The Good
Bring out the Brooms: Sweeping a Pac-12 opponent is always nice. While WSU doesn't have the tradition that other programs do they were an 8th inning HR in game 3 away from taking a series from Oregon State last week.

Young and Old: When was the last time ASU threw 2 shut outs in a conference series? Friday night the Devils threw 3 freshmen at the Cougars for a 6 hit shutout. All pitch counts below 70.
Then on Sunday we came back with the 6-6 240 pound red shirt junior lefty who threw 6 2/3 innings of 2 hit baseball.

Flashing the Leather: ASU's fielding % is sitting at a red hot .980.
Up from .974, .976, .964, and .967 the previous 4 years
That's the kind of defense that lets a pitcher pitch to contact

The Bad
Left Field: Nobody that plays here seems interested in hitting the baseball. I love the idea of Major playing here because our line up could use a 6'6" 215 pound veteran in it but I don't blame Skip for giving AB's to some of the other guys.

The Ugly
UofA pitchers gave up 18 earned runs to the Ducks today. That's ugly.

1) Oregon St = 4-1 and 16-5

2) ASU = 4-2 and 15-5

3) UCLA = 4-2 and 15-7

4) USC = 4-2 and 10-9

5) Stanford = 2-1 and 14-3

6) Cal = 2-1 and 14-8

7) AU = 3-3 and 16-7

8) Oregon = 3-3 and 12-6

9) Utah = 2-4 and 5-13

10) Wazzu = 1-5 and 12-8

11) Wash = 0-5 and 8-12

So far, the Devils have dominated both Utah and Wazzu at home, the 9th and 10th place teams as of now and lost a series to the Ducks, on the road, who are now in 8th place...

This next weekend we host the Cats and that should be a more even match-up that should tell us a lot more about where we may end up in the PAC by the end of the season...

Go Devils!!!

Jaylin Conyers had a strong practice with starting TE Curtis Hodges ill and out. He started out with an effective block on D Black for pass in the flat to Rachaad White. The majority of his snaps were from the slot and others in-line with his hand in the dirt

7 targets
5 receptions
33 yds
2 TDs

keep grinding on the blocking/learning in-line TE duites, the receiving is already our best option at the position

Mornin Mates...

Today's Topic = What a difference a week makes

Before this past week started, I think most of us were wondering what the heck was going on with our basketball program as some experienced players were entering the transfer portal, Bobby was out of sight but not out of mind, and nothing but crickets were heard coming from Ray's office...

Was Bobby looking for another job..??

Why was Ray incommunicado about the basketball program..??

What in the world was going on..??

At the conclusion of this past season, one of my dreams at night was one that included a fork shaped dumpster on fire, moving at a good clip down the Salt River somewhere in the Valley, that represented our men's basketball program...

Then this week rolled around and suddenly the dumpster fire turned into a bonfire rally in front of the Sun Devil basketball arena, with Bobby leading the cheers of the fans, after he got three very significant recruiting commitments from highly rated players...

So, within three days...Thursday, Friday and Saturday...we had commitments from a four-five star center from Canada by the name of Enoch Boakey, a transfer from a wing player who was the star of his former college in PA by the name of AJ Bramah, and a transfer from Boston College, a combo guard, who led his team in scoring this past season, by the name of Jay Heath...

All of a sudden the perceived dumpster fire was put out by Bobby and his staff and the fans, including me, were back on board thinking we just might have something fairly big in the making by next season...

I'm not sure what best describes the turnabout...Holy Mole, Gadzooks, Epic and just plain Amazing, just amazing...

I went from fitful sleep to all of a sudden sleeping pretty peacefully at night...

Here's a related question for you...

How much did the PAC's tournament performance help Bobby's recruiting of these players, if any..??

It sure didn't hurt that we got four teams into the Sweet 16, did it..??

And, now we have Oregon St in the Elite 8 and will have at least another PAC team in the Elite 8 as Oregon is playing USC this later today in Indiana...

That's pretty incredible, given that we didn't have any highly ranked teams in the tournament to begin with, and now the conference is pretty well outshining all the other conferences to gain a lot of credibility for the PAC...

And, here's another related question for you...

