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Calais Campbell On His New Contract and His Expectations: “I Think that We Can be a Top-Five Defense in Every Category”

Sports Radio Interviews — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:15:56 +0000

After winning seven of their final nine games in 2011, the Arizona Cardinals have high expectations heading into the 2012 season. Not only did they add potential relief to the passing game with first-round pick Michael Floyd, but they also locked up young defensive stud Calais Campbell for the short- and long-term future.

Last week, the Cards gave the 25-year-old defensive end a five-year contract worth $55 million, with $31 million guaranteed.

Calais Campbell joined Dan Bickley and Mike Jurecki on Xtra Sports 910 in Phoenix to talk about his brand-new contract, to give his thoughts on top pick Michael Floyd and to discuss his expectations for the 2012 season in Arizona.

On the negotiation process that led to him signing the long-term deal:

“It’s been a long process. And it was a hard-fought process but it was a great process. The Cardinals organization definitely did a great job and I’m just so happy to be a Cardinal for a long time to come.”

On the possibility that he could still sign another long-term deal before his career winds down:

“Yeah, man. That’s the goal. Hopefully I’m blessed enough to play for a long time. But I try to take it one day at a time and try to make sure this next year is gonna be the best year.”

On his pursuit of a secondary career in Hollywood:

“Me, I’m more on the producing side, but I wanna write stuff too so I’ve been writing a lot and just networking in Hollywood and stuff.”

On the team’s first-round pick, Michael Floyd:

“I’m a fan of Michael Floyd. I liked him a lot in college and I think he’s gonna be a great player. He’s one of those who’s just super-athletic, but he plays the game at such a high level. Like, he’s so physical, and for a receiver that’s rare to see — a guy catch the ball and every time he catches it he tries to get to the end zone. And that’s what we need.”

On his expectations for the defense in 2012:

“I think we can be great. Ray Horton has a great scheme, and he’s definitely a great coach, he’s a great motivator. And it’s crazy, but I think that we can be a top-five defense in every category. That’s our goal and that’s what we want to be. Towards the end of last year we started having that confidence that we could beat anybody — anybody we get on the field with we can beat them. And when you have that confidence and you go out there and you play 16 games, you’re gonna win a lot of games. So hopefully we can win a lot of games this year, win our division and go to the playoffs and try to create some havoc.”

Listen to Calais Campbell on Xtra Sports 910 here

Vontaze Burfict Laughs Off the Criticisms of Him and Says Some Team Will Get a “Great Linebacker”

Sports Radio Interviews — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:45:47 +0000

Prior to this past season, Vontaze Burfict had dreams of a Pac-12 Championship and possibly being a first round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. Unfortunately the Pac-12 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year had an awful season in Tempe and that poor momentum has carried over to the pre-draft process. Burfict once looked like a player who had the world right in front of him after winning the genetic lottery, but instead his draft stock has fallen like a rock and there is a strong possibility seven rounds of the draft go by without his phone ringing.

If you turn on the highlight tapes you will see a vicious, punishing linebacker and start to salivate over the kinds of enforcement skills that he can bring to a defense. However, those plays were few and far between this past season at Arizona State. In reality, Burfict played undisciplined, racked up numerous personal foul penalties, missed a ton of tackles, looked disinterested at times and turned out to be the most overrated and overhyped player in the conference. Those problems along with his awful performance at the scouting combine and the perception that he has a poor work ethic and doesn’t respond well to coaching has turned Burfict into the most polarizing player in this year’s NFL Draft.

Vontaze Burfict joined WNST in Baltimore with Glenn Clark to talk about how tough this pre-draft process has been for him, what he would like teams to know about him that they may not already, if the criticism that he has received bothers him, how frustrating last season was at Arizona State, how he responds to the criticism that he is not coachable, what he says to people that question his work ethic, if he has thought about what he will do if he goes undrafted.

How tough this pre-draft process has been for him:

“It’s been a hard preparation. I’ve just been working out, toning down my body, lifting weights, running miles every day, and just trying to keep up with conditioning so I can come into camp the best I can.”

What he would like teams to know about him that they may not already:

“Just hope that they know I’m a soft-spoken guy. The guy I am on the field, I’m not the same guy off the field. When I’m off the field, I’m more sitting down, more of a chill guy, don’t do too much partying, and when I’m on the field I’m just angrier, don’t like to lose, have a passion for the game and love to hit. Me and off the field are just two different things and people have it mixed up. They think I’m the same people off the field and it’s totally different.”

Whether the criticism he has gotten bothers him:

“No because I know who I am as a person and I know how my mom raised me. I just know whatever team picks me, they’ll get a great linebacker. Once they see me on the field and see me off the field they’ll be like ‘man the media had this guy totally wrong. He’s just such a great guy’ and stuff like that so there will be a lot of good words after this draft about me.”

How frustrating last season was at Arizona State:

“Yes sir. At the beginning of the season we went like 5-1 and then we ended up losing like five games straight. It was very frustrating for me because we had too many athletes on that team and for us to lose close games it was just very frustrating for me. Some of my immaturity kind of showed with getting personal fouls and stuff like that. I’ve learned from my past and I’m growing as a man, just looking past that, focusing on next year, and getting whatever team I play for to the Super Bowl.”

How he responds to people that say he doesn’t like to be coached:

“I think that’s totally wrong. I love being coached because I’m not the greatest athlete but I loved being coached. You get better at every little thing that you do so by me being coached I love to listen to what a coach has to say because obviously they’ve been there and done that so I think I’m very coachable, especially coming out of Arizona State because I had Trent Bray as my coach and he knew a lot about the game. I learned a lot from him but I also think I can learn more from somebody else in the NFL that knows what an offense will run before they come out and do it. I think that’s something that I already have and becoming a professional at it I think that would be amazing.”

How he responds to people that believe his work ethic is poor:

“Actually I think I work very hard. Like I said I weighed like 257 last season and right now I’m about 245. My work ethic this offseason has been amazing. Every morning I wake up and run a mile, I’m eating right, doing two workouts per day, running half a mile before I go to sleep so I think my work ethic, a lot of people don’t know what my work ethic is, because they’re not with me 24/7 but a lot of my stuff is pretty much what I do and I know what I do by myself.”

Whether he is worried about going undrafted:

“Not really because I have been working so hard and God knows how hard I’ve been working. I’m truly blessed just to be in the position that I’m in right now. If I don’t get drafted then I will have to go back to school, but I love football so much that I won’t give up on football. But I will go back to school and finish up my schooling and stuff like that and probably go somewhere else like Arena football or something but hopefully I make it to the NFL sir.”

Listen to Vontaze Burfict on WNST in Baltimore here

Vontaze Burfict Laughs Off the Criticisms of Him and Says Some Team Will Get a “Great Linebacker”

Sports Radio Interviews — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:45:47 +0000

How tough this pre-draft process has been for him:

What he would like teams to know about him that they may not already:

Whether the criticism he has gotten bothers him:

How frustrating last season was at Arizona State:

How he responds to people that say he doesn’t like to be coached:

How he responds to people that believe his work ethic is poor:

Whether he is worried about going undrafted:

Listen to Vontaze Burfict on WNST in Baltimore here

Coyotes broadcaster Tyson Nash Has Received Death Threats for his Comments About Raffi Torres’s Hit on Marian Hossa

Sports Radio Interviews — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:30:11 +0000

The NHL playoffs have been highlighted by some stunning upsets, overtime thrillers and big hits that have caused quite a controversy. NHL senior vice president of player safety, Brendan Shanahan, has had his hands full handing out suspensions in an attempt to send a message about cutting down on dirty hits.

Another bang-bang play earlier this week involved a big hit between Raffi Torres of the Phoenix Coyotes and Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks. Hockey fans can make their own judgement on whether the hit was clean or not, but it sure has stirred the pot on sports radio air waves this week. Coyotes broadcaster Tyson Nash got himself in some hot water for calling Torres’s hit a clean play. Nash has no problem defending himself in the following interview.

Tyson Nash joined ESPN Chicago with Waddle & Silvy to discuss his call of Raffi Torres’s hit on Marian Hossa, getting a better look at Torres’s hit on Hossa after looking at replays, Torres leaving his feet to hit Hossa, if he regrets saying that Torres’s hit on Marian Hossa was clean, receiving death threats for his opinion, Raffi Torres being rattled after the game by his hit and talking with NHL security about death threats he received on twitter.

