Valley Sports

Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver was on KTAR (620 AM) Friday afternoon. As the interview concluded he engaged in some off-color banter with co-host John Gambadoro. The dialogue was sexual in nature and completely inappropriate, not only for an afternoon talk show but for the owner of a professional sports team.
I could just imagine a father taking his kids to the game, tuning in to the team’s flagship station and hearing Sarver discuss topics that are better suited for Howard Stern and satellite radio.
I also thought: Jerry Colangelo never would say anything like that.
A piece of advice, Robert. You’re not 14 years old. Think before you talk.

Disgraced former NBA referee Tom Donaghy has made some serious accusations about his former co-workers in a book that he hoped to get published but won’t because there’s no corroboration for his charges.
One of Donaghy’s charges concerns the 2007 Suns-Spurs playoff series. You know, the series in which Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended for Game 5. I won’t name the referee here because there’s no way to know if Donaghy is telling the truth, but he alleges a certain official wanted San Antonio to remain in the playoffs because he liked traveling to the city.
The accusation seems ridiculous but it’s sure to rile up Suns fans who still believe the NBA and commissioner David Stern has it out for them.

As I write this, Game 1 of the World Series is less than two hours away. I was right on in my NLCS and ALCS predictions, so I thought I’d try to keep the streak going in the Fall Classic.
Clearly, this is a matchup of baseball’s two best teams. The Yankees and Phillies have proven their superiority, and that could make for a World Series classic.
Who do I like?
Well, both teams have unhittable aces (CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee) and powerful, deep lineups. The Phillies may be the only club in baseball that is New York’s equal one through nine.
The one huge advantage the Yankees have is their bullpen, despite Phil Hughes’ blowup against the Angels in the ALCS. And given the way New York makes pitchers work, thus shortening their nights, the Phillies’ suspect bullpen could be exposed in a big way.
That’s why I like the Yankees in 6.

Arizona State wide receiver Kyle Williams, who leads the team with 34 receptions, didn’t make the trip to California and won’t play in Saturday’s game against Stanford.
Williams has been bothered by a sore hamstring.
Williams’ injury could be significant that both of Stanford’s cornerbacks are making their first career start: Sophomore Johnson Bademosi and freshman Quinn Evans.
On another front, there are whispers throughout the ASU program that sophomore running back Ryan Bass needs an attitude adjustment. Bass was supposed to be a major part of the Sun Devils’ offense, but he is listed as the third-string tailback behind Dimitri Nance and Cameron Marshall.
Reportedly, Bass’ effort in practice hasn’t been to the liking of coach Dennis Erickson. Don’t be surprised if an unhappy Bass thinks about transferring after the season.

Let’s start with the National League Championship Series:
The Los Angeles Dodgers are playing great baseball, and their bullpen is so deep and talented it could make the difference in a seven-game series. Conversely, the Philadelphia Phillies have end-of-the-game issues with Brad Lidge as closer.
That said, I think the Phillies’ top two starters - Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee - will tame the Dodgers’ bats, and Philadelphia’s lineup is just too strong for L.A.’s spotty starting pitching.
Give me the Phillies in seven.
In the American League Championship Series, I just don’t see how the Yankees can lose to the Los Angeles Angels. Their starting pitching is superior, their everyday lineup is superior and they have the unhittable Mariano Rivera to close things out.
The Angels’ only chance is if John Lackey outpitches CC Sabathia in Game 1 and changes the tone of the series. But even then, the Yankees’ power eventually will have its way with L.A.’s pitching staff.
Yankees in six.

Is it just me, or are there more unbelievably bad NFL teams this season than ever before?
The Oakland Raiders won’t win another game this season. The St. Louis Rams are unwatchable. The Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns on Sunday may have played the worst game of the past 20 years this past Sunday. Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson completed 2 of 17 passes, and the Browns won!
I haven’t even mentioned the winless Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Usually, there’s two or three teams that are the dregs of the league. This year, we could have six or seven clubs that fail to win four games.
Conversely, there will be more clubs that finish with at least 12 wins because they have so many sure things on the schedule. The Denver Broncos, for example, play Oakland and Kansas City twice. The Saints can feast four times on the Buccaneers and fading Carolina Panthers.
The disparity makes for some dreadful Sundays. Who wants to watch the Giants drill the Raiders so badly that Eli Manning doesn’t even play in the second half?
At least the Cardinals, even with all their inconsistencies, have a chance to win almost every week. That’s more than you can say for a lot of NFL teams.