Would the PAC have done nearly as well as it has done if PAC refs had been officiating their games in the tournament..??

If so, what does that say about our refs..??

On a different note, our football team will have a Spring game today although it won't be much more than a glorified practice...

And, since hot shot QB AJ Duffy is on campus will he announce his commitment to ASU, in the coming days, as we have come to believe that he will..??

Stay tuned...

The baseball team is tumbling along like tumble weeds and are located in the middle of the PAC so far and it will be interesting to see if they can end up doing much better than that as the season progresses...

Especially looking forward to seeing how they do against the Cats this next weekend in Tempe...

That's it for me this fine Sunday and hope that all of you remain safe and have a great week...

Are you all sleeping a little bit better these days given the recent developments within our BB program..??

G'day Mates and Go Devils!!!

Follow along for updates from Arizona State's final spring practice of 2021.

Devils lead Wazzu bottom of 6th 5-0...Go Devils!!!

ASU trails 4-3 heading to 8th.

Devils sleep walking since 1st at the plate.

ASU gives up 4 runs in 6th.

We continue to blow multiple runners on base, no outs and zero runs scored.

Poor plate approach with ASU being outhit 13-7, so far.

Looks like a "heat wave" hitting Tempe ... expect temps in high 80's..

Even if the allowed all to attend, most capacity metrics would be in the low 20's...

Can't see more than 5-6,000 fans for an ASU Spring Game, but I'm sure they will again "over-manage" the process and continue to "limit" and drive fans away... "paper pushers remain in control"... let's all get off our collective butts and go support these kid who are working so hard...

Due to Hod celebrating his birthday, I was brought in from the bullpen for Friday's practice.

The team was in helmets and pads in the Dickey Dome for the penultimate spring practice before they hit the field in Sun Devil Stadium this Sunday.

Due to our location within the bubble it wasn't easy to make out the faces of those lifting in the opposite corner, but here's the best personnel news that I could muster.

Senior safety Evan Fields, who returned and took reps on Monday was not dressed and went through a full lift on the sideline.

Junior defensive lineman Jermayne Lole was at his second practice of the spring and also went through a workout.

Joining Fields and Lole in the lift group were sophomore reciever Ricky Pearsall, redshirt freshman kicker Jack Luckhurst, and redshirt freshman defensive lineman Amiri Johnson.

Senior tight end Curtis Hodges was at practice but was not dressed.

Didn't see freshman offensive lineman Triston Miller, redshirt freshman offensive lineman Alijah Bates or freshman wide receiver Chad Johnson - who has turf toe at the moment and was in a boot on Monday.

Freshman offensive lineman Sioene Veikoso (ankle) was not dressed and did not condition.

Here's the two deep from the bubble - almost same exact group from earlier this week.

First team offense

QB Jayden Daniels
RB Rachaad White
OL left to right Kellen Diesch, LaDarius Henderson, Dohnovan West, Henry Hattis and Ben Scott
WR Johnny Wilson
WR LV Bunkley Shelton
WR Andre Johnson
TE Jalin Conyers

RB Chip Trayanum split reps with White

Most of the first team defense sat on the sideline today, allowing for second-teamers and players further down the depth chart to get reps against the first team offense.

First team defense

Right defensive end Travez Moore
3-technique Shannon Forman
Nosetackle TJ Pesefea
Left defensive end Anthonie Cooper
LB Eric Gentry
LB Caleb McCullough
LB Connor Soelle
S Cam Philips
S T Lee
CB Tommi Hill
CB Ed Woods

Jordan Clark filled in at the nickel, swapping for several of the linebackers.