Tyson, you heard the call from last night. There are a lot of angry Hawks fans now regarding the hit. The floor is yours now, twelve hours later:

“I did go over it a few times with Eddie O, and when you’re the visiting team’s broadcast, it makes it tough because you’re basically fourth in line when you have all the big networks there. We didn’t have the views, I’m sure that Eddie had and those guys, and it happens fast. Let’s face it. You got one chance to look at the replay and then make your opinion and I definitely had an opinion by the call. It’s a real tough thing because hockey is so intense and it’s so fast, and that to me was such a bang-bang play. When you break down any play in hockey like this play is going to be broken down or that it already has been broken down, I mean, you can find fault in a lot of hits, and for the fact that Marian Hossa was hurt, which we did not know to that extent at the time, obviously it makes it that much worse. With all the emotions running high, you see that stretcher some out and man, I’ll tell you what, that’s a very sobering thing to see. And let me also say that Raffi Torres is not a liked guy. He’s obviously got a reputation; he’s done this sort of stuff in the past. When you look at this hit, I mean, this isn’t just going to be that easy for Brendan Shanahan. I can say that, this is definitely going to be a tough one for him. The thing is you got to look at the facts: Did he leave his feet completely? Was it late? Those are going to be the things looked at.”

Well what do you think now Tyson after getting a better look?

“Yeah, I do think that he did leave. Both feet are off the ice for an inch. He explodes into his hit, which is what good hitters do. That’s how you get leverage, that’s how you create momentum. Did he charge? Absolutely not, he did not charge him. Was it late? You know, when you look at it full speed, it’s a bang-bang play. From what I understand, it’s .83 seconds after he got rid of the puck. That, in my mind, is going to be the biggest thing Brendan Shanahan looks at: How late was it? And then you throw in the fact that yeah, both his feet did leave the ice. How high was he? Was it half an inch? Was it an inch? Those are the facts, and that’s all that really matters. Obviously, when I had one chance to look at that replay and then make an opinion? It’s tough. I’m not getting cut any slack, but there is no way…I 100% believe that Raffi Torres did not want to injure Marian Hossa. He plays on the edge, and that’s the thing and that’s what makes it tough.”

Tyson, you played this game a long time. Once you leave your feet and your skates are in the air and off the ice, aren’t you inviting something like that because now your shoulder becomes on level with the head of the guy you are hitting? So, can we discern that once you leave your feet, the intent is to hurt the guy the guy you are going after?

“Yeah, all bets are off when you leave your feet, and I 100 % agree with that. But again, when you’re a hitter, and that’s how I played, you got to explode. Did he explode with his feet off the ice before he made contact or was it after or when was that? That’s also what Brendan Shanahan is going to be looking at. If he left his feet and then hit the head of Marian Hossa, then that’s going to be another issue in itself. You know, those are all the little things and the milliseconds that we’re talking about here. And also, it’s Raffi Torres. The most passionate fans I’ve ever seen in Chicago and when you see that stretcher come out, I mean that just throws everyone off kilt. If Mike Smith goes off in a stretcher the other night, I mean, people are going crazy. You look at [Henrik] Sedin when he got hit by [Dustin] Brown. That was a little late. No, Brown didn’t leave his feet at all, but because Sedin gets to the bench unconscious basically, and he comes back to play in that hockey game, it’s not talked about nearly as much as this Hossa hit because of the stretcher. But let’s also not forget too that Raffi Torres is just back checking. He does not have Hossa in his sights until Hossa turns back with his head down. You also have to put some owness on the fact that Hossa did those two things.”

It sounds like you sorta regret saying what you did, but now you’re making a lot of cases for the hit. Point blank: Do you regret saying “You won’t see a cleaner hit than that”?

“Oh, definitely not. Yeah, I’m saying that was offside, totally offside, because this is going to be looked at, and it’s already been looked at. So it really doesn’t matter what I say or what I did say, but if I could take that back? I mean, this is so on the line and on the edge, you know, that that wasn’t fair to say. But again, I was caught up in it. You know, you’re fired up, it’s a big game. The crowd’s going crazy, and it’s been a real physical series, and you know when I see it for that half a second with the replay that we saw, I mean, that’s what came out.”

You were originally leery to come on today. How much flack have you taken since the game ended?

“Oh, it’s crazy. It’s crazy. I’ve got death threats, I mean it’s unbelievable the passion here with these fans. You know, they love their team. Again, the worst thing about it was that Hossa was hurt, and that was tough to watch. When that stretcher comes out, I’m telling you what. And Raffi Torres, nobody feels sorry for Raffi Torres, but Raffi Torres might as well just went in the locker room and didn’t play the rest of the game because he was so worried, in my mind, about Hossa and how he was doing that he couldn’t even focus on the game.”

Did you speak with Raffi at all after the game?

“I did, and he seemed like he was pretty rattler. He got showered up, went straight to the bus and out of the rink.”

Well, he’ll be out of the rink for a while too. So, death threats: Did people call? Was it through twitter?

“You gotta love the twitter world. I had a few people mention that they’ll be meeting me for breakfast, so we’ll see how that goes.”

Did you talk to NHL Security about that?

“I mentioned it to a guy. It’s fine. It’s fine, it is what it is. Like I said, I wish I didn’t say what I said. You got to pick more of a middle ground, and you know obviously when you see Hossa laying there longer and longer, you’re like ‘Oh geez, let’s really take a closer look at this.’ You know, I thought he was going to get right back up, but obviously that wasn’t the case.”

Listen to Tyson Nash on 1000 ESPN Chicago here

Coyotes broadcaster Tyson Nash Has Received Death Threats for his Comments About Raffi Torres’s Hit on Marian Hossa

Sports Radio Interviews — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:30:11 +0000

Tyson, you heard the call from last night. There are a lot of angry Hawks fans now regarding the hit. The floor is yours now, twelve hours later:

Well what do you think now Tyson after getting a better look?

It sounds like you sorta regret saying what you did, but now you’re making a lot of cases for the hit. Point blank: Do you regret saying “You won’t see a cleaner hit than that”?

You were originally leery to come on today. How much flack have you taken since the game ended?

Did you speak with Raffi at all after the game?

“I did, and he seemed like he was pretty rattler. He got showered up, went straight to the bus and out of the rink.”

Well, he’ll be out of the rink for a while too. So, death threats: Did people call? Was it through twitter?

“You gotta love the twitter world. I had a few people mention that they’ll be meeting me for breakfast, so we’ll see how that goes.”

Did you talk to NHL Security about that?

Listen to Tyson Nash on 1000 ESPN Chicago here

Steve Nash: “It’s going to be a big project for me to really get to the bottom of what is the best thing for me.”

Sports Radio Interviews — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:45:38 +0000

The Phoenix Suns are arguably the best story in the NBA this season coming from out of no where to find themselves in the No.8 spot in the Western Conference at 32-29 with five games remaining. Let’s just say the expectations for the Suns this season were real low to start, and Steve Nash was presumed to be the looming story as the season closed. Well, the Suns playoff push has distracted some Arizona NBA fans from the worry of losing Nash next year, but it hasn’t stopped the media.

Let’s make one thing clear: Steve Nash has been a class act throughout his time in Phoenix and he’s tried his best to hold off the questions surrounding his future. Nash is a team first player and wants to clear his head after the season concludes. Here are two different interviews from the Suns point guard regarding his future.

Steve Nash joined KTAR in Phoenix with Burns and Gambo to discuss what the Phoenix Suns need to do in order to keep him next year, family playing a factor in his free agency decision, how close the Phoenix Suns are from being the team he wants to stay with in the future, recruiting free agents to play in Phoenix and taking less money to sign with a contender that can win an NBA championship.

What do you think Suns management needs to do in order to retain the services of Steve Nash?

“Well it’s…I couldn’t really sit here and tell you what those rules would be, but I think for me I want to try to see this organization be a contender again and be in the picture where we have the chance to knock off contenders and build a team that gets back to late May in the playoffs and June and if not the finals one day, so I want that for the fans. I want that for myself and I think the organization wants it to, so hopefully this summer whatever those moves may be there’s a lot of different directions you can go give a franchise in a sense of a chance to be competitive in the playoffs again.”

How much will family play a factor in your decision since they live here in Phoenix?

“It’s one factor, but it’s not going to be the deciding factor. There’s a lot of ways around that, so the family situation is not me being number one or the only factor. It’s one of many factors to throw in the hat. The family situation isn’t immovable or a permanent one. That can be on that is sorted out as well, so that’s not something I am thinking about at this stage and frankly I’m not even thinking about free agency because it’s…besides tough games on the plate and us being in the No.8 seed that is more than enough to keep me busy these days.”

How close do you think you are from achieving this vision that you want in the off-season? How close are the Phoenix Suns from where you want them to be?

“First of all if you think of the positives we have a great fan base. We have a great coach and we have I think a bunch of guys that I think are good people, winners that play unselfish basketball, so when you add to the mix a couple of players or whatever, maybe one or two or three depending on who and how you have a chance to really elevate a team. It’s hard to predict, but anything is possible. I think this franchise definitely has a great opportunity this summer with the flexibility and cap space it has to improve a great deal whether that is just one step up the ladder or three or four has yet to be seen, but it should be an exciting time for some fans and we’ll see how it all plays out in the summer.”

Are you going to recruit free agents out there?

