PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Exceeding Expectations

Episode Date: December 8, 2021

The Phoenix Suns have Devin Booker. The Arizona Cardinals have Kyler Murray. Both teams are on fire. Which Arizona Sports franchises are exceeding expectations?Join Makayla Perkins, Chierstin Susel, Derek Montilla and Lindsey Smith to discuss what's going on wit the teams in The Valley of the Sun! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome into the Phoenix Sports Podcast presented by Drop King's Sportsbook America's top-rated sportsbook app. I'm your host, Michaela Perkins. And joining me this week to talk some Arizona sports is Lindsay Smith, Derek Montia, and Cheerson, Sue Selle. Hey, everyone. How's it going? Hi.

Going pretty well. How are you? I had the dentist appointment this morning. So, you know, I'm still trying to mentally recover from that experience. Am I the only one who actually doesn't mind going to the dentist? Yes. No, I don't either. My dentist is very nice.

He's a very, like, we have great conversations and stuff. Your friends with your dentist? I am somehow friends with my dentist. He moved from being close to me to like an hour away, and I still go to him because we're tight like that. My dentist has an emotional support dog in her office. Oh, I would go there. Yeah. Okay.

The dog can literally lay on you when you're getting teeth cleaned or whatever you need. What kind of? of dog is it? I don't know. It's a little fluff thing. Oh, okay. I need to go to this dentist wherever it is. I need to go there. Fun fact, I have so much anxiety. You know, when you get x-ray, they put like that blanket over you to protect your like organs

or whatever. It's heavy. I just have them leave it on me the whole time because it's like a hug and it's like comforting. That's how scared of the dentist I am. So yeah, that was me this morning. I feel like my teeth are so nice and shiny and clean. Afterwards. I don't know. Sorry. Didn't even get us off. Just a traumatic experience. Anyway, it's good.

I hope you guys are having a good Wednesday. day. Let's get this started with our Valley Sports Temperature Check. The graphic is not, well, actually, yeah, we need to update the standings of the teams. The suns need to be a little higher. I know that it hasn't actually moved, but I feel like the coyotes have moved and closed ground on the debacks on this graphic. Yeah, yeah, we'll get that updated. It's not reflective of the team's current standings, but it is our Valley Sports Temperature Check. Let's get started with the Suns. They broke their franchise win streak record of 17. It now sits at 18.

They unfortunately lost to the Warriors right after that. We're on a one game win streak. Keep the streak going. They're tied for the best record in the NBA right now at 20 and 4, which is an 0.8331 percentage, which just so happens to be the same win percentage that the Cardinals have, which is crazy. Fun fact. Lindsay, how impressed are you with the Sun's team right now?

I mean, it's fun. That's the best way to describe it. I just think that we need to remember, like, we have not had nice things for a really long time. We could nitpick a whole bunch of stuff, I'm sure. But we do have a nice thing. So we should just be thankful for that. It's hard to enjoy it. Because my first thought is like it's sort of a cliche, but I feel like it has some meaning behind it is like, are they hitting their stride too early?

Can they sustain this? I'm like afraid of having success. Right. Which is why. I think that's trauma from the past. Yes. We're all drama-scarred being Valley Sportsman, which is why we are talking about the topic that we're talking about today, not to give it away. Because I feel like we're so superstitious. We don't want to jinx anything. Like, we don't want to buy in too soon because we don't want to get our hearts broken. But I will say, it is so cool to see the Suns absolutely dominating on the court.

I know Devin Booker is dealing with a little bit of a hamstring injury. Do you have any updates on his status? No. So the Suns took yesterday and today off of practice, which is probably really good for the team just to give them some. rest because November was a heavy month for that. Yes. They had a lot of games, a lot of, I think we had, shoot, I want to say five back to backs already this season, which is, it just feels like a lot. I don't know if it actually is statistically, but it feels like a lot for this team.

So we haven't really had any opportunity to ask Monty Williams about it, but last we heard is just he's going to take some time to rest. He's in rehab right now. Two weeks, roughly five to ten games, depending on. just kind of how he feels. And honestly, right now, like, like you said, it is the beginning of the season. So we're a quarter of the way through. This part of the season is not the most important part of the season.