Danny Sullivan will remain Arizona State’s starting quarterback for Saturday’s game against Washington State, coach Dennis Erickson said Monday.
Erickson said Sullivan “did some awfully good things” in last Saturday’s 28-17 loss to Oregon State. “He threw it and successfully managed the game pretty well. He did nothing in that game to take away from being the starter in my opinion.”
Erickson also pointed out that, “Sullivan didn’t lose the football game by any means. Everybody was involved with that.”
Sullivan was 32 of 58 for 338 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
Erickson didn’t rule out the possibility of freshman Brock Osweiler playing against the Cougars this Saturday. He said he would make that decision later in the week.
Sullivan was much more composed Monday than he was after the Oregon State loss. He said he received moral support from family members, friends and teammates the last 48 hours and paid no attention to what was being written or said about him.
Sullivan was appreciative of Erickson’s support - “it means a lot,” - but acknowledged that he has to improve to hold onto the starting job.
“Am I going to pick myself up and get better or continue not to play the way I want to play?” he said. “On crucial downs I’m not helping the football team win. It’s frustrating. That’s not the way I want to play. That’s not the way I intended it to be. I’ve got to get better and help this team.”
Erickson said he knows fans are clamoring for Osweiler but that, “when it comes to football decisions, I think I’ll make those.”
In other ASU news:
Defensive end Dexter Davis, the only player in the country to have double-digit sacks the last two years, doesn’t have a sack after four games this season.
Erickson said teams are keeping a tight end or running back in to help block Davis.
“If I was playing us, that’s what I would do,” he said.
Erickson said he doesn’t expect to get injured linemen Matt Hustad (knee) or Zach Schlink (knee) back this week, but center Garth Gerhart (toe) will play, and safety Ryan McFoy (foot) should be back as well.

Just returned to the office from Suns Media Day and thought I’d pass along a few notes:
The most interesting news was coach Alvin Gentry saying that if the season started today Channing Frye would be the starting center rather than Robin Lopez.
The Suns think Frye’s outside shooting touch will help open the floor for Amare Stoudemire, who will have more freedom to play in the lane with Shaquille O’Neal gone.
Does that mean the Suns are down on Lopez? They say they aren’t, but think about it. The team’s needs on the interior — defense and rebounding — are supposed to be Lopez’s strengths, yet Frye likely will start at center.
The Suns are going back to the run-and-gun style that defined them under Mike D’Antoni, but Gentry insisted, “We’re going to be a little more demanding defensively.”
“We don’t have to be Cleveland or San Antonio because we are good offensively,” he said. “But we have to be more consistent.”
Hmmm. Seems like we’ve heard that before.
One interesting note is that Gentry has made Stoudemire a tri-captain along with Steve Nash and Grant Hill. The Suns want Stoudemire to grow up and take some responsibility for how the team is playing, and they’re hoping being named a captain will nudge him in that direction.
Finally, general manager Steve Kerr said he never considered resigning despite suffering through “by far” the worst season of his professional life. Kerr was barbecued for some of his moves and fired his good friend, Terry Porter, after just 51 games.
“It was difficult,” Kerr said … “I definitely deserve a lot of the blame. But part of the job is accepting that and moving forward.”

Just settled into the pressbox here at the University of Georgia. It’s a great environment. The stadium sits smack dab in the middle of campus, and folks were out here tailgating when we drove up more than four hours before the game.
One odd sight: The biggest tailgating spot is a cemetery just east of the stadium. This is college football country, however, so the dead probably don’t mind.
Walked onto the field - before getting kicked off by a security guard - and took a picture of UGA’s doghouse and the statue of UGA behind the east end zone.
A couple of southern things we saw on the way into town: A Smoke and Choke shop that featured anything from incense to bongs and red brick, colonial-style homes everywhere.
Now for the weather forecast: It’s just spitting right now, but a Georgia official said two storms are converging on the area and thunderstorms are expected tonight. If it’s real wet, turnovers could be a problem for both teams.

As you might expect, Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said Wednesday he has no problems with quarterback Kurt Warner or the amount of touches he’s gotten in Arizona’s first two games.
Fitzgerald’s supposed frustration became public Sunday when his younger brother, Marcus, tweeted that Larry was angry he wasn’t getting the ball more against Jacksonville. Fitzgerald has 10 catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns in the Cardinals’ first two games.
“Anybody who knows me and Kurt knows that he’s my closest friend on the team,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s always been there for me and I’ll always be there for him long after I can’t catch or run anymore.”
Fitzgerald said he chuckled when he heard about Marcus’ tweets Sunday, saying his brother “does what he wants to do.”