“Well I mean I think it is early to say. I’m not even sure what the rules are on that. I want to see this franchise do well. If that’s going to be a deciding factor on me coming back then I’d obviously want to do what I can to help. Who knows what is going to happen? Who knows what other opportunities will be out there for me? I want to really just wait and see and clear my mind more than anything. I’ve been here for right fantastic years and this is home. If it were time to move on I think it is going to demand a lot of thought and debate on my part and figure out a lot of things, so it’s a little bit of a tricky situation in that aspect. I think I have definitely earned the opportunity to sit back and take it all in and decide what is best for me. I wish I had a crystal ball, but I think the best and smartest move for me is to play this season out with everything I got then afterwards start to think about what the future may hold.”

Would you take less money to go to a contender if you felt you could win a championship?

“It’s possible, but at this point though I really don’t know…like I said with the family and with the money. These are all just one factor and a bunch of different factors. I just want to put them all in and evaluate all the different factors and all the things to consider and where I fit best and what fits me best and then you do your pros and cons and try to come up with the best possible place, but it’s definitely not out of the question to take less money to go to a situation where it fits you better, but it’s really early for me. I haven’t even sat down to think about those things. We’ll see. I’ve been putting this off obviously I want to play out the season the best we can and be successful and have a fun run, but it is going to be a big, big, big project for me to really get to the bottom of what is the best thing for me.”

Listen to Steve Nash on 620 KTAR in Phoenix here

Steve Nash joined WFAN in New York with Joe & Evan to discuss his take on Mike D’Antoni resigning as New York Knicks head coach.

What was your take on what happened to Mike D’Antoni from afar?

“Well as I look from a distance from the way I looked at it, it just seemed like he never really got his team. They kept waiting for that free agent summer and they didn’t get LeBron [James]. They got Amar’e [Stoudemire], which was a great pickup. Then the next year they built a team that was playing really well. Raymond Felton was playing really well. Danilo Gallinari was becoming a key figure. They had some other pieces with Amar’e. They were playing great basketball and then they made a trade and brought Carmelo [Anthony], which was a great pickup, but they lost a lot of guys. I think they were fighting to get that chemistry again and that depth. They signed Tyson Chandler, which was another great pickup, but then Carmelo was out. They struggled to have success when Carmelo came back. They are still trying to find their chemistry if you think about it. He hadn’t played a lot of games with those guys. It’s very, very young in their time together. Before they could find any success the pressure got the best of everyone whenever it was, before they ever had a chance to make a run with the players on the team they had been waiting to get and it was over. It’s unfortunate. I think first of all he [Mike D'Antoni] is a great person and a great basketball mind and for me they just never really had a chance with the long wait to get their team and then they finally got them together. They didn’t have much time to produce together.”

Listen to Steve Nash on 660 WFAN in New York here

Steve Nash: “It’s going to be a big project for me to really get to the bottom of what is the best thing for me.”

Sports Radio Interviews — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:45:38 +0000

What do you think Suns management needs to do in order to retain the services of Steve Nash?

How much will family play a factor in your decision since they live here in Phoenix?

How close do you think you are from achieving this vision that you want in the off-season? How close are the Phoenix Suns from where you want them to be?

Are you going to recruit free agents out there?

Would you take less money to go to a contender if you felt you could win a championship?

Listen to Steve Nash on 620 KTAR in Phoenix here

Steve Nash joined WFAN in New York with Joe & Evan to discuss his take on Mike D’Antoni resigning as New York Knicks head coach.

What was your take on what happened to Mike D’Antoni from afar?

Listen to Steve Nash on 660 WFAN in New York here

Kevin Kolb Wishes Arizona’s Pursuit of Peyton Manning Was “Handled a Little Bit Different”

Sports Radio Interviews — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:30:37 +0000

Kevin Kolb is no stranger to depth chart drama at the quarterback position. The five-year veteran experienced it with Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick in Philadelphia, and he dealt with it again when John Skelton arguably outperformed him during his first year with the Arizona Cardinals in 2011.

But the real drama came earlier this offseason, when Kolb nearly lost his job as a result of the Peyton Manning sweepstakes. Ultimately, the Cards lost out on Manning, but Kolb wasn’t thrilled with how things went down.

Kevin Kolb joined XTRA Sports 910 in Phoenix to discuss how he dealt with his team courting Peyton Manning. He also touched on his recovery from a late-season concussion and the return to action with offseason workouts.

On getting back into the swing of things with the team with the start of the offseason conditioning program after having to deal with the Peyton Manning circus earlier in the offseason:

“Obviously with some of the stuff that’s gone on at my position, it’s good to put it behind us and move forward and focus on winning games. That’s the most important thing.”

On how long he felt concussion symptoms after the season ended:

“It lingered for about three weeks — if I remember correctly — once I went back home. And that was a little longer than I expected. But a-okay now, everything’s checked out. I feel back to normal.”

On having a full offseason to work with this time around:

“Oh, it’s huge. I mean, everybody was dealt a different role last year. And that’s something you just gotta adjust and go on with. But it is nice. It’s nice not only for the reasons that are apparent as far as OTAs and practices and going through the playbook and running through cut-ups. This time of year is for fine detail. It’s for mechanics. It’s for going back through and looking at your plays and seeing what you could have done better on every situation, and then kind of back off during the season. But I think one thing that most people don’t realize is, this is where you build chemistry as a team. You build character throughout the year, whenever you’re going through hard times, but right now’s when you build chemistry.”

On how he found about and followed the team’s pursuit of Peyton Manning:

“I found out like everybody else found out — on the ticker and all the ESPN coverage or whatever else, and through family and friends because I was trying not to watch most of it. But my thoughts are that this is a business, and if you don’t realize that as a player and a coach and management, then you’re in for a long ride. And so I don’t get my feelings hurt. I do wish there were a few things that were handled a little bit different as far as communication, but I’ve already spoken with the (inaudible) people to make sure that we build on that and get better and they recognize it as well. So, you know, it’s in the past, and I’m glad we’re moving forward with the things that are in place now and I’m obviously happy to be here and be a part of this team because I definitely didn’t want to be anywhere else.”

On if he wanted to be made aware of the pursuit of Manning ahead of time:

“Yeah, maybe just that the possibility was there. It’s their job to try to better every position every year, and that starts from head to toe. So you have to get over that aspect of it. You compete for your job every single day, every single game, every single year — especially at my position. And so, last year was an unfortunate year for myself as far as injuries and the way we started, and we got some momentum there late, and we’re trying to build on that and move forward.”

On if the Manning pursuit has further motivated him to succeed:

“There’s plenty of stuff out there to motivate a player in this league, and I haven’t thought about it enough to really have some motivation. I have plenty of things to prove to myself and this organization, the team, the fans, rather than just think about the Peyton Manning situation. That’s in the past and that’s where it needs to be.”

On the competition he’ll face with John Skelton:

“I mean, that’s the way it always is. That’s the way this business is — you better be a competitive person. And so, I am that, and I was told the same thing last year. As soon as the trade was over, I was told that same thing two days after that. So that’s nothing new for me, and nothing new for John as well. Him and I have an awesome relationship together and we’ll root for one another just like we did last year, whoever’s out there. But I look forward to competing and earning my spot.”

Listen to Kevin Kolb on XTRA Sports 910 here

Steve Nash Would Consider Joining the Heat: “I’m Not Gonna Come Back to the Suns if There isn’t an Improvement”

Sports Radio Interviews — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:45:32 +0000

Steve Nash is 38 years old, a two-time NBA MVP and leading the league in assists per game. But with time running out on his career, Nash is doing his thing for a Phoenix Suns team that is currently in 10th place in the Western Conference. Many figured he’d be dealt at the trade deadline, but that didn’t happen and now the veteran point guard is playing out this season before he hits free agency and has a chance to join a contender in the summertime.

Steve Nash joined the Dan Patrick Show to talk about how he plays and sees the game as an aged veteran, compared to when he was younger. He also gave his two cents on the raging “Can Kentucky beat a bad NBA team?” debate and spoke about what might be in store for him as a free agent this summer.

On how often his back flares up:

“Actually it’s the first time all year.”

On if he’s ever been considered a lockdown defender:

“The weird thing is, my first few years in the league that was as much my role as anything. I wasn’t getting minutes unless I got in pressure full court and disrupted people and got stops. But once they start asking you to run a 195 pick’n'rolls a game, that doesn’t come off anymore.”

On how he paces himself at age 38:

“I think what I try to do is be in the best shape of my career every year so that I don’t have to consider that any different. I think all NBA players have to pace themselves to an extent, but we’re all competitive too, so you’re not out there taking plays off but you definitely try to pick your spots when to really go for it at both ends of the floor. There’s a feel that goes into it. I think you gotta do it with our schedule and the demands. But at the same time it’s a fine line because you definitely — I mean maybe when you’re 21, 22 you don’t have to think about that, but when you’ve played five, six, seven, eight, nine years in the league, you do have to pace yourself in some ways. I try to be very careful not to overdo it at different times. Also because you want to be ready down the stretch as well.”

