PHOENIX – The Valley is often regarded as a basketball hotbed, home to many of the sport’s greatest talents, but the city’s beloved Phoenix Suns have never hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy.
The Suns, established in 1968, are the oldest NBA franchise seeking its first title.
PHOENIX – After 35 grueling races, the NASCAR season comes down to just one race Sunday, as Phoenix Raceway hosts championship weekend for the fifth consecutive year.
Although 36 cars will be on the track Sunday, only four drivers will be eligible to win the championship:
Joey Logano: Logano is a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion from Middletown, Connecticut. Logano won the 2017 and 2022 NASCAR Cup Series titles. He won at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to advance to the championship four.
Ryan Blaney: Blaney is the defending Cup Series champion. He is the son of NASCAR legend Dave Blaney and hails from Hartford Township, Ohio. Blaney advanced to the championship four following last weekend’s victory at Martinsville Speedway.
Tyler Reddick: Reddick is making his first career championship four driving for 23XI Racing. His car is co-owned by fellow driver Denny Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan. Reddick advanced to the championship four following his victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He hails from Corning, California.
William Byron: Byron is making his second consecutive championship four appearance. Last season, Bryon finished third in the championship race. He advanced to the championship four based on points. Byron will look to capture his first career NASCAR Cup Series title Sunday. He comes from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Although only four drivers who are competing can win the championship, that does not mean that only four cars will be found on the track. All 36 drivers will be competing whether they can win the championship or not. The reason this is allowed is so that points standings spots 5-36 can be finalized and each driver and team can get their end-of-season bonus depending on where they finish.
For the four drivers who are championship-eligible, their path to win is very simple. Finish ahead of the other three eligible drivers and you win the title. For example, Blaney could finish in 11th place, but as long as he finishes ahead of Logano, Reddick and Byron, he wins the championship.
The other 32 competitors who are not racing for a title normally let those four pass them to duke it out. Last year, Ross Chastain ended up winning the race but was not eligible for the title, the first time that has happened since the current playoff structure was introduced in 2014.
Another item to consider this weekend is teammates. In NASCAR, each team has a select number of drivers and the drivers within the team consider themselves teammates. This weekend, two of the four drivers eligible to win the championship are teammates as Logano and Blaney both drive for Team Penske.
Having teammates race one another is not a rare occurrence in the championship race. Over the last 10 championship races, seven of those have had teammates fighting one another to win the championship.
While some see racing your teammate for the championship as a negative, Blaney and Logano don’t.
“Being able to lock in early means there’s more resources to where we can try to get the 12 (car) equally as prepared as the 22,” Logano said.
Blaney added that “I don’t think there’s any challenges. I feel like that’s made up from the outside. It has just doubled the effort of giving two opportunities to bring a championship to Team Penske.”
Coming into this weekend, no clear favorite separates himself. As it sits, most betting markets have defending champion Blaney as the favorite at anywhere from +175 to +250.
When asked about the competition this weekend, the drivers were fairly diplomatic.
“I can cheat the questions on this one because I have a teammate and we kind of got the same stuff, so I would say Joey because hopefully it makes my stuff good, too,” Blaney said.
Byron believes it’s “going to come down to execution and being there at the right time. This race is freeing because it is all about the finish.”
Sunday broadcast coverage can be found on NBC and Peacock starting at 1 p.m. MST and radio coverage on Sirius XM channel 90 and mrn.com.
Ryan Blaney talks to the media before attempting to defend his NASCAR Cup Series title. Blaney could become the first Cup champion to win two in a row since Jimmie Johnson in 2010. (Photo by Natalie Lopez/Cronkite News)Although 36 cars will be on the track Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, only four drivers will be eligible to win the championship. (Graphic by Cooper Burns/Cronkite News)
PHOENIX – Just like that, a season filled with ups and downs came to a sudden end for Phoenix Rising FC, first when the team failed to defend its USL title Sunday, followed by Thursday’s announcement that it was parting ways with interim head coach Diego Gomez.
