NOTE: Keep monitoring this post for the most recent updates; we’re adding new info to the bottom as we learn more.

Pat Murphy has resigned as the head coach of the ASU baseball team, according to a press release from the Sun Devils media relations office.

More to come.

UPDATE (1:37 PM): Wanted to get that first fact out there before anything else. Here’s some follow up information, according to the ASU media relations office:

“Arizona State University baseball coach Pat Murphy announced his resignation today. An interim head coach will assume responsibility for the program until his replacement is selected.”

Murphy’s career highlights over 16 years in Tempe include four Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors, back-to-back-to-back Pac-10 titles in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and four trips to the College World Series, including one appearance in the National Championship game, a 21-14 loss to USC in 1998.

His Sun Devils also made trips to Omaha in 2005, 2007 and 2009. None of those teams made the 3-game championship final, though the ‘05 team came one win short.

This is obviously major, major news. Michael Kossett, the rest of the Fanster.com staff and I are keeping on top of the story as it develops.

UPDATE (2:35 PM): Brian Foley from The College Baseball Blog just alerted me to a note at the end of an article by Aaron Fitt from Baseball America:

I just got off the phone with Oregon State coach Pat Casey, who had not yet heard the news about Murphy’s resignation and was understandably stunned. Casey is one of Murphy’s closest friends in the college coaching world, and the fact that Casey hadn’t heard this news indicates that this decision was not planned well in advance. Casey even said he spoke with Murphy on the phone “the other day” and Murphy did not say anything about a plan to resign. Reaction in the baseball industry—scouts, agents, coaches—has been shock across the board.

So, take that for what it’s worth.

UPDATE (4:43 PM): A few things for the “for what it’s worth” category as the flow of information on this story has slowed down significantly:

1) Out of most everyone I have talked to and heard from on this topic, they all share one common sentiment: “Wow, I didn’t see this one coming.”

2) The laws of irony have spoken - I fired up the iPod on the treadmill a short time ago, with my only clean workout shirt being a 2009 Pat’s Run tee on my back, and the first song that came on was “Ready Or Not (Omaha, Nebraska)” by Good Charlotte. It’s one of the songs ESPN uses for their College World Series coverage.

UPDATE (5:00 PM): Some highly cryptic comments from AD Lisa Love were just published by Jeff Metcalfe:

“It’s been a long, hard couple of years and an arduous process. Pat is where he is, and we’re where we are. It’s an amicable parting dictated by Pat.”

Maybe I’m reading too much between the lines, but this seems to me that Love is insisting that Pat was the one who went to the department to offer his resignation, but it doesn’t sound like Lisa put up too much of a fight to keep him.

Unsurprising. And apparently we’re now calling three straight Pac-10 titles and two trips to the College World Series a “long, hard couple of years and an arduous process.”

Meanwhile, Arizona State is taking on San Francisco at Wells Fargo Arena and Fanster.com’s Michael Kossett told me VIA text message that the latest chatter is that the resignation may link back to a combination of  ”wanting more money for the team, recruiting, assistant coach issues and a rough relationship with the AD.”

UPDATE (5:15 PM): Pitchfork Nation is trying to confirm rumors from a source that two former Arizona State assistant coaches were recently served by the NCAA in regards to the two-year old investigation into potential violations.

This comes despite Lisa Love saying in Metcalfe’s article that Murphy’s sudden resignation has nothing to do with the investigation, which escalated from an independent internal one into a query led by the NCAA itself.

UPDATE (5:34 PM): Our good buddy Nick Kosmider (one of the 10 Sun Devils you should follow on Twitter) and the State Press has the first comments from ASU players on Murphy’s resignation. They scream of a team who had no idea this was coming.

Kole Calhoun: “This is a sad day for ASU. … Nobody thought this was going to happen when we came to lift this morning, but it did and now we can just move forward. No matter what happens with leadership or whatever else is going on, our goal is always to win a national championship, so that’s where we stand.”

You'd be better off watching the exploits of the rag-tag Texas State Armadillos than actually watching real college football this weekend.

Segment 2 (23:17) - Thank goodness it’s a better weekend of action in the NFL, and we talk about it in segment 2. The Cardinals travel to St. Louis to take on the Rams looking to push their record to 7-3. Michael and I talk about what we’re looking for from the Cardinals in what should be a tune-up game for them.

Segment 3 (35:40) - It’s a giant hoops segment in which we cover the Suns’ bad loss to the Hornets and the reason why it doesn’t really matter anyway, the Sun Devils’ upcoming games against San Francisco and Duke and Arizona’s sloppy win over Rice.

STBNL Thursday - It’s a weak week in college football

Download audio file (show1120.mp3)

Their free throw shooting is an entirely different story.  Did you know the league average from the stripe is 75%?  Well, the Suns are shooting a dismal 71% as a team.  Remove Steve Nash from the equation and they’re sitting at a Shaquille O’Neal-esque 68%.