On what he does better at 38 than he did at 28:

“I think reading situations, it’s obviously more second nature and natural. And pick’n'rolls and in different moments the game probably slows down a little bit. I probably slow it down a little bit.”

On if he sees the game a few plays ahead in the same way Wayne Gretzky did:

“Yeah, I guess you do in a way. I mean, I wouldn’t — Gretz is, like, my hero, so I wouldn’t wanna put myself in that category. And I also wouldn’t wanna over-romanticize what I do. But you do think ahead and you do see ahead. And especially as you get older I think you have more experience, you’re more comfortable. So the more things kind of occur to you that are possibilities or could happen, and so you’re not as pressed. When you’re a young player, you’re pressed for time always. You’re always in a hurry because as you get more experience, you feel almost like time’s on your side — even in moments that most people might be rushed. So I think that’s probably the biggest difference as you get more experience.”

On who he’d pick if the Kentucky Wildcats were to face the Charlotte Bobcats in a game:

“I got the Bobcats. I think Kentucky’s got probably more talent, but the guys are young, their bodies are young. Experience — those guys are kids still. I think there are some men on the Bobcats. There’s some kids too on the Bobcats, but I think it’s a stretch. Put it this way: if Kentucky played and they all played till they were seniors, they would make it very interesting.”

On Kentucky’s powerful recent classes in general:

“That’s the interesting thing about their program and how well they’re recruiting, obviously. You couldn’t do that for three years. You couldn’t (have) freshmen, sophomore, junior because there’d be too many NBA players to still be on the team. It’s amazing. I’ve been impressed. I haven’t seen them play a ton this year but I’ve been impressed with how much talent they have and yet they’ve all kind of seemed to sacrifice and play together and play both ends of the floor. So that’s great for college basketball. These guys are gonna come in and only play a short period of time — it’s great that they’re kind of embracing it and playing together it seems.”

On how close he came to being traded at the deadline:

“I don’t think from the Suns’ perspective they entertained any of it. I could be wrong but they always said to me that they weren’t going to and I don’t think that they really got close or entertained it to any serious degree. So I don’t think it was that close. But it’s gonna be interesting this summer, being a free agent. I didn’t wanna really leave at the deadline — I feel like I owed it to my teammates and the Suns organization, the fans. And I could possibly be back for sure, but that’ll be more interesting, I think, than the trade deadline.”

On his desire to go somewhere in which he can have a chance to win:

“I definitely do wanna win. I’m not gonna come back to the Suns if there isn’t an improvement, if they’re not ambitious and they’re not looking to upgrade the roster seriously. And I think they are. I think they’ll have a lot of flexibility in free agency. They also have, I think, been standing pat in many ways so that they could do some things this summer. So I think they’ll become a definite possibility for me. But I think you’re right — I do wanna win and I do wanna consider all my options. So it’ll be interesting to see what happens this summer.

On if he’s talked to Dirk Nowitzki about a reunion:

“No we didn’t. We spent a lot time at all-star break together, we never really talked about it. So I can’t say we have, but at the same time … at this stage in your career I feel like there’s gonna be so many options that it’s an interesting free-agent summer for me in particular. I think there’ll be a lot of things to consider.”

On what he’d say if LeBron James asked him to come to Miami:

“Can I stay in his guesthouse? … I’d listen. He’s phenomenal and I love what they’re doing there. A lot of people don’t like ‘em because they put all that talent together but they’re professional, they play hard, they play together and their coaching staff has done a great job. So I have a tremendous amount of respect for them and I would definitely listen.”

Listen to Steve Nash on the Dan Patrick Show here

Steve Nash Would Consider Joining the Heat: “I’m Not Gonna Come Back to the Suns if There isn’t an Improvement”

Sports Radio Interviews — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:45:32 +0000

On how often his back flares up:

“Actually it’s the first time all year.”

On if he’s ever been considered a lockdown defender:

On how he paces himself at age 38:

On what he does better at 38 than he did at 28:

On if he sees the game a few plays ahead in the same way Wayne Gretzky did:

On who he’d pick if the Kentucky Wildcats were to face the Charlotte Bobcats in a game:

On Kentucky’s powerful recent classes in general:

On how close he came to being traded at the deadline:

On his desire to go somewhere in which he can have a chance to win:

On if he’s talked to Dirk Nowitzki about a reunion:

On what he’d say if LeBron James asked him to come to Miami:

Listen to Steve Nash on the Dan Patrick Show here

Grant Hill: “We’d like to be in a position where management says, ‘hey I like where we are going, let’s ride it out.’”

Sports Radio Interviews — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:30:21 +0000

The Phoenix Suns sit at 19-21 heading into Monday night’s action, poised to make a playoff push with a team that was widely speculated to be torn apart at the seams by the departure of Steve Nash. Not so fast. The Suns team sure hasn’t gotten the message. They have won 5 out of their last 6 games with the only loss coming to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Grant Hill feels his team is beginning to gel with a heavy emphasis on defense. As the state of Arizona is buzzing with Peyton Manning speculation, the Suns are quietly pushing their way into the postseason race.

Grant Hill joined XTRA 910 in Phoenix with Dan Bickley and Mike Jurecki to discuss the Arizona Cardinals pursuit of Peyton Manning, the Phoenix Suns putting an emphasis on defense this season, the Suns playing well enough to keep Steve Nash past the trade deadline for a postseason run and his new documentary “Duke 91 & 92, Back to Back” not taking any shots at Jimmy King or Jalen Rose.

Do you know Peyton Manning and can you help convince him to come to Arizona?

“It’d be great. It’s funny my dad – my mom and dad, were at the Duke-North Carolina game last week and he was there at the game. My dad spoke to him and he didn’t mention much about the Cardinals, but he did mention Aaron and the Young’s. Aaron Nelson [Suns Athletic Trainer]. He’s got a big decision to make and it would obviously be great if he could come out here for the franchise, Cardinals and of course the city of Phoenix here.”

Do you see more of an asserted effort from guys actually playing more defense now?

“I think so. I mean certainly it’s been tough. Obviously when a defensive coordinator or a defensive coach like Elston Turner comes in you’d like to have the luxury of a training camp and an entire preseason to really get comfortable and we have put in new stuff that you are really trying to learn on the fly and because of this compressed season haven’t had the opportunity to get the quality practice time, so there has been some slippage, but I think the emphasis is definitely there. We’ve had games where we don’t shoot the ball well. We don’t score 100 points. We hold a team to 80 points. We just have won games differently then how we have won them in the past. Our defense is getting set. You are not going to change and become the best defensive team overnight. I think we are certainly taking a step in the right direction. It’s definitely being emphasized and guys are taking a challenge. I think in the last few weeks Channing Frye has played real well defensively. I think he’s rebounded well and had some tough assignments and done a good job, so guys are trying. Guys are putting fourth the effort and as long as we have that effort then it gives us the chance to go out there and beat anybody.”

The idea was that this team needed to be blown up or draft a franchise player in the draft, but with the way you guys are playing now it looks like the Suns might not deal Steve Nash?

“Yeah well we are definitely playing better. You can’t worry too much about things that you can’t control. What we can control is certainly our attitude and how we play for one another. Steve has been 100% committed. Obviously I am sure he has to deal with the questions and what not, but he’s focused and has been focused on trying to make this team better and ultimately getting ourselves into the postseason. We have kind of found it. We have found a rhythm. We found a nice comfort level, a nice…I think our bench has been playing better. Channing Frye has been getting into a nice groove while you saw Hakim Warrick step up last night. He hadn’t played in awhile. Our chemistry is really coming together and there’s definitely a comfort level with one another. Steve has been great. There really hasn’t been a distraction and we’d like to be in a position where management says hey I like where we are going let’s ride it out. That means we are doing something right and we are moving in the right direction. It’s a tough situation. There’s a lot of theories. A lot of ideas in terms of the future of what is the best thing to do? As players we have to go out there and play for one another and do the best job we can and control the things we can control.”

You have a new documentary coming out regarding Duke University Basketball. Did you take any shots at Jimmy King or Jalen Rose in it?

“No. No. Not at all. The film…I mean I understood we had to talk about Michigan because we played them twice in 1992. We actually played them in the Finals in 1992. I didn’t take any shots. None of my teammates did. [Host: You know I'm referencing the shots they took at you guys in their documentary: The Fab Five. I thought it was uncalled for.] Yeah I agree. I thought the documentary they did overall was good, but I obviously didn’t like what they said about us. The things is and I think it comes across in our film is that we had respect for them. We had respect for everybody. I think if you don’t respect your opponent then that is when you fail. Look Chris Webber was as good as anybody in college basketball. The guys like Jimmy King, Jalen Rose and Juwan Howard went on to have great careers, but we knew if we didn’t play we’d get embarrassed. We had respect for them and we weren’t thinking about. We were just thinking about winning back-to-back championships and really just solidifying ourselves as champions and not worrying about all that other stuff that they seemed consumed with, but for the film it bookends the lose to Las Vegas in 1990 and ultimately the winning of the second championship in 1992 against Michigan and all the adversity and all the challenges and the good and the bad times. I’d like to say it’s a basketball story, but it was a relationship story about brotherhood and about fraternity. It’s far exceeded my expectations. I am very pleased and very excited about it and looking forward to sharing it with the public.”