So better safe and sorry with your star player, that's for sure. Yeah, absolutely. I think one of my favorite parts of this sun season in particular this year is how when things happen, you get to watch other people step up and they constantly have that next minute up mentality. DeAndre Ayn was hurt. Frank Kaminsky balled out. You know, Devin Booker's hurt now.

Andrew Shammett is like, don't worry, I got it. So I think I just love that more than anything about this team this year is just getting to watch how they handle adversity. And I already kind of gave it away. We're going to talk about it a little bit later. But despite all the doubters out there, they just continually prove everyone that's doubting them wrong. So cool to watch.

I mean, we've talked about it on this show before, but those storylines are always fun to see when something like this does happen. You don't want it to happen, but when it does, it creates opportunities for other players to step up and to shine and some fun storylines come out of it and allows fans to grab onto maybe another player that they didn't realize they love so much. Well, in a win against, like the win against San Antonio, you have just, you can see how good this team is. Yeah.

I mean, you know, they didn't seem to miss Booker too much. He would have been that extra, you know, like maybe it would have been a 20 point more comfortable win with him there, but they just, you know, especially Chris Paul has just stepped up been taken over as far as, you know, meeting this team. One of my favorite parts, even back to last year and their finals run throughout the playoffs was when, you know, you didn't want to see Chris Paul get hurt, but getting to see campaign step up. We got to see, you know, what he was capable of.

And so, you know, we saw glimpses of how deep this team was last year. They've added some more pieces and it's exciting. Yeah, absolutely. You already mentioned that the suns are on a little bit of a break, but they will be taking on the Celtics on Friday. What are you expecting us? of that matchup? Well, the Celtics lost to the spurs and the Lakers and the suns beat the spurs and the Lakers. So if my math is mathing, we should win. Right? My osmosis. I'm already won.

No, I mean, I do think, though, that the sun should fare well in this matchup on Friday. They will be rested. Just hopefully they come in with more energy and a good mindset. But it's funny because I was looking up articles and I happened to stumble upon one that I think was from like 2013 that somehow was the top of my Google search and it was like the matchup between the veteran team and like a young awful team in a in a rebuilding stage and I was like how the tables have turned oh the turn tables turn I want to remind you guys if you're watching on Twitter head over to YouTube join us in our chat if you're in our chat right now let us know you're here say what's up we love when you interact on the show we'll read your comments out loud but definitely head over to YouTube if you're watching on Twitter going from one team that's done dominating to another. The Cardinals are also have the best record in their league in the NFL is sitting at 10 and 2, the same win percentage as the Suns. Kyla Murray and DeAndre Hopkins are so back. That game on Sunday in Chicago was so fun to watch.

Peterson, what impressed you the most about that win on Sunday? There was a lot to be impressed with. I think, you know, for starters, just the fact that it was a bad weather game. It was cold and it was rainy and it certainly affected the way things played out, but after the first play when the ball slipped out of Kyler's hands, a few plays later, he connected with the Andre Hopkins, and that was the I'm back moment for both of them. And from then on, they didn't really skip a beat. But, you know, so that in and of itself, but then I think you've got to give credit to their defense for interceptions.

And, you know, they were really the difference maker in that game. And one of the better defensive performances that we've seen out of this team. And so to do that out of a buy, which historic, they've not fared well out of a buy and to go into Chicago and be able to put the bears away like they did so many things to be impressed about. Yeah, absolutely. I agree. One of my favorite moments from the game was when it was very early, they cut away from a shot of the field and there was a fan trying to get his windbreaker poncho on his head. Dude was struggling so hard. Predited to the broadcast crew because they held on to that chat for like a long time. They were like this is definitely going to make people on the internet so.