Puke.

For a team filled with shooters, they sure have a hell of a hard time hitting water falling out of a boat making their free throws.  Perhaps Shaq poisoned the whirlpool (the Suns shot made 78% of their free throws the season before he arrived,) or maybe the team thinks Nash’s incredible performance from the line will magically rub off, but this is an issue that needs to be fixed and pronto.

Second chance points are hard enough to overcome.  Not making the most of free points makes things even more difficult.

all stats from the indispensable basketballreference.com

Steve Fan and I decided to take a gander at the Suns’ remaining schedule for this here month of November and make uneducated guesses as to how they’ll enter December.  Red hot?  Ice cold?  Lukewarm?

Mark McLane:

Note: I wrote this before the Hornets game last night.

My unabashed cynicism was often pointed out during our podcasts last year with Michael Schwartz of Valley of the Suns.  While I’d like to think it had a lot to do with the ups and downs of the season, I’ve never been nearly as hopeful as our very own Ben York (it’s an impossibility.)  Sure, I pointed out the Suns had a very real chance to make some noise this year and win 50+ games, but my optimism was still very guarded.

The Suns hot start has been incredible and has brought plenty of excitement to the McLane house.  However, I’ve found myself waiting for the other shoe to drop, a four or so game losing streak where our squad looks overmatched and lost.

The shoe isn’t dropping anytime soon.

With another grind it out comeback win over the Rockets on Tuesday night, the Suns have begun to chip away at my resolve to expect the worst.  It’s been said again and again, and it’s worth saying one more time.  From top to bottom, this team plays for each other and they’ve been a joy to watch.

Including tonight’s matchup with the Hornets in New Orleans, the Suns have five games remaining in the month of November.  They return home to face Detroit and Memphis, and head back on the road to Minnesota and Toronto.

• @ New Orleans - W
• Detroit - W
• Memphis - W
• @ Minnesota - W
• @ Toronto - L

That’s right, I’m looking for wins in four of their next five.  The Hornets, Grizzlies, and Wolves are very winnable games, and with none of the five coming back to back, the Suns old bones will get plenty of rest.

Time for a Kool-Aid refill…

Steve Fan:

The Suns surprising start (10-3) despite the unexpected loss to the CP3-less Hornets has been the hot topic around the League, but as the weather gets colder and turkeys are roasted, it’s time for a reality check.  If it’s a dream, like watching classic games on NBA TV, please don’t wake us.  Will it last?

As we’re getting ready for the long Thanksgiving weekend, the Suns will play Detroit, Minnesota, Memphis and Toronto.  A much tougher schedule awaits in the month of December (they play at least 10 potential playoff teams). Toronto will prove to be a difficult matchup but I fully expect the Suns to continue their hot streak and win each and every game to begin next month sitting on top of the Pac5 with a 14-3 record.

Phoenix is shooting very well.  Steve Nash is leading the League in assists, Channing Frye is shooting .440 from 3-point range, Grant Hill keeps getting younger and for the first time in years the bench players are actually contributing to the Suns success.  Additionally, there’s still room for improvement as Amar’e is slowly gets back to 100%.  He could potentially add something special to the Suns down the stretch.

I like what I’m dreaming right now, just please don’t wake me up before December.

Before you decide, consider that just 8 days earlier, the 10-2 team beat the 4-8 team by 20 points. Since then, the 4-8 team’s best player injured his ankle and is out for about a month.

Hornets' rookie Darren Collison had 15 points including a huge 3-pointer in a 110-103 win over the Suns on Thursday. (Photo: Bill Haber/AP)

In the game, the Hornets’ 2nd-best player went 2 for 11 from the field and scored 6 points in the game.

Go ahead, chalk up the win.

Oops.

The Chris Paul-less New Orleans Hornets got 25 points from slumping Peja Stojakovic and 19 each from Devin Brown and Marcus Thornton an they beat the Phoenix Suns 110-103 at the New Orleans Arena.

The Suns came out flat, falling behind 15-2 in the first four minutes of the game, and played from behind until Jason Richardson’s 3-pointer with 4:05 to go in the first half put the Suns ahead 41-39. The game see-sawed back and forth from there.

With the game tied at 96-96, Stojakovic and rookie Darren Collison hit three-pointers :37 apart to put the game out of reach for the Suns.

KEY STATISTIC
The Suns got crushed on the glass 56-38 and allowed 25 offensive rebounds.

KEY STATISTIC 2
Phoenix has now lost their last 16 nationally-televised appearances on TNT. The good news is, the Suns don’t play again on TNT until December 17th, when they visit the Portland TrailBlazers.

