Scott laid out the conference's decision in a press release on Tuesday afternoon, saying the communal spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus was still too rampant to risk players' health.
"We will continue to monitor the situation and when conditions change we will be ready to explore all options to play in the new calendar year," Scott's statement to the media read.
During the call, Scott discussed his desire for all fall athletes to maintain their current year of eligibility, while maintaining their scholarships as well. Scott addressed the realities of the virus, saying that holding events in a "bubble," where student-athletes are isolated from the rest of a given campus, was not realistic.
"This was an extremely difficult decision that we know will have impacts on our fans and student-athletes," Scott said.
University of Arizona Athletics Director Dave Heeke said he and his staff supported the decision.
This is an incredibly difficult outcome for the entire Wildcat Family of student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni and supporters," Heeke said in a prepared statement. "I have a great deal of empathy for these student-athletes and the impact this will have on them personally. Representing our University, community and state in competition is the foundation of the mission of Arizona Athletics and the Wildcat Way. However, the endless hard work of our student-athletes, coaches and staff in preparation for Fall seasons is something we can all be proud of. The work of everyone who represents the Wildcat Way over the last five months has been an outstanding display of unity and resiliency."
Heeke said the Athletics Department would continue its reentry planning with other university departments.
University of Oregon President Michael Schill, who heads the Pac-12 CEO Group, which is made up of conference presidents and chancellors, said the ongoing uncertainty led to the cancelation.
"Our number one consideration all the way through was the health and safety of our student-athletes," Schill said. "Ever since this nightmare began about how we would approach this with intercollegiate athletics, we listened to all of the views and we determined that there’s just too many questions and uncertainty to feel comfortable beginning contact sports on-time."
Scott said the conference will continue to monitor the virus' spread, with an eye toward beginning competition whenever it's safe to do so. The conference's goal, according to Scott, is to push back the start of the winter sports season to early January, while playing football and other fall sports at an undetermined time in the spring.
"We feel a responsibility to try to give some of that responsibility and clarity. We want to give student-athletes time to plan," Scott said. "As soon as we feel comfortable and it feels safer and we feel more comfortable, we’re going to play."
That comfort level was not where it needed to be, especially given the travel and logistical demands of a given season, according to Dr. Doug Aukerman, who serves as the senior associate athletic director at Oregon State University.
"As we looked at traveling and making sure that we could stop the spread of coronavirus if a staff member or athlete got it, we felt that we had to shift to a mindset to not just stop spread, but to immediately remove anyone that has coronavirus right way," Aukerman said.
Thursday, August 6, 2020
The AIA board voted for a staggered athletics season based on the information received from AIA member schools through a July online survey. Factors like student and personnel safety protocols that can be easily administered by athletic directors and coaches across the state helped board members reach a decision.
"The health and safety of our student participants, coaches, officials and essential personnel, including volunteers, is the primary concern for the return of interscholastic athletics and activities," AIA Executive Director David Hines said. "We are very grateful to those who share our commitment of a return to these highly beneficial educational activities and athletics."
Fall sports will continue to proceed under the out-of-season/summer rules as a part of AIA’s Bylaws and Policies until the first day of practice. The fall 2020 interscholastic athletics calendar will be shorted to accommodate for winter sports at the end of the year. All fall sports will still have an opportunity for a championship tournament.
The AIA Executive Board is made up representatives of member schools, each with concerns of how to proceed forward with interscholastic sports during the pandemic. While members brought up numerous concerns about the difficulty of creating a streamlined approach for schools statewide, they ultimately agreed upon the schedule below:
Football
First Practice – Sept. 7
First Competition – Sept. 30-Oct. 3
Championships – Dec. 11/12 (4A-6A & Open)
Thursday, July 30, 2020
There are few things more important to a high-school athlete that his/her senior season. It is the culmination of years of preparation and it generates memories that last a lifetime. But now, due to a coronavirus pandemic that hasn’t been properly addressed throughout this country, untold numbers of Arizona’s high-school athletes are in real danger of suffering the same fate as the Spring athletes in the Class of 2020—the cancellation of sports and a gaping hole in their high-school experience.
There were ideas floated about flip-flopping Fall sports (football, volleyball, and others) with Spring sports (softball, baseball, track & field), with the thinking being that the latter are almost completely non-contact and would be safer while the pandemic was still active (or raging, as the case may be). This didn’t sit well with baseball coaches, whose players already lost last season and stood a good chance of losing the 2020-21 season, as well, should there be another flare-up. Some football coaches have signed a petition, asking that their seasons be moved.
There’s a better solution: Just move everything back.
Spend the next couple months starting the educational process, with the focus on getting kids back into school when it is safe to do so (for both students and teachers). Assume that science will come to the rescue with a vaccine late in this calendar year (and that there are enough people who aren’t crazy anti-vaxxers); it should be safe to start preparing for sports sometime after Thanksgiving.
Friday, July 24, 2020
Play Ball! Diamondbacks Start Season Tucson Tonight, FC Tucson Is Back on Soccer Field Sunday The Phoenix Mercury will be honoring the life of Breonna Taylor by showcasing her name on the back of every player’s uniform when their season begins Saturday against the L.A. Sparks in Bradenton, Fla., the team announced.
And the Suns’ Deandre Ayton told the media on a Zoom webinar call on Thursday that he plans to have the messaging “respect us” on the back of his jersey.
Taylor was a 26-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot by police when Louisville officers came into her apartment abruptly on March 13 while using a no-knock warrant to search for drugs during a narcotics investigation. No drugs were found in Taylor’s apartment and the warrant was made in connection with a suspect who did not share the apartment with Taylor in any way.
Major League Baseball and professional soccer are trying to salvage what’s left of their seasons with a shortened number of league games, coronavirus checks before matchups and playing in empty arenas.
The Arizona Diamondbacks kick off their season opener against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park in San Diego this evening, beginning a three-game series this weekend. The matchup will be broadcast on FOX Sports Arizona at 6:10 p.m. MST.
Experts predict the victor of this weekend’s series will be poised to take second place in the NL West division, behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, who in the top spot. The D-Backs faced the Dodgers earlier this week in this season’s brief two-game spring training but were blown out by a score of 9-2 on Sunday, July 19, and 12-1 on Monday, July 20.
Major League Baseball shorted their typical 162-game season down to a mere 60 games in addition to hosting games in crowd-less stadiums. The league is also testing players for the virus before the start of games. Before Thursday’s season opener between the Washinton Nationals and New York Yankees, Nationals star Juan Soto tested positive for COVID-19 and will be out of the season until he recuperates.
While the D-Backs battle the Padres, professional soccer club FC Tucson is on their way to Florida to face Inter Miami II for their season opener on Saturday, July 25 at 4:00 p.m. Just like MLB they too won’t be having attendees at their matches. However, that isn’t the case for all the clubs within the league—USL League One, according to FC Tucson President Amanda Powers.
“You’ll find that some of the USL marketed teams we’ll be playing against will actually have fans in the stadiums. Games in Tucson will not,” Powers said. “While we won’t be having fans at Kino Sports Complex, we will be streaming all our games on ESPN Plus and also hosting a drive-in watch party at El Toro Flicks Carpool Cinema.”
