Valley Sports

“Innings eater.”

It’s not the most complimentary description of a major league pitcher. Translated, it means: “His stuff is not that good anymore, but at least he’ll throw a lot of mediocre innings.”

In other words, think “Livan Hernandez.”

So what do we make of the Diamondbacks’ preliminary signing Wednesday of Jon Garland, the former White Sox and Angels starter who had a career-worst 4.90 ERA last season but has never pitched less than 191 innings in the last seven years?

He’ll definitely help take the stress off a bullpen that lost Brandon Lyon and Juan Cruz. And, unlike Hernandez when he signed with the D-Backs, Garland is only 30 years old.

But instead of spending about $7 million for one year — plus a club option for 2010 — for Garland, why not use that money on Randy Johnson (who got $8 million to sign for one year with the Giants)? You won’t get 191 innings from RJ, but you’ll get flashes of brilliance in between bouts of back/knee pain.

And to see the Big Unit get career win No. 300 in a D-Backs’ uniform? Priceless.

So Phoenix Desert Vista defensive end/prized recruit/annointed messiah Devon Kennard is expected to pick his college of choice on Tuesday.

It’ll likely come down to USC, Texas or Cal.  Sorry, ASU fans, it’s looking like that’d be a Hail Mary at this point.

If Kennard - a top-5 player nationally despite missing most of the season with a torn ACL - picks USC or Texas, so be it. Sun Devil Nation should be able to live with it. It’s not the first or last time a prized player picks these juggernauts. ASU can’t compete with constant national championship contenders and future NFL factories at this stage of the Dennis Erickson era.

And while it would be annoying as can be to have to see Kennard as a Trojan once a year, if he chooses Berkeley, then it’s fair to wonder what’s going on around ASU.

As a program, the Bears have been solid for a couple years, and the school is OK academically (let’s face it, it’s not Stanford) and when it comes to putting people in the pros.

ASU fits those exact criteria, a solid football program (albeit in rebuilding mode) and a solid school academically for Kennard, which is a big deal to him. It’s also occasionally sent a player or two into the NFL.

So if Kennard chooses Cal, it could be viewed as a major blow to the Sun Devils, not necessarily because a great one got away, but because he left for a program which, on periphal view, is practically the same.

Remember all the heat Mike D’Antoni took for not playing his bench players enough?

Here’s a telling statistic from the Suns’ 114-109 loss to the Knicks on Wednesday:

D’Antoni’s bench players on the Knicks played 69 minutes and 10 seconds in the victory, while the Suns got 56:07 of playing time from their reserves.

Suns coach Terry Porter is finding out what D’Antoni knew a long time ago. You can’t go 9 or 10 deep in your rotation unless the guys at the bench can play. And, so far, guys like Robin Lopez, Goran Dragic, Alando Tucker and Jared Dudley have not shown they deserve those minutes.

Interesting speculation from SI.com’s Jon Heyman, who says the Diamondbacks are trying to sign free agent pitcher Jon Garland after initially flirting with guys like Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling. Yes, that Curt Schilling. If the D-Backs had signed Schilling, can you imagine the death stare from the mound the first time Randy Johnson (who left Arizona for an $8 million deal with the Giants) returns to Chase Field?

Heyman also reports the D-Backs had offered free agent pitcher Randy Wolf a two-year deal worth about $13 million, but were turned down.

Garland was 14-8 with a 4.90 ERA with the Angels last season, but is only 29 years old and is an innings-eater — which might help lighten the load on young pitchers like Max Scherzer.

It’s one thing to get embarrassed by the Boston Celtics. But to lose to the New York Knicks then get blown out by the Charlotte Bobcats?

Clearly, something is very wrong with the Phoenix Suns. This team is too talented to play as if it’s the Memphis Grizzlies. From the outside, it appears the players don’t have any confidence in coach Terry Porter. Why, just the other night, after the loss to the Knicks, Shaquille O’Neal was praising Mike D’Antoni for the way he coached defense. If that’s not a shot at Porter, I don’t know what is.

But this is not all Porter’s fault although, at this point, you have to wonder about his coaching chops. The Suns’ draft last June - Robin Lopez and Goran Dragic - was a bust, and that falls on general manager Steve Kerr.

Meanwhile, Amare Stoudemire doesn’t look anything like an All-Star. There may not be a more disappointing player in the NBA this season, and if this keeps up, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Suns shop Stoudemire at the trading deadline.

What a disaster. The only good news is that nobody cares right now because the Cardinals are in the Super Bowl.

First, Sports Illustrated writer Seth Davis talks about the decline of Arizona basketball (and takes some very unnecessary shots at Anquan Boldin in the process), and then the Wildcats go out and help his case by losing to Arizona State on their home court.

This coaching search should be very interesting. Does UA still have the pull to attract a big-name coach? Can Lute’s successor to the throne have the same out-of-state recruiting success? We’ll see. But if I was Jamie Dixon or Mark Few, I’m saying thanks, but no thanks. Not enough left in the cupboard, and too many question marks surrounding the program’s image nationally.

And the foul call at the end of the game Wednesday? Not a foul. Maybe by the exact definition it was, but not at that point in the game with that score. Let the players decide the outcome.