Highlights from NBA.com/TNT

I loved the idea so much that I thought we here at Fanster could produce our own Phoenix sports oriented version. Here are the “how to’s” I’d love to see from past and present Phoenix sports figures.

How to answer a phone by Former Cardinal Thomas Jones.

How to lose a coaching job in less than ten days by Wally Backman

How to make a half court shot from a chair while wearing a suit by Dan Majerle

How to choose a starting quarterback: a point-counterpoint by Dennis Green and Dennis Erickson

How to make friends and influence people by Robert Horry

How to run a professional sports franchise by Jerry Moyes

How to be the power hitting cornerstone of a franchise by Richie Sexson and Troy Glaus

How to provide gripping color analysis by Matt Williams

How to turn a bad defensive basketball team into a defensive powerhouse by Terry Porter

How to get your client a new contract with the Arizona Cardinals by Drew Rosenhaus

How to throw for 300 yards while wearing an oven mitt by Kurt Warner

How to win two championships in three years and still get no respect by the Phoenix Mercury

How to look in midseason form after sitting on the bench for three quarters by Matt Leinart

A chunk of us were lucky enough to make the trip down to Athens and be embraced by the warm hospitality of Georgia fans.

Of course, one of the staples of Georgia football is their live mascot, a line of pure white bulldogs that roam the sidelines at UGA games.

Today, the Uga that made the trip to Tempe and guarded Sanford Stadium when ASU went down to Georgia earlier this season passed away.

Uga VII, whose official name was “Loran’s Best,” apparently had a heart attack without warning and died this morning.

He goes down as having the shortest tenure of any Uga in Georgia history. The Bulldogs went 16-7 with Uga VII on the sideline.

Savannah, GA natives Sonny and Cecelia Seiler have been breeding English bulldogs to be Georgia mascots since 1956 and Sonny said that Uga VII died “without warning.”

I got to hang around with the Dawgs mascot during their trip to ASU last season and he couldn’t have been sweeter. You all have probably read my recollection of my meeting with him, which involved Uga, then only in his 4th game as the Georgia mascot, chewing on the bottom of my jeans as I stood on the sideline.

Georgia won’t have a mascot on their sidelines this weekend when the Bulldogs take on Kentucky in Athens.

The answer? Bad luck, poor play, a curse? Your guess is as good as mine. Since this isn’t your blog though, I’ll give you my off-the-wall reasons.

• TNT really wants Steve Kerr back

Prior to taking the job as Suns’ general manager, Steve Kerr was a successful analyst for TNT’s Thursday night broadcasts. In his first season, 2007-08, Kerr had a 7-2 record, but since then they are the aforementioned 0-15. Maybe the losing streak is designed as a way to hurt Kerr’s status as a GM and bring him back to the booth.

Honestly, if your only other viable option was Reggie Miller, would you be desperate enough to do that?

• Charles Barkley put a hex on them

Chuck hasn’t been a fan of the Suns since they tried to “revolutionize” the game under Mike D’Antoni. Who am I kidding? Barkley hasn’t been the biggest fan of the franchise since they parted ways back in 1996.

• 6:00pm or 8:30pm start times on a Thursday are just too odd

Athletes are creatures of habit. Maybe playing on a Thursday, a night where only two teams play regularly, or at the odd 6:00pm or 8:30pm start times have just thrown the Suns off (not to mention, two of the fifteen they lost were outside).

• Shaquille O’Neal

Blaming Shaq for anything that has gone wrong since February of 2008 seems like the en vogue thing to do. So I blame him for the Suns TNT record, the crash of the economy, the Suns missing the playoffs, the fame of Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt and the train wreck that is Jay Leno at 10pm. That should cover everything. It’s all Shaq’s fault.

Obviously there is no logical reason for the Suns to be as bad as they have been on TNT in their past fifteen appearances. There’s no common factor other than the network. The roster has changed, the coach has changed (twice), the opponents have been different and games have been both on the road and at home.

I don’t believe in curses. If the Suns lose to the Chris Paul-less Hornets tonight, I may have to become a believer.

Atlanta’s Javier Vazquez (a former Diamondback) and Arizona ace Dan Haren finished 4th and 5th.

After a sparkling first half of the season in which he went 9-5 with a miniscule ERA of 2.01, many believed that Haren was the midseason favorite for the National League Cy Young Award.

With his team out of contention, Haren struggled in the 2nd half, posting a 5-5 record and an ERA of 4.62. He finished with a 14-10 record, a 3.14 ERA and 223 strikeouts, which ranked 3rd in the National League.