happy. The guy had the same amount of field visibility as poor Andy Dalton did. But unfortunately, for him. It was a great game to watch. I did enjoy watching the defense ball out too. But it was just so like there's just like some weird sense of comfort watching Kyler Marine D'Andre Hopkins like back out there. You're like, oh, I can breathe. Like everything's going to be okay. For sure. For sure. And they converted so easily when the defense gave them the ball you know, on the bear side of the field. That's something that wasn't coming as easily with Colt McCoy back there,

and you kind of took it for granted. I feel like how once Kyler is there, there's so many weapons, their ability to empty the backfield and still have essentially a running back quarterback out there and have the defense have to stay honest and stuff. It's just great to see them back. And again, it was nice, kind of like with the Suns. It was nice that they were able to still win without. him and you know give give him that time to recover from that injury now he's back

hopefully at a hundred percent and and can you know lead this team to the playoffs yeah well they're gonna they're gonna need him to be at 100 percent and they're also going to need to be firing on all sides of the ball for their Monday night football matchup against the Rams this has a this is probably the biggest game of the year maybe I would say if the cardinals do win they will clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2015 and if the Cardinals can win on Monday and they can also beat the Lions, which they should, they will be NFC West Division champs. So, Chirsten, what are you expecting out of this Monday night football matchup? Well, I'll say that as you say it's potentially one of the biggest games of the year.

Christian Kirk reminded us all that they're looking at it as with each win, the stakes get higher. The stakes get higher. You position yourself in a, you know, a greater spot in the standings or position yourself to secure a spot in the playoffs or get closer to being NFC West champs, you know, the stakes get greater. And so they're well aware of what this game would mean. I think they're also wanting to get the monkey off their back that is their home record. They can also go 0 and 3 in their last games at home. And so I think this game they're really looking at is this is for the fans because fans weren't happy the last two times they've been out at State Farm Stadium.

In fact, a lot of them took to Twitter and they're like, this is a one game. like, especially that Panthers game. Like, this is a one game I was able to go to all year long. Yeah. And this is what you guys do. So they definitely want, first and foremost, to focus in on, you know, getting another win, getting a win at home, putting all of that in the past. It's like when I was, you know, asking even Cliff, you know, what would it mean to just lock up that,

that playoff spot? This team has far greater aspirations than to just lock up a spot in the playoffs. But it's significant because he haven't done it in a while. Yeah. And he basically just said, listen. and we want to get a win at home. And so I don't think they're trying to look too far ahead in terms of what this would mean. But it's also a division game.

You know, Cardinals fans always get up to play the Rams. It's Cliff's friend and Sean McVeigh. They have a chance to sweep the Rams, which would be really big. A lot of people think that the Rams are frauds, but still it's a division rival. And they still have Sean McVeigh, and they still have a lot of key pieces. They've added some key pieces in OBJ and Von Miller since they've seen them last. Don't remind me. And so it's going to be a fight no matter what.

Yeah, absolutely. It'll definitely be a great game. If you are looking for a place to tailgate, to hang out, to drink, to have some good food before the game, we are going to have a rager at the Lola with Birdgang Travel Club on Monday. Please come hang out with us. We are super excited to get out there in Glendale and to tailgate with all of you. Our block party, like I mentioned, there's going to be an open bar, premium tailgate. gate food, there's going to be a DJ. We're all going to be out there. It's going to be so much

fun. Tickets to that tailgate are burgingtravel.com. Make sure you go get some tickets so you can hang out with us. We're all going to be there, except for Lindsay, who has a game. She has a son's game. For sure. Not even working. I'll just be there. It sounds like it's going to be so much fun.

I'm a little jealous. It's a great time. We don't want to rub it in Lindsay, but like all you can eat, all you can drink. It's going to be fun. More importantly, all you can eat guacamole. That's the only thing dared kids. And you get to see Frank's new tattoo in person. That's true.

There's two good reasons. Frank Tendors will be there. That's all I do. They leave it completely unattended. If the guacos missing, don't look for it. It would get Derek. That's all they do. They leave it completely unattended.

But you also bring up a good point. Our very own Frank Sanders did get a tattoo last night live on our show. He sure did. It was awesome. To honor Cliff Kingsbury, it was a K2 tattoo with a colonel on it. So he did it. He did. If you go, you get to see it live.

