• Slug: Sports-High School Softball Preview, 1,200 words.
• 3 photos available.

By Brett Lapinski
Cronkite News

MESA – The 2024 Arizona high school softball scene is already ablaze. With the regular season beginning this week for numerous programs, multiple state-wide preseason tournaments took place last week to prepare teams for their quest for stardom. However, no tournament may have had a more star-studded cast than the Lion Country Classic.

Founded and hosted by Red Mountain High School since 1996, the Lion Country Classic has served as one of the premier tournaments in Arizona.

“I truly think we have one of the best tournaments in the state,” Red Mountain coach Rich Hamilton said. “Including us, the teams we have in this tournament always have a shot to win the state championship.” Continue reading “Hungry Giants: Top Arizona high school softball teams ready for regular season following Lion Country Classic”

• Slug: Sports-Phoenix Mercury Additions, 1,200 words.
• Photo available.

By Tia Reid
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The 2023 WNBA season was one to forget for the Phoenix Mercury. Despite the triumphant return of Brittney Griner, the team struggled to a 9-31 record and last-place finish.

On June 25, the Mercury fired second-year head coach Vanessa Nygaard after a 2-10 start. Questions about Skylar Diggins-Smith and her dissociation with the team hung over the organization for the duration of the season. On July 10, it culminated in general manager Jim Pitman announcing that he was stepping down at the end of the season, clearing the way for the Mercury to start fresh.

Enter Nate Tibbetts and Nick U’Ren. Continue reading “Kahleah Copper, Natasha Cloud excited for new beginnings with Phoenix Mercury”

• Slug: Sports-ASU Basketball Sousa, 1,080 words.
• 2 photos available.

By Jayla French
Cronkite News

TEMPE – Even while repping maroon and gold for the Sun Devils in Tempe, Isadora Sousa plays with another group of females in mind.

Originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sousa is a graduate student playing in her final season for the ASU women’s basketball team. Eventually, she hopes to play professionally back home and possibly one day coach, with the intention of paying it forward to other girls who want to pursue the opportunities she has had.

“This is what I want to do regardless of if I play or not. Something that I can help the basketball girls be more valued in Brazil,” Sousa said. “Eventually outside of there, just keep being supportive for other girls to have the sense that I had to come out here and have a free education and a free ride scholarship.” Continue reading “From Brazil to Tempe, ASU’s Isadora Sousa inspires on and off basketball court”

• Slug: Sports-Coyotes Concerns Arena, 660 words.
• Photos available.

By Zach Mott
Cronkite News

TEMPE – The Coyotes have hit a roadblock.

Arizona has dropped its past 13 games in a row, dating back to Jan. 22. With several tough games upcoming, it’s worth noting that the longest losing streak in Coyotes history stands at 15 games. With the season spiraling out of control, it’s a record the Coyotes certainly don’t want any part of. All the while, rumors continue to swirl off the ice about the future of the Coyotes franchise.

“It’s noise. You need to deal with that,” Coyotes coach André Tourigny said. “It’s the professional athlete life. Contract negotiations, trade rumors. In our case, those rumors, it’s part of the job. One day it will be something else. We want to be a championship team, and one day we’ll have other kinds of distractions. We need to learn to live with it.” Continue reading “Unlucky No. 13: Arizona Coyotes skid nowhere fast in wake of ongoing arena concerns”

• Slug: Sports-ASU Local Gymnasts, 1,880 words.
• Photos available.

By Grace Del Pizzo
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Earlier this season, at a gymnastics meet in Utah, ASU graduate student Gracie Reeves tugged on her teammate Kayla Lee for a last-minute pep talk before they were set to compete in the beam event.

“‘Look at this, like, we made it here together,” Reeves told Lee.

The Sun Devils teammates had competed together in gymnastics clubs since childhood en route to the collegiate stage, but a point of reflection in Salt Lake City put into perspective their local ties and the unique opportunity before them. Continue reading “Hometown pride: Local gymnasts keep Arizona State program rooted in the Valley”

• Slug: Sports-LPGA Tour Gilbert, 980 words.
• Photos available.

By Jesse Brawders
Cronkite News

GILBERT – When the LPGA Tour was created in 1950 by 13 brave women who decided they were good enough to play professionally, there was no blueprint for them to lay out how to create a professional sports circuit for women.

These ladies did everything themselves, from writing their own press releases, to setting up the courses before tournaments, to traveling via caravan to ensure that their dream would turn into a reality.