Haren becomes the 5th Diamondback pitcher in history to either win or receive votes in the NL Cy Young voting. Randy Johnson won the award in four consecutive years (1999 to 2002) and finished 2nd in the voting in 2004. Curt Schilling finished 2nd (to Johnson) in 2001 and 2002. Brandon Webb won the Cy in 2006 and finished 2nd in the balloting in both 2007 and 2008, and reliever Jose Valverde finished tied for 6th in the 2007 voting.

Well, it’s boiled down to that.

The Ducks, with one conference loss can take a huge step in the direction of their first postseason appearance in Pasadena since 1995 with a win. But the Wildcats control their own destiny. If Mike Stoops’ team wins out, they’ll be in Pasadena on New Year’s Day.

ESPN seems to think it’s the game of the day, as they’ve dispatched their College GameDay crew of Fowler, Herbstreit, Corso and Howard to Tucson for the first time ever. Well, either that, or it’s the complete lack of intriguing games on schedule this week. We’ll go with the latter.

There’s three other games in the conference this week: Oregon State visiting Washington State, Cal and Stanford in “The Big Game”, and of course, the Sun Devils heading to Pasadena to take on UCLA.

Let’s peer into the Crystal Ball to see what it says this week…

#11 Oregon (8-2, 6-1) at Arizona (6-3, 4-2) - Saturday @ Arizona Stadium - Tucson, AZ - Will Corso put on the Duck head, or will he be dancing around like Wilbur down in the Ol’ Pueblo this weekend? The Ducks bounced back from their loss to Stanford by pounding Arizona State last week–hanging 44 points on the strong Sun Devils defense. Meanwhile, U of A lost in Berkeley to Cal, and when it boils right down to it, they lost on another fluky play. Nick Foles’ double forward pass sunk the ‘Cats. If there’s a bright spot in that, I guess it’s that Foles now knows the rule.
The last time the Ducks traveled to Tucson, they were ranked #2 in the country, and were upended by Arizona, and the the 15-yard line, which apparently tripped up Ducks’ QB Dennis Dixon, wrecking his knee and foiling Oregon’s national title hopes. I don’t think that’ll happen this year to Jeremiah Masoli.

Crystal Balls Prediction: Oregon 41…..Arizona 26
Bodog.com Thursday Line: Arizona +6
Crystal Balls ATS Pick: Oregon -6

#19 Oregon State (7-3, 5-2) at Washington State (1-9, 0-7) - Saturday @ Martin Stadium - Pullman, WA - Do I really need to break this down? The Beavers are good. The Cougars are not. That is all.

Crystal Balls Prediction: Oregon State 45…..Washington State 7
Bodog.com Thursday Line: Washington State +31
Crystal Balls ATS Pick: Oregon State -31

#25 California (7-3, 4-3) at #17 Stanford (7-3, 6-2) - Saturday @ Stanford Stadium - Stanford, CA - The Stanford offense appears to be a snowball rolling down hill–aw, who am I kidding? After gaining almost a thousand yards and scorching the scoreboard for over 100 poins in the last two weeks against Oregon and USC, it’s an uncontrollable avalanche at this point. Toby Gerhart is a legit Heisman contender, and certainly deserves more ink and publicity than he’s gotten to this point, and Andrew Luck will be the best quarterback in the nation next season. Let’s just say I wouldn’t want to be playing Stanford right now.

Crystal Balls Prediction: Stanford 48…..California 24
Bodog.com Thursday Line: Stanford -7.5
Crystal Balls ATS Pick: Stanford -7.5

Arizona State (4-6, 2-5) at UCLA (5-5, 2-5) - Saturday @ The Rose Bowl - Pasadena, CA - The Sun Devils are trying to avoid their first back-to-back losing seasons in over 50 years and trying to stay bowl-eligible all at the same time. That’s a contradiction, isn’t it? After a thrilling, last-second win over Washington, the Sun Devils have fallen flat on their faces, losing 4 straight. Meanwhile, UCLA has won two straight after a 5-game mid-season losing streak, and can lock up a bowl spot with a win. Will it be Danny Sullivan or Samson Szakacsy starting at QB for the Sun Devils this week? A better question may be, does it matter? Hope you like defense if you’re going to watch this one.

Crystal Balls Prediction: UCLA 17…..Arizona State 13
Bodog.com Thursday Line: UCLA -4.5
Crystal Balls ATS Pick: Arizona State +4.5

* Isn’t funny how Mark Mangino’s current and former players are now coming out of the woodwork to carve him up now that Kansas has lost five games and are out of the major bowl hunt?

I’m not saying Mangino didn’t do what he’s accused of. It just seems like it didn’t bother people so much when the Jayhawks were winning the Orange Bowl.

* Give the Coyotes credit for a gutsy win in Minnesota Wednesday. Ilya Bryzgalov is still keeping them afloat, but give credit to a battered defense that includes three guys who were expected to play in San Antonio this year in Sami Lepisto – who has proven himself to be an NHL player – David Schlemko and Shawn Heshka.