Listen to Grant Hill on XTRA 910 in Phoenix here

Alvin Gentry Refuses to Waste His Energy Thinking About the Future of Steve Nash

Sports Radio Interviews — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:45:47 +0000

The Phoenix Suns and Alvin Gentry are in a pretty tough spot. On the one hand, the Suns are trying to win games; their goal coming into the season was to be a playoff team and Gentry has to find a way to motivate his players to do just that. On the other hand, the Suns are in a transition period and they aren’t good enough to be a playoff team. The last thing you want to be in the NBA is a mediocre team, a team stuck in limbo without a clear direction. That is the reality of Phoenix’s situation right now. They have hesitated on a very important decision for the franchise and it’s time for them to stop waffling and strike the deal.

While it’s a very difficult decision to make, the Suns should trade Steve Nash while he still has some value. Phoenix needs to get pieces for their future. Nash is the team’s best and most marketable player, but he also happens to be 38-years-old. He will be a free agent at the end of this season and his future is not with the Suns.

Alvin Gentry joined XTRA 910 in Phoenix with Bickley and MJ to talk about how nice it was to get a win over the Lakers on Sunday, what he thinks of Jeremy Lin’s success, whether Mike D’Antoni’s system is the reason for Lin’s success this year, how he feels about his team heading into the All-Star break, and the possibility of trading Steve Nash.

How nice it was to get a win over the Lakers:

“Oh yeah. Anytime. I know it’s been said that Kobe (Bryant) has this passion or hate for us but you know we’re not exactly in love with them either so the feeling is pretty mutual there. We haven’t had the success that we have had in the past against them but I thought our guys did a great job of battling against them last night and competing like crazy.”

What he thinks of Jeremy Lin’s success:

“It’s been an unbelievable story Bick. The funny thing about it is that our guys ask on the way out, our guys ask at halftime, and everybody wants to know what happened, what this kid did, or how he did it, or what went on, and I love the fact that everybody is just picking his game apart. I told someone the other day if a guy can give you 28 points, 14 assists, and five steals who cares about the seven turnovers.”

Whether the system is the reason for Lin’s success:

“The system? So it’s got to be the system with Peyton Manning and it’s got to be the system with Tom Brady. With Derek Jeter it’s got to be the system too. The guy is proving and he has done a great job here. The system is supposed to take advantage of what you do best and Mike (D’Antoni) has done a great job of implementing him in a situation where he’s handling the ball, he’s done great things, and he’s winning games. The whole purpose of the thing is to win games and they’ve won nine out of ten that he has played in.”

How he feels about his team and the way they have played so far this year:

“First of all I think we have some really good pieces. Marcin (Gortat) is playing great. He’s really playing well. Steve is playing great, Grant (Hill) is doing a good job for us defensively, we’ve had some other guys like Jared Dudley step up, we’re there. I think the thing that we struggle with is consistency like I said all along. I think we have to be consistent and have some consistency off our bench. If we do that we’ve been able to compete with most of the teams. We haven’t played the Miami’s or anything like that but we’ve been able to compete. We have not been able to finish games. We have to find a way to do that for 48 minutes. Not 32 minutes, 38 minutes, or 42 minutes, we’ve got to be able to do it for 48 and that’s where we’ve struggled a little bit.”

On the possibility of trading Steve Nash:

“First of all I don’t have any authority as far as trading or keeping Steve so I don’t spend very much time thinking about that. That will be something that management and Steve will have to deal with. The only thing that I try to concentrate on is the guys we have on our team right now, how we can get them better, and how we can get them playing at the highest level. That’s where all of my energy goes.”

Listen to Alvin Gentry on XTRA 910 in Phoenix here

Ken Whisenhunt: “We’re in a heck of a lot better position at the quarterback position than we were a year ago”

Sports Radio Interviews — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:45:07 +0000

Last offseason the Arizona Cardinals went out and made a bit of a blockbuster trade to try to land their quarterback of the future. The Cards traded a second round pick as well as a Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for then 26-year-old Kevin Kolb. The thinking was Arizona would finally fill the Grand Canyon sized gap left by the retirement of Kurt Warner a few years ago. The early results were positive and fans saw glimpses of what Arizona’s front office did in just the very first game of the season. That feeling didn’t last long though, frustration built, and now the Cards have to do a little soul-searching this offseason. Kevin Kolb showed flashes, but he also ran into some of the issues he had in Philadelphia. Mainly he couldn’t stay on the football field. Kolb missed a number of games with both turf toe and a concussion and even though John Skelton played relatively well, he is still raw and developing. The questions the Cardinals need to ask is whether they feel they can count on Kolb and whether they believe in him as much as they did last offseason.

Peyton Manning could be lurking and the desert seems like a possible landing spot for the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback, if he gets released. The Cards went down that road once before with Kurt Warner and it brought a Super Bowl appearance. The young Cardinals defense is only going to get better, the Cards have the best receiver in the NFL, and they look to have a playoff caliber roster, with the exception of their offensive line and maybe quarterback. The position is improved from where it after Warner retired, but the potential to land Manning may be too difficult to pass up, even with the investment they have made in Kevin Kolb. One way or the other, the Cards are asking themselves similar questions to the ones they were asking last offseason.

Ken Whisenhunt and Rod Graves joined KTAR in Phoenix with Doug and Wolf to talk about whether or not he is going to play overseas, what his mindset is when it comes to the season, on the team that he has around him in LA, and what he is doing this offseason to get better.

What impressed him about the way the team finished 2011:

RG: “I’ve got to tell you the thing that really jumped off the page to me was one, how Ken and our coaching staff stuck to the things that they believed in, stuck to the things that they believed would work for our football team. There was not a panic from his office even though there were times when I would go down and be a little wobbly at the knees myself. Ken was always adamant about sticking with what has worked and things he has had success with. The other thing was the attitude, the desire, and the feeling from the players. We had players coming in at 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning determined to make sure they were getting it right. It said a lot about our players and the steadfast approach that we took and I think in the end that was something that really jumped off the page to me.”

What the coaching staff and front office is focusing on right now:

RG: “Right now we’re focused on preparing for free agency and taking a good look at what we need to do to get our own players resigned. We’re also preparing for the combine coming up next week so our meetings, for instance today, we have been in meetings talking about potential free agents around the league and lining those guys up relative to our team and having good fruitful discussions on how we can possibly upgrade ourselves. The last couple of days have been filled with a lot of meetings and discussions about free agency.”

KW: “For us, for coaches, it’s really kind of a three stage development. One of the most important things you do as a staff, and we did this with the scouts, GM’s, with Rod, and our guys, is you evaluate your team. You go through and grade your team. You have a grading scale and obviously Larry Fitzgerald is at the top of it and other players are lower. Then we go through a process of going through every play and grading our players again. That takes months and then you have a great evaluation of where you are as a team. That has to happen before free agency and that takes up most of the morning. Then in the afternoon, the coaches are going through and either looking at pro free agents, grading them, breaking down tapes, writing reports on them, or what we’re just getting really started on is college football players. The combine is a big part of that. Rod and Steve Keim give us a list of players, there’s 600 or some players in the draft and coaches can’t look at all of them, so that’s what their side is doing is narrowing those guys down and getting the top players. They give them to the coaches and the coaches go through, look at them, and grade them. Then we all get together in April and read reports, grade players, and come to a consensus. There is no real down time because you’re always trying to improve, get better, and make your team better.”

On the quarterback:

RG: “Let me answer it this way: That is at all positions we try to maintain flexibility and the ability to look at any free agent on the market that we feel has the ability to improve our football team. That can happen through the offseason, it can happen in training camp, the regular season, and any time there is an opportunity we will take a good, hard look at it. We’ll be in position, there will be quite a few players out there once free agency starts that we will have an opportunity to take a look at and some of those are under contract now that teams will make a decision to release after the start of the new year and we will evaluate those players at that particular time. That’s our normal mode of operation and we will be in position to do that. As far as our quarterback position is concerned I’ll pass the baton over to coach and let him address that.”

KW: “Well the easiest thing to say right now is that we are in a heck of a lot better position at the quarterback position than we were a year ago today. We’ve got two guys that we feel like can play. They’ve shown at times that they can do things, they’ve shown at times that they are knuckleheads and it’s our job to get the players there on our team to play better. That’s what we’re going to do and I feel excited about that. I feel better about our quarterbacks on our team right now than I did last year from the standpoint of John Skelton; he won a lot of games for us over the last half of the season. At this time last year he was a rookie who played four games and that was it. Of course Kevin Kolb, we saw a lot of good things from him. The second half of the Dallas game was very impressive and more of what we were getting and the first game against Carolina and then against Washington, he made some plays for us and I think both of these guys are going to get better with having an offseason and being able to work on some of the things we feel is going to make them better. So I’m excited about it.”

