PHNX DAILY
The PHNX Daily brings you the top sports stories in Arizona every day, delivered right to your inbox! Follow along with all of your beloved AZ sports teams as we bring unique, free content featuring your favorite players, coaches and personalities from throughout the state's sports scene. You can also catch up on the most recent stories from your favorite PHNX writers, check out the most recent podcast from our vast offering of shows, and find all the information needed to see which of your teams are playing on any given day, what time they start, and where you can watch or listen to them. It's all free, delivered to you bright and early each and every morning!
Dec 06Β β’Β 6 min read
Welcome to a Season Defining Weekend
|
β π GOOD MORNING Friday, Dec. 6, 2024 -- Well, to start, I just wanted to extend my deepest thanks to Espo for stepping in and writing yesterday's newsletter after I was, shall we say, an unhealthy scratch with a nasty stomach bug. We'll leave it at that. It's yet another weekend of sports that can have a lasting impact in The Valley -- I'll touch on that below -- but first I want to take a moment to recognize all of the ASU players who received recognition from the Big 12 yesterday. Selections are made by the league's head coaches, and they are not permitted to vote for their own players. Jordyn Tyson: Offensive Newcomer of the Year; All-Big 12 First Team Though he will certainly be quick to deflect any credit to the student athletes, Kenny Dillingham was also (rightfully) selected as the Chuck Neinas Coach of the Year! Finally, a huge congrats to Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan, who was an honorable mention for Offensive Player of the year and was also named to the All-Big 12 First Team. The Wildcats also featured Dalton Johnson, Tyler Loop and Jonah Savaiinaea as honorable mentions. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and if you need a joke to get you through the rest of your day: How did the barber win a race? He knew a shortcut! Let's run it back next week. On to the show! It All Comes Down to This For These 3 TeamsRarely has there been a weekend as consequential in Arizona sports as what's coming up. Arizona State accounts for two of those in postseason play (volleyball and football), while the Cardinals desperately need a win against a division foe to keep their postseason hopes alive. Perhaps the biggest difference between the three is that regardless of what happens with each respective ASU team, their season will be ultimately defined as a resounding success. The Cards, meanwhile ... well ... the jury is still out on that. β±οΈ BECOME A DIEHARD TODAY!
Sun Devils Football Aims for Unprecedented HeightsSaturday morning's Big 12 Championship Game against Iowa State offers the Sun Devils and the fans something that pundits would have laughed at heading into the start of the season -- an opportunity to make the College Football Playoff. Kenny Dillingham's program has continued to impress after being selected to finish dead last in the conference before the season started, and a win in Dallas this weekend would cap an 11-2 season and bring attention to Tempe that would reverberate in The Valley for years to come. Make no mistake, a loss to the 16th-ranked Cyclones would be nothing to be distraught over because the Sun Devils are assured a glitzy bowl game and all the benefits that come with. But even so, it's hard not to daydream about a berth in the CFP. "It's a reward for success, for finding ways to win," Dillingham said. "The most talented teams don't always win, but the way we define sport is through winning. If you find ways to win, that's the reward, is winning. Finding different ways to win, and I think that's the fun part. "We've gotten here, we're in a position to compete and win a championship, and not many people can say that at this time of year." Cardinals Seek Critical Win Over SeahawksJust a few weeks ago everyone was back on the Cards' hype train. They had just won their fourth straight game, maintained their first-place positioning in the NFC West, and seemed to control their own destiny heading into a road matchup against the Seahawks. That game was lost (16-6), along with another tough road loss in Minnesota last week. The latter was even more stunning after Arizona blew a 13-points second half lead en route to the loss, and now the Cardinals look to snap their two-game slide against the Seahawks in what feels like a must-win game in December. "They're playing with a lot of swagger right now, confidence through the roof," quarterback Kyler Murray said of the Seahawks. "It's a division opponent, there's going to be a lot of emotion and stuff like that, obviously, but again, it just comes down to execution." The margin for error is razor thin, and if the Cardinals exit Sunday with a win, it will likely be accompanied by yet another newfound sense of confidence. "The good teams, the great teams, find a way to win those one-score games," Murray said. "That's what the league comes down to. It's very close." ASU Volleyball Can Continue an Incredible SeasonLast, but certainly not least, the ASU Volleyball team can keep its incredible season going with a couple of wins this weekend at Desert Financial Arena, where the Sun Devils are playing host to the First and Second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The thrd-seeded Sun Devils are hosting the tourney for the first time since 1995, and look to build upon a season in which they have gone 29-2 en route to a Big 12 title. Should ASU defeat New Hampshire in its First Round matchup on Friday, it would face the winner of Texas A&M vs. Colorado State.
There's really not much more that can be said about this team, which has demonstrated incredible resolve under head coach J.J. Van Niel, and if the Sun Devils advance to the Semifinal round it would mark the second consecutive season of doing so. "Every year youβre going to have a different identity based on whoβs on the squad, and this year has been definitely one of the better defensive teams Iβve ever been a part of," Van Niel told the PHNX Daily in October. "Theyβre really composed." Editor's note: Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up for the FREE PHNX Daily here, and don't miss out on free, exclusive content about The Valley's top sports stories every morning! ποΈ ABOUT LAST NIGHT... β½ CIRCLE K CIRCLING BACK π¬ THAT'S WHAT THEY SAID
(results to be posted in Monday's newsletter) π GEAR UP π» DON'T MISS OUT |
The PHNX Daily brings you the top sports stories in Arizona every day, delivered right to your inbox! Follow along with all of your beloved AZ sports teams as we bring unique, free content featuring your favorite players, coaches and personalities from throughout the state's sports scene. You can also catch up on the most recent stories from your favorite PHNX writers, check out the most recent podcast from our vast offering of shows, and find all the information needed to see which of your teams are playing on any given day, what time they start, and where you can watch or listen to them. It's all free, delivered to you bright and early each and every morning!