In the 3-2 win over the Wild, all three goals were either set up or scored by defensemen. Heshka teed up Radim Vrbata in the first period, James Vandermeer made up for his bonehead penalty against Tampa on Monday with a goal and Keith Yandle danced into the Minnesota zone and put a shot on net that led to a juicy rebound that became Scottie Upshall’s game-winner.

* The Suns’ 10-2 start is impressive enough, but it could get even better over the next two weeks.

After tonight’s game against the Chris Paul-less Hornets in New Orleans, the next five games are:

- A home game against the 5-7, last-place Pistons.

- A home game against the 3-8 Grizzlies (Gee, who would have though that whole Allen Iverson in Memphis thing wouldn’t work out? I was sure he would have turned that franchise around, especially their work ethic.)

- A road game at Minnesota, where the Suns traditionally struggle. But the T-Wolves have lost 11 straight games and Al Jefferson’s magic over the Suns has worn off. If the Suns blow this one, Target Center is truly haunted.

- A road game at Toronto against the 5-7 Raptors that gave the Suns all they wanted in Phoenix on Sunday. But Steve Nash loves to play in Toronto and he doesn’t let the Suns lose to the Raptors – look it up.

- A road game in New York against the 2-9 Knicks. Mike D’Antoni was smiling last year as the Knicks got off to a decent start while the Suns were learning to run in place with new coach Terry Porter. This year? Not so much.

That means the Suns could very well take an eight-game winning streak into Cleveland for a Dec. 2 showdown with old pal Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James and the Cavs. That game isn’t slated to be on national TV right now. Wanna bet it ends up there?

Of course, the Suns pretty much need to win these games, because December is brutal. Beginning with a return trip to the Lakers on Dec. 6, Phoenix has a six-game stretch that continues at Dallas, home to Orlando, at Denver, home to San Antonio, and at Portland. That means hay must be stored in the barn.

Prediction Time

See, you get a little full of yourself on college football picks and Arizona decides to play like Arizona and USC decides to play like … well Arizona State.

So we had to lean on certainties – picking Notre Dame to lose to anyone decent and Ohio State to put the wood to Iowa to pull out a 3-2 record for the week. The pros were more cooperative, although I would have bet the house on the Steelers settling the score with the Ochocincos. Glad this is just a fun thing (cough, cough).

So we take a 6-3 record from the week and move to 48-19 for the season (.716) trudge on without a bye week to mentally clear our heads:

ASU 27, UCLA 24: The Devils might be 4-6, but Brownie is a perfect 10-0 and BCS eligible when it comes to picking ASU games. So why am I going against the grain and picking the underdog Devils in this one? Maybe I’m just sick of picking them to lose. Maybe I think they have to beat somebody, sometime and this is as good a chance as they get. But I liked what I saw from the new quarterback (whatever his name is, they all run together now) and despite the injuries that are really piling up, ASU is still playing hard.

Oregon 31, Arizona 17: The Wildcats can still go to the Rose Bowl by winning out against the Ducks, Devils and Trojans. Of course, the Cats could also get swept and finish the season with six wins and a four-game losing streak. Hey, I’m just saying.

Ohio State 25, Michigan 20: Is this it for “Rich Rod” in Ann Arbor? Only two years doesn’t seem like enough from a distance, but I haven’t had to watch the Wolverines play every week either. Michigan is tied for – good gosh – last in the Big 10 and this would be their seventh loss in eight games. Jim Tressel is 7-1 against Michigan and has won five straight … and that’s when they were good.

Stanford 41, Cal 21: Stanford put up 106 points in back-to-back wins over Oregon and USC, and that has to scare the Bears. It makes you wonder how they lost three games so early in the season. A win here keeps the Cardinal in the hunt for the Rose Bowl, unless Arizona goes all Boise State down the stretch.

Texas 44, Kansas 17: The Jayhawks, like coach Mark Mangino, go down and go down hard. Five straight wins followed by a five-game losing streak and allegations of dealing with a player in an inappropriate manner puts you in Rick Rodriguez’s job security neighborhood quickly.

Cardinals 35, Rams 13: The Cardinals stay perfect on the road (oh my, what did I just say?) and the emergence of Beanie Wells truly turns the offense into a “pick your poison” proposition. Since the Rams couldn’t stop Kurt Warner when he was one-dimensional, this could get pretty ugly.

Patriots 31, Jets 17: Think ol’ Coach Hoodie wants this one in the worst way? There’s nothing like a little public ridicule to get your mind right. Everyone wants to talk about the fourth-and-two call, but how did New England blow that big lead in the first place? Uncharacteristically, the Pats took their foot off the gas.