If there will be a competition at quarterback:

KW: “I think there’s always competition at any position. I don’t think you can ever say that this guy is going to be the guy. We’re always opening it up to let other guys compete for spots and the best players are going to play. That’s the nature of this league, that’s the nature of this game, and that’s the way we go about business. What it all comes down to is how we give them the reps, how we go through the preparations and all that. That’s not going to be any different. We will split the reps up, guys will get their opportunities, and we’re going to make the decisions whether it’s Patrick Peterson, Adrian Wilson, Kerry Rhodes, the quarterback situation, Beanie Wells, or any position on the team like that. Certainly you have your starters and guys you know are going to be the focus of the reps as you get toward the season but when you talk about the quarterback position that’s something that both guys are going to get opportunities because John certainly deserves it from the way that he played over the back half of the season and Kevin certainly deserves it from the reason that we went out, got him, and brought him in.”

Whether they plan to pick up the option on Kolb:

RG: “I think that obviously there’s no reason to think at this particular point that we wouldn’t proceed with seeing the contract through but again things change as we go down the road and we will evaluate things. Right now like coach said we’re focused on getting these two guys ready to play. I’m excited about what they bring to the table and excited about the enthusiasm that both of them have. Both have a strong desire to be the guy and with that I think it’s going to create a lot of fun for us. It will be interesting to watch to see what happens but our focus is on getting these guys ready to go next season.”

Listen to Ken Whisenhunt and Rod Graves on KTAR in Phoenix here

Alvin Gentry on Steve Nash: “He’s playing in a lot of pain. The normal guy I don’t think would be playing.”

Sports Radio Interviews — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:00:16 +0000

Steve Nash has been at the center of attention in Phoenix this week, as the Suns point guard set the franchise record for all-time assists with 6,522 surpassing Kevin Johnson’s mark (6,518). Nash has always had an uncanny ability to put his teammates in position to score. Alvin Gentry sings the praises of No.13 in the following interview.

Gentry lets it be known that Nash is playing at no more than 70 percent right now. The Suns head coach also admits he is fairly surprised Nash is playing at all.

Alvin Gentry joined KTAR in Phoenix with Burns & Gambo to discuss Steve Nash becoming the Phoenix Suns all-time assists leader, Grant Hill’s knee injury, the emergence of Josh Childress in the Suns lineup, and Steve Nash playing through injuries.

Steve Nash is now the Suns all-time assists leader. Nice night for Steve Nash huh coach?

“Yeah he played extremely well. To be honest with you guys he is probably 70%. He had more ice on him after the game then you would find on a cooler I think. That’s just the kind of guy he is and he went out and he did a great job. I just thought he was really aggressive offensively. He just played extremely well.”

Let’s talk about Grant Hill and the knee. What are the expectations with him going forward?

“Well he feels a lot better. I don’t know at what stage of the game that he actually hurt it, but it just wasn’t worth taking a risk. We just sat him out. It was sore and Josh [Childress] had been playing really good for us anyway and really aggressive, so it was one of those deals where we felt it was best to sit him out and kind of take a look at it. He’ll rest it today and we’ll go to shoot around tomorrow and kind of take a look at it and see where we are with it.”

What have you seen out of Josh Childress that you like?

“He is the consummate professional. When he was sitting over there not playing, he was working every day at practice and doing that and we had talked several times. When I put him in there he did great and I just told him that I would continue to use him when he played with that kind of aggressiveness and defensively I thought he’s done a good job for us. It gives me a guy to relieve Grant [Hill] of guarding a Dirk Nowitzk of the world or something like that. I think he’s playing really good.”

You mentioned how Steve Nash had more ice on him than a cooler. He’s okay though right?

“Yeah he’ll play. I just…he won’t ever say anything about it. He’s playing in a lot of pain and there’s a lot of things going that would not normally – the normal guy I don’t think would be playing.”

Listen to Alvin Gentry on 620 KTAR in Phoenix here

Larry Fitzgerald Laments Losses Against the Ravens and Giants Earlier this Year

Sports Radio Interviews — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:30:39 +0000

The Arizona Cardinals were sitting at 1-6 through their first seven games this season. They were trying to implement a new defensive system, they were playing a lot of young and inexperienced players, and they were trying to work through the growing pains of a new quarterback who had a condensed offseason to get acclimated to a new team. The Cardinals looked like one of the worst teams in the NFL and they were left for dead in the NFC West. Then something changed.

Arizona is 6-1 in the last seven games with impressive wins over Dallas, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Their win over the Browns this past weekend wasn’t pretty but it capped off a four game winning streak, which had never been done since head coach Ken Whisenhunt arrived in the valley. At 7-7, the Cardinals playoff chances are basically a pipe dream. They need a lot of help and their fate might’ve been sealed when the Lions had a very impressive comeback win over the Raiders, but with the way they have played to close out the season, there is a lot of reason for optimism in Arizona.

Larry Fitzgerald joined PFT Live with Mike Florio to talk about what changed for the team after the 1-6 start, what the biggest win was for the team during this impressive late season run, what two losses stick in his mind the most, whether or not it will help him and Kevin Kolb to have a full offseason to work and get to know each other, and why he has had more success with John Skelton as opposed to Kolb.

What the mindset was when the team was 1-6:

“I think guys were just fed up with the situation we were in. Losing six straight games with the talent and the ability that we have on this team, there was a time for a change and Coach Whisenhunt challenged all the men in the locker room. We didn’t have anybody lay down or quit. Nobody didn’t believe and we were able to put it together one win at a time and it’s been a great ride.”

What changed for the team after the 1-6 start to the season:

“Well a combination of two things. Offensively we weren’t playing great football and defensively we weren’t playing great football. I think the single biggest change for us has been the defense. They have played lights out football for the last seven weeks, they have done a terrific job of holding people to field goals when they get down to the red zone, causing turnovers, and it’s been so much fun to watch those guys. It’s been not only one guy but a whole group effort on that side of the ball. We’ve been able to protect the football a little bit better and not turn the ball over as much and it’s giving us opportunities to win games down the stretch.”

What game sticks out as the most impressive win during this run late in the season:

“I would say definitely the San Francisco game for us as a team. Them being in our division, us not really liking them, them not really liking us, to be able to beat them was great for us because they had beaten us five games in a row so I would say the sweetest victory we have had in this run was the San Francisco run.”

What games really stick in his mind as one the Cards should’ve won:

“I would say there’s two that really stick in my mind and hurt me the most. I would say the Baltimore Ravens game where we had them down 21 points coming into the second half and we lost that game in Baltimore in early October. And then I would say the Giants game when we had them down 10 points with four minutes to go and they had a controversial Victor Cruz fumble that coulda been fumble. Maybe it was a fumble or maybe wasn’t a fumble and it ended up not going our way and we lost that game too. Those two really stick out in my mind.”

How much he thinks it will help him and Kevin Kolb to have a full off-season together

“I think it’s gonna be really beneficial for all of us to be able to have a full off-season. Just to be able to get everybody acclimated, him acclimated with us, and us acclimated with him and him being able to get comfortable with what we’re trying to do. That’s gonna be huge for our offense and I’m excited about the guys that we have on this team and in the future as well.”

Why he believes he has had more success with John Skelton as opposed to Kolb:

“It’s hard to put my finger on it. Kevin, him not being in this system sometimes he may be reluctant to let the ball go or throw it to me in certain situations because a lot of times I’m not blatantly open and I know in Philly when he had DeSean Jackson and (Jeremy) Maclin, guys that are running wide open, those guys are really fast and quick out of their breaks and I’m a little different. I’m not gonna be able to beat guys by four or five yards like that so I’m not gonna look as open. I think it’s gonna come with trust and getting to know me a little bit better. John has been here a year longer and he knows kinda how to get the ball to me in terms of just giving me an opportunity even when it doesn’t look good.”

Listen to Larry Fitzgerald on PFT Live here

Todd Graham Says He’ll Be at Arizona State Unless He’s Fired or Retired

Sports Radio Interviews — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:00:06 +0000

In 2006, Todd Graham spent exactly one year as the head coach at Rice before moving on to Tulsa. Graham spent a few years there and was the head coach at Pitt this past season. Once again, after just one year, he’s on the move again, this time heading to Arizona State after texting his Panthers players that he was leaving.

It’s hard for folks around the Arizona State program not to wonder if this is just his next short stop on the coaching ladder, but Graham says that’s not the case. He states his side of things in this interview and tells people that this is a destination job, one that he won’t leave unless he’s fired or retired.

Todd Graham joined KTAR in Phoenix with Doug and Wolf to discuss his side of things on his departure from Pitt, why he left there, how he changed the environment in one season there, not being the first choice of Arizona State, his coaching strengths, those questioning his character publicly and how long he plans on being at Arizona State.