Not everyone was ready to accept women in sports in 1950, so the early LPGA Tour golfers even created signals to communicate among themselves and keep each other safe during events. Continue reading “Ford Championship 2024 marks milestone moment for LPGA Tour in Gilbert”

• Slug: Sports-Topps Card Signing Mansion, 870 words.
• 3 photos available.

By Aaron Schmidt
Cronkite News

SCOTTSDALE – With a backyard that includes a pool, baseball-themed putt-putt golf, the “Chrome Throne” and complimentary haircuts, who would turn down a visit to the Topps Spot?

It was an offer that more than 160 current and former baseball players simply could not refuse.

At a rented 10,000 square-foot, three-story mansion in Scottsdale – dubbed the “Topps Spot” – Cactus League ballplayers are able to escape the craziness of spring training and sign their own baseball trading cards for numerous Topps Series packs. Continue reading “Topps Spot: A week-long card-signing event in Scottsdale mansion draws Cactus League players”

• Slug: Sports-Coyotes Losing Streak, 634 words.
• Photo available.

By Josh Jones
Cronkite News

TEMPE – The Arizona Coyotes dropped an 11th straight game Wednesday to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but making matters worse at Mullett Arena, the home team finished the game on the wrong side of history.

In a sea of blue and white, the Coyotes were heavily overshadowed by the electricity provided by Leafs forward and Arizona native Auston Matthews, who netted his 50th goal of the season to aid in delivering Arizona a 6-3 defeat.

Matthews became the fastest American-born player to reach 50 goals in a season, hitting the milestone in 54 games. He is on pace to score 76 goals this season, which would make this the 15th season with at least 70 goals scored by a player. Continue reading “As losing streak mounts, Arizona Coyotes endure through growing pains in uphill battle”

• Slug: Sports-Royals Brady Singer, 730 words.
• Photo available.

By James Lotts
Cronkite News

SURPRISE – Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer faced a harsh reality last season that most major leaguers are dealt at some point in their careers – baseball can be an unforgiving sport.

The right-hander is coming off an inconsistent year plagued by a nagging back injury that ultimately shut him down in September. He finished with a 5.52 ERA in 29 starts with a career-high 159 ⅔ innings.

During spring training, Singer is still working on learning how to navigate the highs and lows of playing professional baseball ahead of the 2024 MLB season. Continue reading “‘I feel really good’: Brady Singer poised for redemption season with Kansas City Royals in 2024”

• Slug: Sports-Suns Second Half, 1,600 words.
• Photo available.

By Asher Hyre and David Bernauer
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Coming into the 2023-24 NBA season, expectations were sky-high for the Phoenix Suns.

They brought in new coach Frank Vogel, swung a blockbuster deal for Bradley Beal, pulled off a trade for starting center Jusuf Nurkic and starting wing Grayson Allen, unveiled new uniforms and partnered with Arizona’s Family to broadcast games. With Devin Booker the only remaining player from the 2021 Finals team, president of basketball operations James Jones and team owner Mat Ishbia reformed the team in their image.

“You can’t guard all of us at once,” Durant said about the Suns’ Big Three ahead of the season. “Play fundamentally sound ball, don’t turn the ball over, rebound, and we’ll be in solid shape on offense.” Continue reading “From early struggles to midseason success, retooled Phoenix Suns target championship run in second half”

• Slug: Sports-Isaiah Jackson ASU, 500 words.
• Photo available.

By Mason Byers
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Arizona State outfielder Isaiah Jackson is laser-focused early into the baseball season, and his teammates are feeding off his energy.

The Sun Devils are off to a 3-1 start, and much of that is thanks to Jackson’s production. He has started the new season off strong, posting 13 RBIs, three home runs, and two doubles while batting .421 through the first four games. This is the hot start he has been working toward since the end of last season, hoping more MLB teams will notice his talent.

A key difference through four games for the sophomore slugger can be viewed through his maturity. Last season, Jackson would go into slumps after tough strikeouts. However, this season, he has fought through early struggles. Continue reading “Isaiah Jackson’s explosive start to ASU baseball season a tribute to self-belief”

• Slug: Sports-Cactus League Media Day, 1,000 words.
• Photo available.

By Tyler Bednar
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The college sports world is changing at a dizzying rate. From drastic conference realignments to incessant movement in the transfer portals to millions of dollars available for athletes from name, imagine and likeness deals, it’s sometimes hard to keep up with the new world order.

And now there’s another potentially seismic shift on the horizon.