Just to explain that. Frank did not believe in Cliff. And he said that if he made, if Cliff made Frank believe in him that he would get this K2 tattoo. And this is the result, which is Frank, Frank is a believer. Unbelievable. If you haven't seen an episode. Oh, I can either. I watched it live and I still can't believe it happened.

If you miss that show, go check it out on our YouTube channel. It is one to behold. That is for sure. Really quickly, before we move on to our topic, I do want to talk about the Diamondbacks, because they did sign a 13-year veteran closer, a four-time All-Star, and he also is a product of the University of Arizona. That's right. Mark Moulanson has joined the Diamondbacks. So what are your thoughts on that acquisition?

He's one of the biggest relief acquisitions that the Diamondbacks have ever made. He led the league in saves last year. I know there's a lot of jokes about how are the Diamondbacks going to pick up a closer when they don't have the team around it. The Diamondbacks have positional needs. still that they have to fill. And one of those is the closer position and the bullpen. That's going to be their focus, right? I personally think the Diamondbacks believe a lot in not only their farm system, but the coaches that they have acquired during the off season to make not just the young guys ready for the major leagues, but to improve the game of the players that they

already have. They believe in this team a lot, even though the record last year, you know, doesn't really uphold believing in them, right? I'll just say that they definitely still think that a lot of these guys can get better with good coaching, so they went out and they got good coaches. And honestly, the Mark Malanson signing was surprising because he's a really good reliever. He comes from the Padres. He has a lot of veteran experience. He's everything that you would want the Diamondbacks to go get.

Yeah. His experience being around the young pitchers that they're going to bring up, because a of those guys that they bring up as, you know, for the first time in major leagues, they're going to go into the bullpen for to just dip their toes in pitching in the majors. So having a guy like that in the bullpen to be around them is the exact kind of experience and veteran presence you want to help those guys out. Yeah, absolutely. And again, it's, that's what the Diamondbacks have said they are committed to in the future and all of their, you know, acquisitions and things that they've done kind of back that up. I

again, I just think that he is somebody I didn't expect them to get. You know, you kind of look at the available free agents, and he was a little bit above what I thought talent-wise that the Diamondbacks would bring in. Well, we will definitely talk a little bit more about exceeding those expectations you had in a little bit. Quickly touching on the coyotes, if you haven't paid attention to the

coyotes at all this season, I don't blame you, but just in case you're interested, they have the worst record in the league. They're sitting at 5, 18, and 2. They lost to the stars on Monday, and they will be taking on the Panthers on Friday. I do not anticipate that I'm winning that game, but hey, you never know. They have managed to win five times this season, which I am impressed by. Yeah, that's surprising. But you can do what I do and bet against them on the Drafting Sportsbook app. I'm just saying, if they're losing, it doesn't mean you have to.

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That was your Valley Sports Temperature Check. Let's get into our main topic of the day, which is exceeding expectations. I'm sorry. Why are you laughing? I don't know what that's like. Yeah. Unfortunately. It couldn't be me.

You have to talk about the Diamondbacks for a living, so I do not envy you. They exceeded your expectations with their latest position. Yeah, they did. And they exceeded my expectations with the coaching staff. And they exceeded my expectations with the coaching staff. They definitely thought the Diamondbacks were going to have a bit of an issue finding these coaches that that Tori Lavolo was going to need to fill his staff. Yeah, because who wants to come coach here? That's kind of it.

I mean, you're kind of right about that. Like, what's the appeal to come coach here, right? Well, you can throw a whole bunch of money at them, which, you know, might have been part of it. But the guys that they brought in are guys that quantifiably made the teams that they, were added to better. Yeah. Right. Joe Mather with the Reds, Brent Strom with the Astros.

There's just data that backs up them being added to those teams and those teams getting better in pitching and hitting when those coaches were added. So I'm just, I'm floored by it. I can't believe that they brought in guys like Jeff Bannister as a bench coach who could easily be a manager for any team in the league at this point. So I just, I think that they've done an excellent job. And again, committing to that the youth movement that they've talked about that they were going to commit to. Yeah.