Second team offense

QB Trenton Bourguet and Finn Collins rotated
RB Daniyel Ngata
OL left to right Isaia Glass, Ralph Frias, Cody Shear, Jarrett Bell, Spencer Lovell
WR Elijhah Badger
WR Geordon Porter
WR Giovanni Sanders
TE/H-back Case Hatch

Freshman tight end/H-back Ryan Morgan rotated in for reps, as well as freshman wide reciever Cade Cadam.
Armon Bethea rotated in at guard with Frias as Glass got to play the lion share of the practice. Freshman running back DJ Taylor got some reps in at running back towards the end of the practice

Second team defense - retained bits and pieces of first team group

Right defensive end Travez Moore
3-technique TJ Pesefea
Nose Corey Stevens
Left defensive end Stanley Lambert
LB Jacob Jornadal
LB Jordan Banks
LB Will Shaffer
S Vicenzo Granatelli
S Alijah Gammage
DB Keon Markham
DB Macen Williams

Sophomore safety Kejaun Markham, sophomore defensive back Chandler Fincher, freshman defensive back RJ Regan and freshman walk-on safety Jean Boyd III all rotated for reps at corner.

Friday's primary focus was situational preparation and light individual drills, as well as incorporating a lot of younger faces ahead of Sunday's final spring practice at Sun Devil Stadium. The starting offense flowed well going through its motions, shifting through offensive coordinator Zak Hill's final preparations before Sunday. Johnny Wilson, LV Bunkley-Shelton and Andre Johnson all looked excellent running their routes and Jayden Daniels delivered perfectly-placed passes over and over again. The threesome of receivers, along with Geordon Porter and Elijhah Badger rotating in for the fourth spot, practiced double-doubles sets and trips to each side.

The running game looked strong, with good push and execution from the front five, who now know how to work with each other and it's becoming increasingly evident as they progress. Chip Trayanum and Rachaad White looked explosive in each of their own ways per usual, White with his speed and shiftiness, Trayanum with his explosiveness and ability to stay up through tackles and congestion on the line of scrimmage.

The team spent a good portion of time practicing onside kickoff recoveries with the hands team and applying situational incentives. Special teams coach Shawn Slocum kept painting scenarios for the hands team such as: "We are up by 13, there's just a few minutes left on the clock and the other team lines up to onside...."

Sound somewhat familiar? Seems as if the USC loss is a major incentive to improve in the special teams department. Those amongst the hands team included Wilson, Hatch, Porter, DeAndre Pierce, Chase Lucas, Merlin Robertson, White, Woods, Darien Butler, Conyers, Kyle Soelle and Bunkley-Shelton further back for return duties.

The wide receivers took a lot of individual route work today, focusing on hands and releases. Badger, Wilson, Porter and Johnson all stood out amongst the group.

On punt return, Jack Jones, DJ Taylor and Tommi Hill all caught kicks from Logan Tyler and Michael Turk, who both looked to be in great form. Turk had two punts that landed inside the 10-yard-line with perfect bounces to stay out of the endzone for good field position.

In 7-on-7 drills, Daniels connected with Badger on four consecutive plays, all for a variety of routes and distances.
T Lee had two interceptions in the drill, one being a deflection off of Regan after a contested pass to Andre Johnson from Trenton Bourguet. The other was a pickoff in the endzone just a few plays later on a short pass to Sanders.

Daniels thrived in the 7-on-7 drills, connecting with Johnny Wilson for two touchdowns in just three plays. The first was a 40+ yard strike to Wilson on a go route to the right corner of the endzone. The ball fluttered perfectly in the air before dropping into Wilson's arms with perfect timing. Two plays later, Daniels connected with Wilson again, this time for an incredible grab in the back of the endzone, with Wilson just getting a foot in bounds for a score. Daniels was also able to connect with Conyers for a short touchdown.

Practice ended with several periods of live 11-on-11 with the second offense against a multitude of defenses ranging, primarily made up of players from the second and third groups. Ed Woods was the biggest standout, deflecting passes intended for Badger and Cadam with precision. Corey Stephens and Travez Moore each logged sacks.

Overall, the younger defense completely halted the efforts of the second-team offensive platoon. With most of the starters and veterans on the sideline, they were treated to a show and seemed to thoroughly enjoy watching the younger guys go at it. Cadam dropped a surefire touchdown ball in the endzone, sending the first team offense into raptures from the potential excitement, yet unfortunate ending of the play. Jayden Daniels and Geordon Porter ran what looked to be 15 yards in the opposite direction with massive smiles on their face. Herm Edwards and Marvin Lewis cracked jokes, comparing Cadam's play to a baseball player taking his cap off and waving to the crowd thinking he hit a home run, but not so.