On Feb. 5, Laura Sacks, the National Labor Relations Board regional director, announced the Dartmouth College men’s basketball team could unionize. The date for players to vote on unionization, which could have a longstanding impact on college athletics, is set for March 5. Dartmouth’s appeal date is also set for March 5. Continue reading “How Dartmouth College’s men’s basketball unionization case could impact athletes at Arizona State, University of Arizona”

• Slug: Sports-ASU Perez Journeyman, 1,220 words.
• 2 photos available.

By Maxwell Williams
Cronkite News

TEMPE – Many can relate to the feeling of the first day of school, especially that of a new school environment. New opportunities, relationships or, in some cases, a fresh slate of teammates and coaches. For Sun Devils guard Jose Perez, ASU marks his fourth location of on-court action in five seasons.

“It’s just adjusting to a new system, and that’s what is going to happen in life. You have to adjust to new people,” Perez said.

Last year, Perez posted an impressive season with the Manhattan Jaspers in the Bronx, where he averaged almost 19 points per game, followed by a change to West Virginia where he enrolled in the spring 2023 semester but did not compete. Continue reading “Through scenery changes, ASU journeyman Jose Perez has always been a ‘winner’ on the court”

• Slug: Sports-Cactus League Media Day, 700 words.
• Photo available.

By Aaron Schmidt
Cronkite News

GLENDALE – Although the Arizona Diamondbacks fell to the Texas Rangers in the 2023 World Series, the team’s improbable postseason run sent shockwaves throughout the baseball world.

That was the vibe at Cactus League media day Tuesday, when general managers and front office executives praised the Diamondbacks’ success and acknowledged they are a force to be reckoned with as the 2024 campaign approaches.

“The Diamondbacks have a lot of momentum,” Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black said. “I see balance. From a lineup that has power within the lineup, speed, a team that plays defense. That’s a really good team.” Continue reading “MLB managers praise Arizona Diamondbacks for improbable success in 2023”

• Slug: Sports-Diamondbacks Bullpen Preparation, 900 words.
• Photo available.

By Aaron Schmidt
Cronkite News

SCOTTSDALE – Around this time last year, it was evident that the Arizona Diamondbacks had a bullpen problem. Now, the bullpen would seem to be the least of the team’s worries.

Last season, a set strategy appeared non-existent after the team finished with the league’s sixth-highest bullpen ERA (4.58) in 2022. The club ultimately went the closer-by-committee route, only for that strategy to occasionally break down in high-pressure situations.

By July, the Diamondbacks posted a record of 49-34 and sat in the middle of a postseason race, but the bullpen was still struggling. To solve this lingering issue, the team traded for Seattle Mariners closer Paul Sewald at the trade deadline, filling the closer hole and bringing a sense of ease in tight games. Continue reading “‘Looseness to this group’: Arizona Diamondbacks bullpen enters 2024 spring training with sense of relief”

• Slug: Sports-Cactus League Preview, 2,700 words.
• Photo available.

By Sean Brennan
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – It’s that time of the year again. Baseball is back and every fan wants to know what their team looks like heading into the new season. As spring training begins, the Cactus League is shaping up to field some of the most exciting teams in the league.

Home to both 2023 World Series teams, the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks, the Cactus League will already be looked at closely. But there is one team that has separated themselves from the pack.

All eyes will be on the Los Angeles Dodgers after their offseason additions of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto pushed them into being a favorite to win the Fall Classic. Continue reading “Swinging into spring: Previewing every Cactus League team as countdown to 2024 Opening Day begins”

• Slug: Sports-Diamondbacks Focus, 860 words.
• Photo available.

By Sean Brennan
Cronkite News

SCOTTSDALE — A connected team is a dangerous team.

That’s a phrase Arizona Diamondbacks fans became quite accustomed to throughout their team’s 2023 World Series run. While the catchphrase gained popularity and recognition on social media in manager Torey Lovullo’s postgame speech following the wild-card victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, the squad adapted the mantra throughout the entire 2023 campaign – and for good reason.

Entering last year, few had the Diamondbacks — who had spent the previous three seasons in a rebuild — on their radar as contenders. ESPN projected them to win 76 1/2 games, good for fourth in the National League West Division. Instead, Arizona posted an 84-78 record and marched all the way to the World Series for the first time since the franchise won its only title in 2001. Continue reading “Connected, dangerous and complete: Arizona Diamondbacks aim to cement place among MLB’s elite teams”