Gomez and the Rising went their separate ways after the club suffered a 2-1 loss to New Mexico United in the first round of the USL playoffs on the road, abruptly ending Phoenix’s bid for a repeat championship..
“Diego stepped into a challenging role this season, and we’re incredibly grateful for his leadership and dedication to Phoenix Rising,” Rising president Bobby Dulle said. “He brought stability to the team during a critical time, and his impact has been significant both on and off the field. After careful consideration, we believe the best path forward is to look externally for a head coach who can lead us into the next phase of success for this club. We have immense respect for Diego and appreciate all he’s done for Phoenix Rising.” Continue reading “Phoenix Rising FC eyes new coach, healthy roster after disappointing end to 2024 season”
PHOENIX – Before leading programs in Orlando and Tempe, Gus Malzahn and Kenny Dillingham worked together as head coach and offensive coordinator at Auburn University. On Saturday, the duo will face off as head coaches in a student-versus-teacher matchup for the first time as Malzahn’s UCF Knights come to the Valley.
Proteges coaching against former bosses can sometimes produce hostile comments before the game and tense battles on the field (see the Nick Saban-Jimbo Fisher feud). While the final form of the on-field matchup remains a mystery, the two coaches clearly have nothing but respect for one another.
TEMPE – The Arizona Cardinals have had a peculiar season up to the halfway mark. In Week 4, Jayden Daniels and Kliff Kingsbury made their return to the Southwest and embarrassed the Cardinals 42-14 on their home turf. It was not a pretty scene and a microcosm of the team’s ailments up to that point.
The offense was efficient in the pass game but mostly failed to generate significant yardage. The defense was getting run all over to the tune of 216 yards and four touchdowns, allowing a score on every drive.
By Mia Osmonbekov and Kelechukwu Iruoma Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump made mass deportations his signature campaign promise, and in his victory speech Wednesday, he asserted that voters gave him “an unprecedented and powerful mandate.”
Does that mandate extend to rounding up and expelling 11 million undocumented immigrants?
By Amelia Monroe and Madeline Nguyen Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – Ten states considered measures to protect or expand abortion rights on Tuesday. Voters approved seven of those proposals, including one in Arizona that overturned a 15-week ban and enshrines abortion access in the state constitution.
Democrats were counting on these ballot measures to propel their presidential nominee and other candidates.
LOS ANGELES – Thousands of dead fish have been left behind in the waterbed where the Kern River sometimes flows through Bakersfield – not due to drought but to maintenance by the city water department that added to accusations of mismanagement.
Those claims were brought to Superior Court in a 2022 lawsuit by multiple environmental advocacy organizations. In October, Bakersfield argued against the claims, asserting it is not solely responsible for the dewatering of the Kern River.
PHOENIX – Longevity is never a given in any industry. Coaching jobs in the NBA are no exception.
The only current coaches to stay with a team for at least 10 seasons are Michael Malone (Denver Nuggets), Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat) and Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs).
“It’s a sobering reality of our profession,” Spolestra said Wednesday before the Heat faced the Suns at Footprint Center. “I’m forever grateful to the leadership of Pat Riley and the Arison family. They believe in a culture that has stability, structure and a family atmosphere. And there is business to be done. Sometimes there’s tough decisions to be made. Continue reading “From video coordinators to head coaches, history between Erik Spoelstra, Mike Budenholzer runs deep”
Slug: Sports-Diamondbacks Tommy Troy, 1,050 words.
3 photos available.
By Sean Brennan Cronkite News
SCOTTSDALE – Growing up, Gino Groover’s parents told him there is a small amount of truth to any joke. So whenever the Arizona Diamondbacks’ No. 9 prospect gives middle infielder Tommy Troy a hard time for working too hard, a small amount of seriousness is sprinkled in.
“I’d be like,‘Dang Tommy, you’ve been swinging for a minute,’” Groover said. “I always tell him, ‘Save some good swings for the game.’”