What’s your side of the story with how you left things at Pitt?:

“Obviously the timing on these things are very, very difficult. From the time you’re offered a job to when you accept it is very rapid. It was probably a 12-hour period from when I was offered the job to the time I had to be on a plane leaving. … It didn’t allow for me to have a chance to call a meeting, to have a meeting with the players. I used the only means I had at my disposal. I certainly didn’t want those guys to find out on the news. … It makes you sick to your stomach, because it’s not the way you want to do things.”

Why did you leave Pitt?:

“I had other people call me about jobs around the country and I didn’t even blink at them. This is a place where my wife’s mother and father is. We come every year to vacation here. … It was a dream destination for us. … It was really more of a family deal.”

Did you feel like the environment had changed at Pitt during your one season?:

“I think so. I think we made great progress. … I think they had 26 arrests the year before I got there and we had zero. So, I think we made a lot of progress with the young men. I’m very, very proud of that growth. … Obviously you don’t ever want to be in a situation where you’re only at a place one year. At the end of the day, it was gut-wrenching to make that decision, but it was one that was the best for my family.”

Did you care how Arizona State handled its search, seemingly going after other candidates before arriving at your hiring?:

“Oh no. If you’re asking me about being the first choice, I wasn’t my wife’s first choice. But I’m glad that I was the one that ended up with it.”

What are you strengths?:

“My whole deal, my strengths, are building relationships with coaches and players. That’s my whole foundation of what we do. I think that’s the key to building discipline. I want guys that are great teachers. … I don’t believe there’s good and bad people, it’s what we choose to bring out in each other.”

You talk about being a man of character and being genuine, but given recent reports, the media is saying the opposite. How do you address that?:

“I would point to the players and things that I’ve done as a football coach. I’m extremely proud of the things we’ve accomplished on the field and off the field. I can tell you that obviously you never want to be put in a situation like that and it was tough. I’m human. I made the best decision for my family. … I know the people that know me know what I’m all about and all’s I can do is work hard to prove that and work hard to earn people’s respect and trust.”

If you win, how long will you be at Arizona State?:

“You can say, ‘Look at his track record. He was at Rice one year.’ If I describe the circumstances from which I left there and, really, if everybody knew all the circumstances that I just left, but I’m not going to go into that. … You look around the country, they’re firing coaches after two years and it’s unfair. But I can tell you this, that I come here because I think this is a destination. It’s where my wife and family wanted to be. … I’ll prove that I’m going to be here. Unless I’m fired or retired, I plan on being here.”

Listen to Todd Graham on KTAR in Phoenix here

Steve Nash on staying with the Suns: “I want to stay with my team. My heart has always been here.”

Sports Radio Interviews — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:30:46 +0000

It’s beginning to become a game of waiting for the next shoe to drop in this year’s unique and wild NBA free agency period. Chris Paul has gone to the Clippers. Where is Dwight Howard going? How about Steve Nash?

Nash has become a hot topic out in the desert regarding his future with the Phoenix Suns. As it becomes increasingly evident that elite players in the NBA are looking to jump ship for presumably greener pastures, the Suns are wondering if Nash will stay with the organization if this season doesn’t turn out well. From the sound of it, the Phoenix Suns have nothing to worry about.

Steve Nash joined KTAR in Phoenix with Burns and Gambo to discuss whether he thinks the Phoenix Suns will contend for the playoffs this season given their offseason moves, the fast pace nature of NBA training camp in a shortened season, finishing his career with the Phoenix Suns, and the idea of leaving the Suns at the NBA trade deadline if his team is not a playoff contender.

Do you like the additions to the Suns for this season? Do you think this team has enough to make a playoff push?

“Well that’s gotta be the goal. Our goal has gotta be get into the playoffs. I think we can do it. I think we are definitely going to have to find a great chemistry and put some good things together towards building a team, but we definitely gotta be lucky on the schedule and not have injuries and all that stuff. We gotta have our sights set on the playoffs and hopefully improve every day as a team.”

How difficult is it to rush to get ready for this season? How different is “hyper-speed” in training camp? You guys only started camp a week ago:

“It’s not every day we have 66 games in 120 days or whatever it is, let alone an abbreviated camp with two exhibition games, so I think it is going to be crazy from start to finish. We’ve already seen a few trades and acquisitions and what not. I think top to bottom it’s going to be one of those anomaly type things where you just gotta embrace it and make the most of it and see who makes it through.”

At this point in your career do you want to finish your career with the Phoenix Suns?

“Well that would be amazing to do that. I have been here for the majority of my career and had a ton of success here. This is home. I feel a part of the franchise and organization beyond just as a player, so it feels right. It feels like home and that would be great. I know the business is crazy and ever changing so you always gotta be prepared for whatever it may be, but yeah it would be great to finish my career [with the Phoenix Suns].”

If for some reason this season doesn’t go the way you want and you a have chance to go to a contender at the NBA trade deadline, would you want to do that?

“Well I think that’s a situation where it is hard for me to answer. I think right now no. Right now I want to stay with my team and if it wasn’t going well in some way take our lumps, but it’s such a speculative question that I don’t know if I could give you a proper answer, but my heart has always been here. I always wanted to stick it out and always wanted to be [here] whether we end up in the conference finals or we end up not making the playoffs. I guess I always felt like apart of this team and apart of the fabric and never really wanted to jump ship.”

Listen to Steve Nash on KTAR in Phoenix here

Pittsburgh Panthers’ Cam Saddler: Todd Graham Better Not Dare Come Back and Attempt to Meet With Us

Sports Radio Interviews — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:50:38 +0000

I can’t say that I’ve ever had a girl break up with me via text message, but I imagine that’s what the Pitt Panthers feel like this week when they received a text message that Todd Graham was leaving them to go coach Arizona State. It was a shock to a group of players that endured a coaching change — when Graham was hired — less than a year earlier.

Pitt wide receiver Cam Saddler, one of the team’s leaders, spoke out on the situation, describing how Graham spoke often of his money and the shock that the players were experiencing. At the mention of Graham possibly returning to meet with the team after leaving so hastily, Saddle said Graham better not dare come back.

Cam Saddler joined 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh on The Morning Show to discuss Graham not being genuine, the shock of the coaching change, what it will take to trust the next guy, talking to incoming recruits, the team coming together in a tough time, Graham talking about his money and what he would think if Graham wanted to come back and meet with the team.

When did you start to see this guy as not genuine?:

“I guess I got bamboozled. It just started to unravel slowly but surely, probably the first couple months he was there in the offseason. … Everybody wants to impress the new coach. But after a while, you cannot repeat the same stuff over and over. You’ve got to actually show us something.”

Have you learned more in the past 24 hours in the locker room or in the past four years in the classroom?:

“The last 24 hours, man. This has been rough, man. This is happening again? The first time it happened last year, we were all in shock, like no way this is going down. … Then, it’s happening now. … We’re kind of just like, again? How’s this happening again? We know what to expect, what we’re getting ourselves into, and it’s like, ‘Why us?’”

What do you think it’ll take for you to trust the next guy?:

“We don’t nobody to tell us nothing. We want somebody to show us. We’re tired of hearing speeches of how everything’s going to be OK and everything’s going to get better. … Show us. We’re done talking. I don’t want no one coming in here and talking to us, trying to sell us.”

You’ve been known as a guy who helped guys decide to come here. What do you say now?:

“I’m going to do some justice on this class, I promise. I think people are a little bit too worried about recruiting. I think, as a team, we’ll handle that. I talked to a couple recruits yesterday and I just wanted to tell the guys, ‘You’re coming to join the team.’”

Do you think you guys have come together as a team because of this?:

“Definitely. This is making us closer and closer. Everyone’s texting everybody and calling everybody just so we can all be on the same page. This situation is wild man. This doesn’t happen every day. … You don’t switch bosses this often. … We’ve got each other, though. I know it’s kind of cliche to say, but who else do you have?”

Give us an example of when Graham spoke about his money:

“He told us at a team meeting that … ‘I’ll lose game with guys with integrity. It doesn’t matter to me if I get fired. I make $2 million a year, I can move to the Caribbean and me and my wife can be better off for the rest of our lives.’ Like, what kind of nonsense is that? I don’t care about that. You’re my coach. I understand that; you get paid lots of money. … You have a nice haircut and all, but why would you tell us that you and your wife would be OK.”

More on the situation:

“I had to let them know that, I understand this is a business, but this is personal. This hurt. It was a business last year, but now this is personal, man. We’re young men, and we deserve the same respect that everyone else deserves.”

Todd Graham said he would like to come back and meet with you guys. What do you think about that?:

“No, no, no. He better not dare try to come over here. He better not dare. I mean that with a passion. When the situation first happened, I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I sat down with a couple guys and told them if the plan was for Coach Graham to coach us in the bowl game, we are not going to play.”