Couldn’t believe the Tribune story about a couple of knuckleheads who who were arrested for burning messages into the front lawn of Eagles QB Donovan McNabb’s home in Chandler — and left behind a sticker that contained their home address! You can’t make stuff up that good.

Almost as good: A colleague offered up this reaction to the story:

“From what I understand, McNabb tried to use a fire extinguisher on them, but he hit one in the ankles and sprayed the other over the guy’s head …”

More bits of randomness from Wells Fargo Arena on Tuesday, as No. 17 Arizona State heads to Tucson to face Arizona in some much-anticipated hoops action Wednesday night.

–Most of us don’t see an animated Herb Sendek, but his players got a double dose last weekend between the USC and UCLA games.
The Trojans scored 40 points in the second half and wound up with a 61-49 win against ASU, which left the mild-mannered Sendek (at least he’s that way with us) fuming.
“I wasn’t happy with our performance and I think one of the responsibilities of the coach is to tell the truth and that’s all I did,” Sendek said.
Jeff Pendergraph: “He was hot, really mad. It was crazy. I’ve never seen him like that before. Just look up the definition and underline everything. Underline all the synonyms and everything that goes along with ‘mad’, and it’s right there. You’ll see a picture of Coach Sendek. After the USC game, that’s what he was. It was crazy.”
Then came the UCLA game, in which the Sun Devils erased an 11-point second-half deficit and allowed one field goal in the final eight minutes of regulation and five minutes of overtime.
“He walked into the UCLA locker room he had the biggest smile I’ve ever seen,” point guard Derek Glasser said.

–2009 has been most unkind to Ty Abbott, who is 7 of 28 from the field since the calendar changed. His rebounding numbers have fallen nearly .5 and his assists are down. There’s no doubt the sprained thumb on his left hand is wreaking havoc with his abilities, and while ASU coach Herb Sendek said it’s getting better and is confident Abbott will be back to his previous self in due time, he also said there’s not much more which can be said to Abbott to get him out of this funk.

–Sendek’s Super Bowl prediction. Remember, Arizona is his new home, but he grew up in Pittsburgh:
“I’m really happy both teams are in,” he said. “Phoenix is my home so I’ve become a Cardinal fan and it’s great to see the hometown team do well. I really respect and admire the job Coach Whiz has done, one heckuva job. You can’t help but be enthralled watching Larry Fitzgerald play. Are you kidding me?

“Obviously I grew up in Pittsburgh and that’s my hometown. From the time I was a little boy I pulled for the Steelers and it’s great to see them in the championship. No matter what happens on Sunday I’ll be happy for the winner. Both teams have had a great year and even if you weren’t a Steeler/Cardinal fan your heart always goes out to the team that doesn’t win a game like that. Especially if you’ve been there in those kinds of situations before and experience that.

Then someone (me) made the mistake of asking for his prediction.

“I don’t know,” Sendek said. “I think the Steelers go in as the favorite with what little I know about football. Right now the Cardinals have proven time and time again, who’s the favorite really doesn’t matter.”

How’s that for sitting firmly on the fence?

…..whichever team makes shots and avoids turnovers.

How’s that for brilliant insight? Not good.

But it’s true. The Arizona State men’s basketball team hasn’t won consecutive trips to Tucson since the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons, and this is a golden chance to end 25 years of inconsistency (or consistent losing).

Because it has a trio of Chase Budinger, Jordan Hill and Nic Wise, Arizona has shown itself capable of beating high-quality opponents (Gonzaga, Kansas, San Diego State). The problem has been a propensity to miss the boat on more winnable games such as last week against USC or early in the season against Alabama-Birmingham.

No external or derived motivation necessary by either side for Wednesday night, and while ‘Cats interim coach Russ Pennell has an intimate knowledge of ASU coach Herb Sendek’s style and his players, the Sun Devils pointed out how their system and development have changed since last spring when Pennell was still the school’s radio analyst.

Try as they might, it’ll be hard for ASU to match their defensive accumen found late in a win against UCLA last Saturday, but after being torched by Jerryd Bayless for 39 points at McKale Center last year, the Sun Devils still won by shutting down everyone else (Budinger was 1 of 12 shooting and four rebounds, and Hill was largely absent with foul trouble).

Point guard Nic Wise is healthy and has played well for most of the season, but he’s no Bayless, and the Sun Devils stopped the best point guard in the league in Nick Collison on Saturday.

Hill will be the key. He’s done a much better job avoiding foul trouble in recent games, and the Sun Devils are likely to have a tougher time dealing with him than Wise or even Budinger. Pendergraph, too, has avoided whistled through most of Pac-10 play, and must find a way to repeat last year’s performances, because the frontcourt is way too thin behind him to put up a fight against Hill.

Arizona State 68, Arizona 61

Who says No. 13 is bad luck? For Valley athletes over the weekend, it was a gold mine.

First, Arizona State forward James Harden scored 24 points to lead the Sun Devils to a thrilling, come-from-behind victory over UCLA on Saturday.

Then, the Suns’ Steve Nash had 18 assists in Phoenix’s victory over the Toronto Raptors early Sunday afternoon.

Finally, quarterback Kurt Warner threw four touchdown passes in the Cardinals’ NFC championship win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

I know what number I’m using in the lottery this week.