Slug: Sports-Arizona Fall League Johnson, 800 words.
File photo available.
By Jalen Weathers Cronkite News
PHOENIX – The USA men’s baseball Premier12 team visited Phoenix Municipal Stadium recently to face Arizona State in a tune-up game as the U.S. prepared for the upcoming World Baseball Softball Confederation Championship.
But for infielder Termarr Johnson of Team USA, it was much more than just an exhibition game.
PHOENIX – Halloween es una festividad divertida y espeluznante para muchos, pero para aquellos que padecen de demencia, puede ser aterradora. Halloween puede causar sobrecarga sensorial e interrumpir la rutina de las personas con demencia, dijo Shannon Lindemer, psicómetra sénior del programa de salud pública Nosotros Comprometidos a Su Salud.
PHOENIX – Social media has served as a powerful conduit for athletes to share their political beliefs. That was never more evident than after Tuesday’s presidential election.
Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić, who is from Bosnia-Herzegovina, spoke to reporters Wednesday about athletes using their social media platforms, while others used theirs to share strong opinions after Vice President Kamala Harris conceded the election to Donald Trump.
PHOENIX – One of the strongest messages to come out of Tuesday’s initial College Football Playoff ranking was the committee’s lack of respect for the Big 12, with its current leader ranked lower than many expected, despite an undefeated record.
BYU was slotted in at No. 9, despite a strong resume of ranked wins over No. 13 SMU on the road, and No. 19 Kansas State. Compared to teams ahead of the Cougars, only Georgia and Oregon have two or more ranked wins based on the committee. Over half of the top 9 have zero as of week 10. All of the teams ahead of BYU, besides No. 8 Indiana, would be considered “traditional” football powers.
All content from our live election blog is available for use on our retail site here. Please credit the relevant journalists and Cronkite News. Photos from our Election Day coverage at polling places, watch parties and beyond are available below:
WHITERIVER – Kaia Aiello, 20, sat on top of her horse, Amoureux, Tuesday and prepared to lead a group to the only polling location in this small town on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation so they could cast votes in the 2024 presidential election.
Aiello is a field organizer for Arizona Native Vote, a nonprofit organization that seeks to amplify Indigenous voices in rural communities throughout Arizona, including on Hopi and Navajo land and the three other federally recognized Apache nations in Arizona.
NAVAJO NATION – On a brisk Tuesday election morning, thousands in the Navajo Nation lined up at precincts and chapter houses to cast their votes in the general and Navajo Nation elections. As ballots were counted and numbers updated throughout the day, the overall feeling was excitement, but there was still uncertainty among voters as voting came to an end.
Supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump set up camp outside voting sites and provided donuts, coffee and many campaign flyers to help spread their respective messages.
PHOENIX – Arizona voters have been swarmed with a plethora of ballot measures. The two most controversial proposals got the lion’s share of attention: Proposition 314, to expand immigration enforcement, and Proposition 139, to codify abortion rights in the state constitution.
But the other 11 proposals would also impact the people of Arizona. Here’s a breakdown of what voters are weighing in on:
WASHINGTON – In a showdown between MAGA and Democrats, Arizona voters faced a choice Tuesday between Donald Trump-backed Kari Lake and Phoenix Congressman Ruben Gallego for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat.
The race is one of a handful of tossups nationwide that will determine control of the Senate.
By Mia Osmonbekov and Kelechukwu Iruoma Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – One of the most closely watched fights in Arizona on Election Day is over a ballot measure giving state and local police the power to arrest undocumented immigrants – the latest volley in a decades-long effort by conservatives dissatisfied with federal enforcement.
Critics have warned that Proposition 314 would lead to racial profiling and harassment of migrants and U.S. citizens alike. Many have viewed it as an attempt to revive the controversial 2010 Arizona law known as Senate Bill 1070, which was largely struck down in court.