I know that no moves can be made currently because there is a lockout for anyone that did not know baseball has ceased to operate at the moment. Again, which makes doing a podcast about baseball. Yeah. Can I just say I hope that some of these players take a page out of a prior NBA lockout book and start making Blake Griffin, Chris Paul type spoof videos. Oh, yeah, please. Because that was the greatest thing. That was a throwback. So if you haven't seen those, you've got to go find them.

But I hope somebody does that. Give me content. Please. That was hilarious. We also could see not, you know, you're not going to see the Mike Trouts and such out there. But, I mean, we could even see guys, if this goes on long enough, go play overseas because that's allowed during the lockout. And there's a lot of options. I mean, the KBO really gained a lot of popularity and traction when baseball wasn't being played due to the, you know, pandemic.

They all have, they've started to be a little feisty on social media, changing their profile pictures to anonymous heads. By the way, that is because of the lockout. They cannot have their images any longer on MLB.com. So if you go look up any players on the website, their images have been removed because it's owned by the Players Association. So yes. I'm a little shocked that so quickly after there was no sports, I mean, it's 2021, 2020, we, we, had a long chunk of time where we had no sports whatsoever. And baseball had a fight to get back to playing. Right. And here we are again already. Yeah. Fighting again. And that's the biggest problem

is baseball popularity is already dwindling. So I don't understand why you would do something that is just going to make you look bad in the eye of the public again and, and make fan, kind of turn fans off, right? So baseball can't get out of its own way. They really can. They also have the worst commissioner in the history of commissioners. Sorry, Rob Manfred. The collective bargaining agreement has a lot of stuff in there. And some of it, it's just, it's never, like, I feel so much of it's going to get whittled away by the time they have a new agreement that there won't be that many changes. But there are some things they really want to push like an expanded playoffs.

And this changed the draft system that I wrote an article about on go phnx.com that could impact the debacks getting the number one overall draft pick. If and when baseball does resume operations, are your expectations that this team is going to be buyers and are going to go after some more people. I know a lot of the high-end free agents have already been accounted for, but, you know, there are a lot of mid-level talent guys out there still. Do you expect the Diamondbacks to go after any of them, or is this kind of it for them? I've compared it to going shopping on Black Friday, but not on Black Friday when you go on Saturday.

It's like the discount bin shopping. You just kind of pick through what's left over that's still on sale, right? So I see the Debacks doing that because there's still as much as they want. want to look to their farm system to fill their positional needs. There's just too many right now on the team that they, I don't know if some of those guys are ready to come up and be full time, you know, third baseman or full time center fielder or right fielder.

So I think that they will have to bring in some veteran guys like Melanson on like a two-year contract or a one-year deal, something short term. And hopefully in the time being they can, you know, develop their future full-time guys like Alec Thomas and, you know, some of these guys that have even been up already that have been playing pretty

well, but haven't been consistent. For sure. Well, it'll be interesting to see what happens when baseball can manage to actually figure itself out. No guarantees on when that'll happen because they suck right now. That's right. Lindsay, I need to ask you something. And I'm really curious about this.

So obviously, the sons, they went to the finals last season. At the beginning of this season, what were your expectations for a team who just went to the finals and lost in the finals? Yeah. Yeah. You had that high of expectations. Totally. 100% do you feel like that is a common expectation that is shared among people who watch and care about the sons?

I would say yes, I think so. I mean, how do you guys feel? I think it depends on maybe who you ask. I think everyone expected the sons to be good again this year. There were some people who are like, well, you know, you see historically their teams that go to the finals and then the next year it's kind of just like what happened. You know what I mean? but I think because the Sons were able to retain so many of its core players that that worry maybe was there in the back of your mind, but not as heavy as it could have been. There were some losses early on that made me go into a panic.

Oh, yeah. The first handful of games in season was like the first two weeks, I was like, oh, no. Oh, boy. Here we go. And see, and I think that was the thing was there wasn't that confidence that other teams that have been good consistently for a long period of time. might have, I immediately went into meltdown. Oh man, we're going to suck again. I knew it. I knew it. And so that's it. I mean, I think that the, you know, the Nash era produced probably the most consistent, you know, team as far as success goes. Yeah, absolutely. I didn't know if I was ready to

say this team was that. Yeah, I mean, there was definitely a slight tinge of panic at the beginning of the season. But there were also a lot of factors. And I mean, we've all talked about this. multiple times. It was a very short off season for these guys. Devin went and played in the Olympics as well so it shortened his offseason even more. Then he got COVID and had that whole thing go down. But

even Monty said like they took training camp a little bit lighter this year almost. It wasn't, he didn't go as hard on them as maybe he would in a traditional off season type of setting because training camp was like the finals. They were in the finals when some teams were.