Listen to Cam Saddler on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh here

Grant Hill on his Return to the Phoenix Suns: “You can’t go out like that. I felt like we had something to prove.”

Sports Radio Interviews — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:15:42 +0000

Grant Hill will be returning back to the desert after accepting a one-year deal from the Phoenix Suns. The 39-year old small forward was said to be mulling offers from multiple teams including the New York Knicks, but elected to return back to the Suns because he felt there was some unfinished business to take care of.

Hill eludes to his teammate Steve Nash as being one of the deciding factors in his decision to return to Phoenix. The seven-time All-Star, who averaged 13.2 points last season, will be going into his 17th season and fifth in a row with the Suns.

Grant Hill joined XTRA 910 in Phoenix with Bickley and MJ to discuss the rumors of signing with the New York Knicks, ultimately deciding to re-sign with the Phoenix Suns, the pace of training camp during a shortened NBA season and his feelings on Steve Nash finishing his career with the Suns.

Now there are a lot of jilted people in New York. They really felt you were going to be a member of the Knicks this time. Your thoughts?

“Well it seems like I’ve entertained or flirted with them [New York Knicks] three times throughout my career. It was an interesting process. There are people in that organization that I know and know very well. Amar’e Stoudemire. Coach D’Antoni. Even Allan Houston, who I’ve played with and known since we were in high school. It wasn’t honestly just them. There were other teams as well, but it was an interesting process. It was a successful process, but to be 39 and have gone through a number of things throughout my career – to have some really good teams and great opportunities knocking at my door – it was for the most part – it was positive.”

This must have been a tough decision knowing how much you love Phoenix, but the other options were appealing?

“Yeah. No. It was interesting. They were viable, very attractive, very interesting. Coaches that I respected – teams that theoretically I guess are – one would say closer to winning a championship than we are. You want to be thoughtful in delivery in making your decision and obviously because of everything being accelerated with the rush to get the season started that it wasn’t your normal sort of off-season in terms of weighing your options. It was interesting. At the end of the day I just…I liked my teammates. I like the coaching staff, management, ownership, and just…I don’t know. I just felt like we had something to prove. Last year was a tough year for us in a lot of ways with a lot of transition and a lot of changes personnel wise. A lot changes in the front office. A lot of reasons for no excuses, but you just feel like you want to…you can’t go out like that. You want to at least – when I came here – this franchise there was a high expectation. This franchise was about trying to compete for a championship and to leave the way things were last year it didn’t fit right. Not to say if we made the playoffs I would have left, but I felt like we had something to prove. Even my teammates, even my family, my brothers, we collectively want to go out there and do it. We have a great opportunity this year.”

What has training camp been like? Do you think your style of play can win in a shortened season?

“Training camp is never fun. I’ll be the first to say. It’s a necessary evil. I think the key to the lockout season is certainly if my memory serves me correct it’s about managing the schedule as it always is. This year this schedule is going to be a lot different. There’s going to be a lot of games and not enough time for practice. We are going to use our depth or the fact that we have a lot of good players especially with some of the new guys and really sometimes these teams that rely on one or two guys to do the bulk of the scoring in some cases backfire during this type of schedule because it’s going to be hard to maintain that level of play as an individual every game, but because we have depth we don’t necessarily have that super star except for Steve [Nash], but we are going to play hard. We are going to run. We are going to compete. We are going to play better defense this year. We are not going to concede to anybody and we are going to use our depth, so I think this year might be an unusual year in a lot of ways, but hopefully it’ll play to our advantage.”

Can we assume by you coming back that Steve Nash wants to ride this thing out and get his sunset here?

“I did talk with Steve and Steve spoke about maybe a week ago and just sort of wanting me back and supporting me and that was great. He didn’t have to do that, but I certainly appreciate it. I think look the guy has had great years. He was drafted here and had MVP like seasons in a good portion of his whole Suns career. I think in a perfect world he would like to finish up here and get this organization back to respectability. Hell even just get a championship here. I think he wants to stay. I can’t – I don’t want to read too much into him and I think a lot obviously goes into this season, but you can’t worry about the future. We just gotta worry about this two-a-day that we have tonight and just take it one game at a time. I’m hopeful. I just think he’s been so much for this franchise and so much to this community. To me he embodies what true class and professionalism is all about and I’ve really enjoyed playing with him and getting to know him and really having a friendship on-and-off the court. I don’t want to get too far down the road, but the guy could still play. He’s got a lot left in the tank. I feel like too there is a lot of great point guards in this league, but he still has an edge about him and still feels like he belongs in that conversation. I expect big things from him this year as well.”

Listen to Grant Hill on XTRA 910 in Phoenix here

Rich Rodriguez Lands on His Feet at Arizona (Which By The Way He Never Visited)

fanster.com — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:50:59 +0000

It seemed like a forgone conclusion that Rich Rodriguez would get back into coaching, it was simply a matter of when and where. Those questions were answered last week when Rodriguez was hired as the next coach at Arizona, taking over for the fired Mike Stoops.

Now there will be plenty of other questions to answer. Rodriguez still has the blemish on his resume that was the stop at Michigan, though he explains in the following interview why he still believes he was on the right track there. And people are already wondering if he can replicate what he did at West Virginia while he’s coaching in Tucson.

Rich Rodriguez joined KTAR in Phoenix with Doug and Wolf to discuss why he decided Arizona was the right fit, how much convincing it took, the vision for the program going forward, the biggest challenge he’ll face, what he learned from his stint at Michigan, if he can replicate his success at West Virginia and why he signed on to coach without visiting Tucson.

Why did you decide you’d like to coach at Arizona?:

“The thing that appeals to me is obviously they’ve had some success there. Mike Stoops had them right on the cusp and did a pretty good job and they were right there and just had some tough luck. … They’ve had success in a lot of other sports. Look what they’re doing in men’s basketball, what they’ve done in softball. It’s a great college town with tremendous fan support, tremendous alumni support. … The other thing that appealed to me was that the staff played such a big role in hiring me. … We’re building a brand new facility. … The timing, I think, is just perfect.”

How much convincing did it take and at what point did you decide, ‘This is it’?:

“It was kind of a process. Obviously I was hungry to get back into coaching. I enjoyed the media part of it. I don’t know about putting makeup on. … It kind of gave me a chance to stay involved in the game and see other programs and all that, so I was really hungry to get back in coach. And, again, [athletic director] Greg Byrne did a tremendous job of explaining his vision for the program. … He called everybody and their brother about me and did his due diligence on me, too, which is fair, and toward the end of the process … then I started asking more questions.”

More on the vision:

“I had a great meeting with some of the other administrators … and I just felt it was comfortable. I always thought that if you’re in a place that has the resources to have success — which we do there — and you’ve got everybody pulling the rope in the same direction, you’ve got a shot. … [At West Virginia] everybody was pulling the same direction.”

What is the biggest challenge going forward?:

“I’ve got to put together, obviously, a good recruiting class. That’s important right now, but I’ve also got to have the chance to evaluate where we’re at personnel-wise. A lot of people say, and it always bothers me, ‘when you get your kids in.’ I told the team that. … I said, ‘The day I agreed to become the coach, you became my kids.’ Obviously we’re going to recruit guys every year, but they’re my kids as soon as I signed that contract. We’ve got to find what we have and adapt to the things we do. … I’ve got a five-year contract to get it done. I don’t think it’ll take that long, but I think there’s a lot of pieces in place right now.”

What did you learn at Michigan and what would you do differently?:

“I’ve thought about that a lot. Going in, people say, ‘Well, it didn’t work for you at Michigan.’ I still believe it was working, it was just taking longer than I wanted. We went from three to five to seven wins and we thought this year we’d win nine, 10 or 11 and they’re already at that level. Then, Year Five was going to be even better. I just felt we ran out of time. We had a few obstacles in the beginning because there were a whole bunch of misconceptions about ‘This guy’s an outsider and doesn’t understand our tradition.’ … We had to fight that a little bit. … That being said, I think we’ve learned from that. … I think I’m a better coach now than I was three or four years ago when we were the cat’s meow at West Virginia.”

Can you take Arizona where you took West Virginia?:’

“Everybody wants to talk about offense and I was very fortunate to have some dynamic players offensively and did some really neat things. But it’s really more about an attitude and a program and what I call a hard edge. When you play with a hard edge, you can see 11 guys out there playing as hard as they can on every snap. … I love fast players, but I love physical players even moreso. That kind of attitude and culture is something we want to implement immediately.”

Did I hear correctly that you took the job without visiting Tucson?:

“Yep, I sure did. I talked to about probably 10 or 15 people that have either lived there for an extended period of time or spent quite a bit of time there. To a person, every single one of them said it’s a great place to live. If somebody would’ve said, ‘I don’t know about this or that,’ maybe I would’ve said I needed to see it first, but heck, I signed sight unseen.”

Listen to Rich Rodriguez on KTAR in Phoenix here