Mornin Mates...

Today's Topic = Happy Mother's Day

My mother joined my brother and I in Tempe, where we were attending ASU, after she and my father divorced, after a long marriage...

Her parents and sister also lived in the Valley so it was a real homecoming for her...

And, she immediately fell in love with the Sun Devils and became an avid fan throughout the rest of her life...

I don't remember how many football, basketball, baseball and other Sun Devil sporting events we attended together but it was in the hundreds, during the last thirty years of her life...

We had football, basketball and baseball season tickets and seldom missed any games even though we all worked full-time during the week...

She loved Frank Kush and the way the Devils played football under his leadership and was bitterly disappointed when he was fired in 1979...

She also followed basketball but preferred baseball because it was outside and usually played at night by our highly ranked teams...

She attended the first three Fiesta Bowls with us and glowed in the Devils triumphs as we defeated Florida St, Mizzou, then Pitt with Tony Dorsett, and then, after a year's hiatus, we beat Nebraska in, perhaps, the greatest Sun Devil football victory in history...

I don't think any of us came down from Cloud Nine for weeks after that great win and during those days living on Cloud Nine was a Sun Devil destination more often than not, thank goodness...

We never made it to Omaha during the Jim Brock years but were always there when we hosted Regional playoff games at our on-campus ballpark where we sent the Devils to Omaha 13 times under his direction...

Ah, the good old days with so many fond memories of sharing Sun Devil devotion with her and the rest of my family...

My younger sister also graduated from ASU and then worked there as a curriculum adviser for years before retiring...

I guess you could say that Maroon and Gold runs through our veins as all three of her children have degrees from ASU...

On another note, our baseball team is showing resilience and may make the playoffs barring a total collapse at this point...

Thank goodness for Ethan Long and Justin Fall...

My mother passed when Pat Murphy was still our baseball coach and I don't know how she would feel about our current baseball situation but I would guess she would think it was "for the birds" these days and were not talking about eagles, either...

Please share any sports related stories you have about your mothers on this fine Mother's Day in May...

Mom's always know best...Go Devils!!!

AU alumnus Horse trainer Bob Baffert banded by Churchill Downs after his trained horse 🐎 🐴 fails a post Kentucky Derby Drug Test...

Sean Miller was seen exiting the track with bag 💼 of cash... following Loot Ol$en lead.... recruiting trip planned... was boarding Bobby Savers plane ✈️ heading for irrelevance...

Systemic cheaters in ratsville 🐀 🐀 🐀!

Already posted

It took a village of supporters for ASU freshman DB Tommi Hill to conquer various challenges in his life in order to enjoy a successful high school career, and become a spring standout at ASU. An outstanding job here by Mac Friday illustrating the journey of the Sun Devil newcomer.

ASU looking to bounce back against Cal after dropping Game 1 of the three-game series last night 7-2. First pitch is set for 3:05 p.m. Arizona time.

ASU's lineup:

SS: Drew Swift (.327)
LF: Hunter Jump (.284)
2B: Sean McClain (.365)
RF: Ethan Long (.355)
1B: Jack Moss (.330)
3B: Hunter Haas (.314)
DH: Blake Pivaroff (.292)
C: Sam Ferri (.247)
CF: Joe Lampe (.291)

SP: Justin Fall (5-1, 3.83 ERA)

Definitely, one of the offensive lineman prospects the Sun Devils are doing quite well with, and a potential June visit here stands a good chance to truly solidify the process with him

This is a very detailed and up to date (as of 5.7.21) team by team breakdown of all men's basketball transfer movements within the PAC-12:

A 133-pitch performance proved to be effective and aided the Sun Devils in a 6-3 comeback road win over the Golden Bears. Gabe Swartz's game recap

ESPN​

NCAA proposal would reduce contact practices in preseason football camp​

INDIANAPOLIS -- College football teams will be required to hold at least seven padless practices during the preseason and the number of contact practices will be reduced from 21 to 18 under changes proposed by the NCAA's oversight committee Thursday.
The football oversight committee's proposal goes to the Division I Council for approval this month. It is expected to pass and go into effect next season.
The changes to preseason practice come after a five-year study of six major college football teams showed players suffered more concussions during preseason practices than during games.
The committee was considering a new model for preseason camp that included at least nine padless, helmet-only practices to go with eight full-contact practices and eight in which some contact would be allowed and players would be in just helmets and shoulder pads.
Coaches pushed for a few more contact practices and the final model approved by the committee settled on seven no-contact days over the course of 25 preseason practices.