Colts 24, Ravens 21: If Ray Lewis and the boys can’t stop Peyton Manning, the guys down at the old Dolphins home in Miami might start getting antsy.

Detroit 7, Cleveland 6: If an NFL game is contested and nobody watches, is it still a regulation game? This should be one where the first score wins, but the networks don’t want to commit that kind of air time.

Segment 1 (0:00) - College football is the focus, and we center our discussion on two particluar coaching jobs. The Notre Dame AD has said an eight-figure buyout for Charlie Weis will not be a factor in the university determining whether or not they’ll make a change. Urban Meyer’s name has popped up in discussions, and that poses an interesting question–isn’t Florida a better job than Notre Dame? And we go ahead and ask the question of whether or not Dennis Erickson’s job is or should be in jeopardy at ASU?

Segment 2 (26:02) - We focus on the NBA–the Suns and their hot start, where is the best place for A.I., LeBron’s theoretical football career and Brandon Jennings’ coming out party in Milwaukee.

Segment 3 (49:53) - Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants wrapped up his 2nd straight Cy Young Award today. His 15 wins this season is the lowest number ever by a Cy-winning starter in a full season in either league. Chuck and I discuss if the voters got this right.

STBNL Thursday - Should Erickson be on the hot seat?

Download audio file (show1119a 1.mp3)

The next day, Hornets’ management decided it was time for a change, and they fired head coach Byron Scott, who had a 203-216 record in 6 seasons, and was just two years removed from being the NBA’s Coach of the Year.

There will be more people here tonight.

The Hornets’ record since Bower took over is 1-2, and they come into tonight’s game at a disappointing 4-8. Of course it doesn’t help that All-Star point guard Chris Paul has missed the last two games with a sprained left ankle, and he could miss up to a month with the injury.

Meanwhile, the Suns are the one of the most surprising teams in the league. Their 10-2 record is the best in the Western Conference, and their only two losses have come on the 2nd night of back-to-back games against the two teams who played in the NBA Finals last season, Orlando and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Phoenix Suns (10-2)


F - 1 Amare Stoudemire - 6-10 - Cyp.Creek HS
F - 33 Grant Hill - 6-8 - Duke
C - 8 Channing Frye - 6-11 - Arizona
G - 23 Jason Richardson - 6-6 - Michigan State
G - 13 Steve Nash - 6-3 - Santa Clara

New Orleans Hornets (4-8)


F - 16 Peja Stojakovic - 6-10 - Serbia
F - 30 David West - 6-9 - Xavier
C - 50 Emeka Okafor - 6-10 - Connecticut
G - 23 Devin Brown - 6-5 - Texas-San Antonio
G - 2 Darren Collison - 6-0 - UCLA

By the Numbers

23.8 and 9.2
Hornets’ guard Chris Paul’s season averages in points and assists this season.

11.0 and 5.0
Hornets’ guard Darren Collison’s averages in points and assists in the two games he’s started in place of Chris Paul.

15-15
The Hornets’ record without Paul in the last 5 seasons.

171-139
The Hornets’ record with Paul in the lineup during the last 5 seasons.

5
The number of times the Suns have overcome a double-digit deficit to win this season.

9
This is the 9th road game the Suns are playing this season, the most in the NBA. The Toronto Raptors have played 8.

4
The number of games in which the Hornets will wear these “Mardi Gras” uniforms this season.

A Dozen
The number of times I had to rub my eyes to get the image of the Hornets’ “Mardi Gras” uniforms out of my head.

6
The number of players who have led the Suns in scoring in a single game this season. (Nash, Barbosa, Frye, Stoudemire, Richardson and Dudley).

5.5 and 1.4
The amount New Orleans’ forward David West’s scoring and rebounding averages are down this season.

4
The number of teams Hornets’ forward and former ASU star Ike Diogu has played for in his 5-year career.

0
The number of minutes Diogu has played this season.

It was supposed to be a landmark win for UNLV head coach Mike Sanford as he turned that program around.

Turns out that it didn’t work out quite that way in Sin City. Sanford is out and the Rebels are looking for a new coach.

On that note, turnabout is fair play, apparently.

Names are floating around in connection to the UNLV opening. College Football Talk says the program is taking a hard look at Tyrone Willingham.

Meanwhile, Tom Dienhart of Yahoo! Sports has some lesser heralded names attached to the job. Most of you have never heard of Andy Ludwig (despite his Cal offense tearing us up on Halloween), Rob Ianello, Mark Banker or Steve Johns.

I’m assuming that most of you have heard of Dirk Koetter.

After a dynamite first year with the Jacksonville Jaguars where his team went 11-5 and his quarterback, David Garrard, was the NFL’s darling, the Jags offense scoring offense has sputtered to the bottom third of the NFL. Wholesale changes are the rumor in North Florida (among other moving-van related topics) and if that’s the case, Koetter could find himself on the outs.