Yeah, exactly. If I'll be on the chat said, My expectations are at least conference finals. Yeah. So, and that's at least. So I think there are high expectations for this team. And I think not to get too ahead of you, but I would say that they're meeting those expectations right now. I think this team is better, like the roster is better than they were last year. I think they upgraded a few positions.

And I think, you know, you see a guy like McHale Bridges who, great player. But man, he's taking his game to another level this season. Hach, defensive player of the year. Now you've got another season. with all of your guys playing together as well. So I think they hit their stride in terms of like, you know, I remember DeAndre Aden saying last year that he was surprised at how quickly this team came together. Like Jay Crowder and Chris Paul, new additions,

they thought they were going to take, you know, another year or so before they finally hit their stride. Well, they hit it at the end of last season, carrying it into this season, brought a few more pieces that to make their roster even better. Right. They were the right pieces too because this team is, you never, you never know when you bring in, you know, you've got a good thing going. you've got great chemistry, you've got a great locker room, and you're going to bring people into that. It's like, okay, you really got to be the right fit.

I think those guys are the right fit. So this team should, you know, people should absolutely place the same expectations that they had at the Sons during their playoff run on this team as well. I agree. And I think, you know, this is going to contribute to this overall conversation that I wanted to have today is, you know, I think that the expectations for the Sons at the beginning of the year should have been high. Because like you guys have all said, the pieces were all and have all been. place. You have Monty Williams, who was in discussion for a coach of the other last year. Snubbed. Absolutely. If he doesn't win this year, I'm going to have a strongly worded letter to Adam Silver. So, you know, you had Monty leading the ship along with the support of James Jones,

who, in my opinion, has exceeded my expectations in that position. We've had a rotating front office for how many years now when it comes to the sun. So to finally have some stability there and have someone like James Jones leading that ship as long as well as Monty. And then you bring back, you know, Chris Paul, you sign him again, you have Devin Booker, you have DeAndre Ayn, you have all these big names, and then you have all these incredibly important support pieces in Cam Johnson, campaign, Jay Crowder. Coming into this season, expectations should and still should be high, but I'm so confused as to why everyone outside of Phoenix and people who actually care and watch about the Sons don't seem to believe in this team. It is unreal to me, the national media bias that is

placed against the Sons for whatever reason that discounts them at every single turn that they take and I don't get it. I really don't. I think it's just track record to be honest. That probably plays a lot into their lack of attention or respect, I guess you could say. Yeah. Because the Sons haven't had the best track record over the last decade or so it feels like. I mean they won 19 games in a season. They haven't won a championship. So, I mean, Phoenix is not a small market, but for whatever reason, it gets lumped into the small market. Well, it's all small market based on the television rights or the television viewing area is what considers it to be a small market. But you're right. This is the, what, fourth biggest city in the country.

And the Phoenix sun's up. I don't even think that's it because it's a high TV market. I think it, I don't, I truly don't understand what considers it like a smaller. market is it like the amount of fans or something like that because we have a lot of transplant people but this is a high TV market so it wouldn't be that either like this is not I honestly think it's just perception yeah but I could be wrong I don't know I don't know like the require it's what the small market term is television based I know but this isn't this is not a small TV market it's one of the biggest markets in the country yeah so I don't I don't

understand it um I can't can't you guys help me with the comments I can't read it yeah so they're saying Derek I think you're saying Derek I think You and I, we're not, we're not loud enough. Okay. Sorry. Speak up guys. We'll be louder. I can be louder for sure.

The only thing that was heard in that discussion is, we're not a small TV market. I have heard otherwise. So I don't have actual numbers to back up any of these claims, but I have heard that Phoenix is like at least top 10 TV market. Yeah. I don't. Cheers. And you came from that area. I feel like you would know.