The proposal also bans straight-line contact drills, such as the Oklahoma Drill; limits the amount of full contact in any practice to 75 minutes; prohibits more than two consecutive days of full-contact practices; and reduces the number of preseason scrimmages from three to two.

I offer this photo without comment. Taken from Remy's Instagram story.

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Some key football players on this list

With a new coaching staff in place, 2020 was certainly a period of transition in Pullman, and there’s only so much you can glean from a four-game schedule last year. Has Washington State’s spring practice provided a more encouraging picture following a 1-3 campaign? WazzuWatch.com Publisher Scott Hood shares his observations.

Allowing for other platform members to send short notes for a limited time, during a period of death or injury would allow ASU Nation to share some of our "Goodwill"... case in point with today's death of Texas LB Jake Ehlinger... my heart goes out to 2021 Colts QB Draftee who also loss his Dad after a marathon this year too... prayers from SDN here.. not a big twitter user... lets leverage the resources of the Rival platform...

With Norvell taking the FSU job potentially, it will be interesting to see what Brady White does.

Will he stay in Memphis for a final year?
Will he follow Norvell to FSU ?
Or could he grad transfer back west to somewhere like UofA? (I assume CA is still "home")

The FSU QB commit is now planning a trip to ASU:

One of the most challenging road games on ASU’s 2021 schedule will be their contest versus Washington. It’s a program that the Sun Devils haven’t faced since 2018 and Dwagreport.com Publisher Lars Hanson details the state of the Huskies coming out of spring practice.

1. Kadarius Toney - FL - NY Giants
2. Rashod Bateman - Minn - Baltimore
3. EJ Moore - Old Miss - NY Jets

With Fitz age and pending retirement, giving Murray another weapon would have been my direction.

AZ GM again blows this draft, as the only LB worthy of 1st Round status was taken in Dallas (Stud: Penn State ILB: Micah Parsons).

The move was either to move up to get the LB or take one of the above referenced WRs, or trade down.

Steve Keim is in over his head. As I would replace him with Louis Reddick which is a major upgrade, IMO.

I can see a future "Aaron Rodgers" situation brewing in Arizona with another draft like this.

AZC Draft Grade: D

PS: And yes, I would call Green Bay here, but the Cards do not have the "draft capital" to make it happen, but try!

This is what he's up to

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Soph. QB leaves LSU and looks to be staying in SEC.
Kid has great talent & potential, and would look good in ASU uniform.
Nonetheless, he looks to be looking for an immediate starting position for 2021.
ASU will be a much more attractive QB location for 2022 portal recruits.

Hod, saw another Big10 washout selected the rats 🐀 best for his new home...

My question, what is the problem with ASU recruiting in the east valley in general, and Chandler in particular?

LDU recruiting diaper is now full for 2020 and while this kid’s lack of judgement in going to that train 🚂 wreck, yes CHE train 🚞 just destroyed them last year, the trend of AU being the safe harbor for all Arizona transfers is a bit concerning.

Yes, Gunner Cruz grew up a Sun Devil Fan, yet it’s unclear if we ever showed interest in his transfer options.

In closing, I fully understand that AU is in a desperate mode to acquire as much talent before they lay a few more Terds in the litter box 💩 💩 💩 💩 💩 💩 💩 💩 (yes, that’s 8 of them, to reflect my 4-8 record for them in ‘21) , my real question is do we have any recruiting issues with East Valley HS FB coaches?

Even more interesting that he thanks Sean Miller....I saw ASU doing pretty well with him and then he committed to UA which was kind of surprising. Not saying this has a great chance of benefitting ASU who already has a crowded backcourt, but I could definitely see ASU taking a swipe here because of the prior relationship.

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Three other Pac-12 teams on the list here

Well it’s 3am and my twins have been partying for a bit now. I figure since this is a fairly regular occurrence in my life, I’d start a thread much like @Devil Dust Sunday Walkabout and @TillmanTunnell The Good The Bad The Ugly. I mean, this is a copycat league after all.

Today’s thought - Just eat the dinner I made you!
What is it with toddlers and not eating the food we make them?? It’s the good stuff too. Hot dogs, mac n cheese, pasta, chicken nuggets. They have no idea how good they got it! When we get older, all we want is for someone to make our food for us. It can be liver and onions as long as someone else makes it, right?

I feel this actually shares a parallel with the college athlete today. “Eat” what the coaches are “feeding” you. It’s the good stuff and high in nutritional value. If you choose the ways of a toddler, you might be left hungry and malnourished. (See Ashari Crosswell)