Talk amongst yourselves. I’ll give you a topic: our boy Dirk back on the West Coast. Keep yourselves from getting verklempt.

Lest we forget, considering the team’s current four-game skid.

The question surrounding this Saturday’s afternoon tilt with UCLA at the Rose Bowl is, once again, who will start under center.

Here’s a hint: it will not be your freshman savior.

Dennis Erickson that the shot Brock Osweiler took to his left arm which forced him out of the Oregon game is still nagging at him.

Danny Sullivan’s biceps injury is closer to 100% but it’s still not all the way there.

Meanwhile, the guy whose tendinitis who has nagged at him all season and never gave him a fair shake to grab the starting job might be Arizona State’s most feasible and healthiest option.

He plays a mean guitar, too.

There’s no doubt that much as Osweiler gave the Sun Devils’ offense a spark in the 14-9 loss to USC, Samson Szakacsy was a breath of fresh air for DE and the offensive staff at Eugene.

Jeff Metcalfe, who has more time to do research than me, hit on a point that I was researching yesterday before I could: Arizona State has not started three different since 2000, when Jeff Krohn, Ryan Kealy and, yes, Griffin Goodman, all got starts in Bruce Snyder’s final season in Tempe.

Last night, Erickson came out and said that it would either be Samson or Sully getting the opening snaps against UCLA.

If Dennis wants to avoid a riot, he’ll start Samson, frankly. If the definition of insanity is doing something over and over and expecting a different result, starting Sullivan would fit that bill.

Considering as well that the Bruins’ defense is anything but what the kids call “fast” or “agile”, starting Szakacsy might give ASU the best opportunity to win and gain some fleeting momentum heading into the annual game with Arizona.

The Coyotes do seem to have been exorcised of their power play demons because tonight marked the first power play goal since November 7th. It was scored by Radim Vrbata who has just been on fire offensively. I was excited to see him back with the team this year and boy do I love being right.

Another reason to gloat? Scottie Upshall. I was happy about his addition last season and he’s done nothing but keep me happy. He scored the winning goal as the tying Minnesota one was being announced in the third. Apparently, Scottie just wanted to steal the spotlight…and I’m ok with that.

Jimmy Vandermeer made up for his boarding, fighting and misconduct calls on Monday by scoring the 2nd goal of the night.

With the Minnesota goalie pulled, Bryzgalov had to stand on his head for the last 3 minutes of the game but he pulled it off and the Yote win 3-2.

You gotta admire being able to shake off that bad loss against Tampa Bay and come back so hard. Next up…St. Louis Blues.

Let’s Puck!

Let’s start with our pricing. At just $15 for an upper level ticket we are the lowest priced team in the league with tickets elsewhere around $40 for upper level.

“We Win, You Win” promotion. This deal on select games guarantees that you get a ticket to a different game if the team wins…for FREE. I got to take advantage of this from the win against the Stars on Saturday and now I get to see the Flyers (welcome back Carcillo) in almost the same seat for NOTHING!

All aboard! Last week the “Coyotes Express” was introduced in an effort to appease the East Valley crybabies who claim that the drive to the arena is just too long. Departing from 2 East Valley locations, you get a ticket AND a ride to and from the game for just $30 LOWER LEVEL.

And last week the players canvassed the area to do a little PR and give out FREE tickets. Apparently Peter Mueller and Taylor Pyatt were accosted at the mall by some hot dog-on-a-stick chomping teeny boppers who gushed enough to get tickets. They should have come to my office….I can gush too!

Last but not least you have a team who is truly playing their hearts out. With a pretty respectable record at 11 wins, the team looks strong with a “pack mentality” that is definitely more unified than I have seen in the last couple of years. New head coach Dave Tippett has been making some smart moves on the ice and off. New players are seamlessly fitting in and creating a buzz. Guys like Adrian Aucoin, Scottie Upshall and Radim Vrbata are lighting things up and as always we have our rock, Captain Shane Doan.

My point is this..not a lot of teams are working so hard to get fans in the seats. A San Jose Sharks fan I know drives 45 minutes to the arena, pays $40 for an upper level seat and there are no fun promotions to get him free tickets. But he goes and faithfully. He doesn’t complain about the drive or the ticket price. He loves his team.

Maybe Phoenix fans need to take a cue and be grateful for what we have.

Let’s Puck!

Photo Credit: Michael Lagman's Flickr Page

Editors Note: We have a new basketball writer here at Pitchfork Nation.  His name is Eric Salisbury, and he’s taking the ‘ole college try at this blogging thing.  He may get a bit wordy for the blogosphere, but he was one of the few to storm the court when we beat USC back in ‘06-’07, so he’s got a free pass on this one.  Please welcome Eric in the comments.