Fire away with questions!

Happy birthday to the one, the only, Hod Rabino. Thank you for your selfless work in providing us our ASU information. You are greatly appreciated and I am fortunate to know you as a friend. Hod, you are not only an awesome journalist, but you are an even better person and I admire how you juggle everything that you do. Have a great day!

Gabe Swartz's recap

ASU Softball team is a fun team to watch and last night was nothing short of amazing. Down 4-0 to the #6 UW they scored 2 in the 4th, 2 in the 6th, and then walked it off on the wildest pickle play I’ve ever seen Login to view embedded media

Arizona State (12-5) hosts its first Pac-12 series of the season with Washington State (12-5) visiting Phoenix Municipal Stadium. First pitch tonight at 6:35 p.m. Here's how the Sun Devils line up:

CF: Joe Lampe (.340)
SS: Drew Swift (.348)
2B: Sean McClain (.390)
DH: Ethan Long (.385)
3B: Hunter Haas (.313)
RF: Kai Murphy (.265)
C: Sam Ferri (.262)
1B: Jack Moss (.222)
LF: Kade Higgins (.400)

SP: Brock Peery (2.08 ERA)

Just a reminder that he will announce his school choice at 4:00pm Pacific Time today...

His final four choices are ASU, Nevada, St Bonaventure and Western Kentucky...

He is 6'7" 210 and averaged 21 pts on 51% FG shooting, along with collecting 10 rebounds per game, last season at Robert Morris...

He is a big priority for Nevada coach Steve Alford who is making a living at Nevada with transfer players and already has recruited six Div 1 transfers in his two years at the school...

However, the Wolfpack is already at their limit of available scholarships right now, apparently...

I don't know who the favorite is to get Bramah and the Devils didn't start recruiting him until very recently but they made his final four choices so don't know exactly what that may mean...

BTW, Steve Alford got a 10 yr contract from the Wolfpack when he was hired after being let go by UCLA...

I don't know if the Wolfpack has the inside track on Bramah's services or not but they really want him...

As an ASU fan I wonder if the commitment of Enoch Boakye yesterday would have any impact on what Bramah does or not...

But, at least it's clear now that Bobby will be at ASU for the time being...

Go Devils!!!

ASU deservedly mentioned here

The Dolphins just traded the #3 pick in the draft.

In return they get the 9ers next 3 first rounders plus a 3rd round pick this year.

Dolphins Trade:
- 2016 1st round pick
- Kenny Stills

Dolphins get
- 2021 1st round pick
- 2022 1st round pick
- 2023 1st round pick
- 2021 3rd round pick
- 2021 2nd round pick

That is an incredible haul. That franchise has rebuilt itself in a hurry. Good for them

The University of Southern California (USC) has reached an $852 million settlement over hundreds of sexual abuse allegations against a former head gynecologist at the student health center.

The school agreed to the "global settlement in principle" to settle litigation regarding the alleged behavior of George Tyndall, lawyers for the victims announced in a statement shared with The Hill.

The settlement means that USC has payed over $1.1 billion for claims against Tyndall. USC agreed to pay $215 million in 2018 to settle a federal class-action lawsuit over alleged Tyndall's behavior.

The administration of all programs, health, education and sports, just to name a few, are being held to a different level of accountability. The NCAA is going to also learn this with its poor performance in their basketball tournament. This is just the beginning.

NCAA Presidents & ADs will need to be carefully implement programs to mitigate & monitor these risks.

It's not coming, it's here.

USC was just served notice to value young women's private health care and their physical safety.

These types of cases will have an impact on safety of our young adults, the coaches/teachers/doctors we we trust them with, and the much needed requirement of personal integrity & accountability.

This has got to leave a "mark" on SC and the financial hit, net of insurance protection will serve as a "wake-up call" to begin to fully understand what it really means to be a "fiduciary".

My prayers are for the healing & future protection of these young women, and all our children in this great country.... protection & value of all children & people is core to what we stand for as Americans!

Let's not only hold our leaders accountable, but let them know we appreciate their efforts to "do it the right way".... Thank you Dr. Crow, Ray, CHE and ASU Staff.