With the first week of the Sun Devils men’s basketball season in the books and the national early signing day passed we here at Pitchfork Nation felt as if this would be the proper time to give our readers an outlook on the recruiting class that Coach Herb Sendek and his staff have headed for Tempe next fall.

Although this years group of Sun Devils have a few new faces in the starting lineup and on the floor, the Devils are actually a veteran group. Starters Jamelle McMillan and Rihards Kuksiks along with sixth man Ty Abbott are all Juniors and three year point guard Derek Glasser and center Eric Boateng are Seniors. With the departure of Boateng and Glasser at the end of this year the Devils will be lacking some serious size in the front court and will be counting on McMillan and others to help out at the point. Coach Sendek and his staff have made sure that this years recruiting class will plug up any holes left by the departing players and give the Devils a chance to compete for a Pac 10 title next season.

The 09/10 recruiting class is led by the #25 player in the nation (Rivals.com), Keala King. King, a 6’6 180 pd. PG/SG/SF (Compton, Ca, Mater Dei) is one of the most athletic players on the west coast. At 6’6 with great ball handling, King has the ability to be a Magic Johnson sized point guard along with the scoring ability to play the shooting guard or even small forward. With the likely return of PG Jamelle McMillan, G-F Rihards Kuksiks, and freshman SG Trent Lockett, it’s very likely that King will start his Sun Devils career playing the small forward. The combo of Lockett and King will give Sun Devils fans plenty of scoring and highlight reel plays to look forward to next year and hopefully a few more years after that.

Along with King, the Devils were able to land two more stud recruits, Corey Hawkins (Goodyear, AZ, Estrella Foothills) and Jordan Bachynski (Calgary, Alberta, Centennial). Hawkins a 6’3 175 pd. SG is son of former NBA guard Hersey Hawkins, and an absolute scoring machine. As a junior, Hawkins averaged 29.8 points, 7.6 boards, 5.1 steals and 4.5 assists per game, and led Estrella Foothills to back-to-back Arizona 3A State Championships. To go along with the state titles, Hawkins was named the 2009 Arizona Gatorade player of the year. Adding a dynamic scorer like Hawkins gives Sendek the tough task of finding time to play all these guys who can put the ball in the basket, a problem most coaches enjoy having.

The final of the three signee’s could prove to be the most important for the Devils in the future. Jordan Bachynski a 7’2 245 pd. C from Canada will be a key player for the Sun Devils, providing with with size and ability in the front court left vacant with the departure of Boateng. Bachynski is an extremely athletic big man known for his speed and agility, to along with a very solid 15 foot jumper. Coming in with natural ability and a very high upside, the coaching of Herb Sendek should allow for Jordan to be a dominating force in ASU’s future.

As the Sun Devils begin the 2009-2010 season with a 3-0 start, a matchup with Duke in the NIT Tip-Off semifinals, and a very solid recruiting class on the way, many Devils fans can’t help but to find comfort knowing that the success that came along with James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph wasn’t a fluke, yet the beginning of a program that will have something to say in the Pac-10 title race year in and year out.

Lewis chronicles Battier’s play and exams the “little things” he does to help his team. The “little things” he gives his team, the Houston Rockets, are defense, desire, smarts and an amazing +/- rating. While focusing on the Battier’s +/- rating, Lewis talks about Shane’s career +6.0 rating and how Rocket’s general manager Daryl Morey views a +6.0 player as ” between 41 wins and 60 wins”.

Lewis paints Battier as the key to both the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets success during his stints with each franchise. Well guess what, the Suns have a “no-stats all-star” of their own.

Like the Rockets, the Suns have a former ACC player of the year whose impact is felt throughout the game and not just in the box score. He’s a player that accepts his role and plays with fire.

That player is Jared Dudley.

This season, Dudley has a per game +/- of 6.0, and is averaging higher Player Efficiency Rating (PER), 17.2, than Battier has in his entire career. Along with PER, Dudley has a better True Shooting Percentage, Effeiciency Field Goal percentage and True Rebounding Percentage than Battier ever has for a season. Granted, these numbers are skewed due to the fact that Dudley has only played 12 games out of an 82 game season. When you combine those stats with his defensive abilities and energy, it goes to show just how big of an impact the Suns’ backup small forward has had on the Suns’ fast start.

There’s a reason why the Phoenix Suns’ 10-2 start looks different from the teams that thrived during the Mike D’Antoni era and there’s a reason why no one can put a finger on what that difference is.

It’s because that difference isn’t easily seen. The difference comes from guys like Dudley who populate the Suns bench and do the little things that don’t show in the box score.

Dudley is the Suns’ “no-stat all-star” during their 10-2 start and that should be just fine for a guy who proudly sports the nickname the Junkyard Dog.