Yeah, they teeter like each year, but they're right around top. 10 market, yeah. Which I mean. And we're only growing. And so I think I have a good feeling that once we get the next ratings, since people are continued to move to Phoenix, is it has something to do with population and the amount of viewers that you have, I legitimately think that we will for sure be in top 10, the next ratings that come out.

Yeah. They're 12th right now. 12. So yeah. And it is considered large NBA market. So you're right. So I don't get it. I don't understand the bias.

The whole Stephen A. Smith thing that happened last week. really triggered me. It sent me on a downward spiral that really upset me. You should never let Stephen A. Smith get me seriously. But I know, I know, I know, I should never take Stephen A. Smith seriously. But I get so defensive over the stunts because I was here, you know, for five years watching them be horrible. And now that they're so good, it's so great to see. And I do think that they are meeting their expectations right now. But does that mean that, you know, a successful season to you is them going to the finals? Would that be what you would define a good season as for them. Yeah, I mean, absolutely. You would be crazy to say that a team would make it to the finals

and it's not a successful season. But I think even if they don't make it to the finals, but they go fairly deep into the playoffs, it would still be a successful season because half of this team has only had one playoff experience situation, right? So the more playoff experience you get as a team, the better you're going to be overall moving forward. So I think as long as they go a couple of rounds playoffs, I would define this as a successful season. Honestly, even if they just make the playoffs, I'd probably still say the same thing. Yeah, absolutely. If I'm being completely honest,

because going back to the initial conversation, like, we have a nice thing. Even if we don't win a championship, we still have to be thankful for the nice things. Like, making the playoffs is fun. I think the thing that makes people doubt this team is Chris Paul. And Chris Paul should be in the MVP consideration

instead of having people doubt him. But it's his age and his track record in the past like as if what's happened with... Same age as LeBron? Other teams. Yeah. No, I'm not saying he's not. I'm just saying that's the way that people view it.

You know, and people see the team as being, you know. They do. But they do this with athletes of every sport, right? Where it's like, oh, man, that guy, he can't be good anymore. Like, you know, with the Cardinals, I saw him say that about A.J. Green. And I was like, are you kidding me? Look at the size of that guy. And like, look how good his shape he's in.

Why wouldn't he still be able to play at a high level, right? So I think age is just something people always factor in. but really is just a determining factor that there isn't that many more people of that age playing at that high level. It doesn't mean that that person can't do it. Well, he's still contributing. Yeah. Oh, he's incredible. In immense ways.

Like, his points might be down a little bit, but I think that a lot of that comes just from an internal strategy that they may have to kind of pace him out throughout a game versus having him rest more games. So he's almost load managing, like, within a game versus. You know what I'm saying? But last time I checked, I don't know if this is still the same, but for a good majority of the season, he's led the league in assists. You know what I mean? So he's still contributing. He's helping these young guys continue to grow and get better in their craft.

So I don't know. If you try and say like you're worried about Chris Paul, the only thing I would be worried about is if he has any sort of injury issues once the playoffs start. But even then, I still have faith that this team can figure. it out. I do too. I agree. Speaking of teams that get slided by the media, Arizona Cardinals,

Tierston, what were your expectations for this team coming into the season before they even took a regular season snap? I mean, I would say that it was purely just to make the playoffs because they should have made the playoffs last year. They had an awful stretch to close out this season

and just missed the playoffs last year. And so I think that with the talent, it was like, oh my gosh, like make the playoffs and make some sort of a run in the playoffs for sure. But I think there was the question mark as to whether or not this team was truly going to be able to turn a page, whether Cliff was going to be able to turn a page, whether the pieces that they brought in were going to actually fit, or, you know, a lot of people are saying, you know, JJ, I hate to bring it up because he is injured right now and he's

trying to make a comeback, but JJ Watts not the same player. Well, he contributed before his injury. Or James Connor, and he's not really going to work out. He's not the same guy. He's young, but for a running back, you know, he's past his prime, AJ Green too old. And so it was like, how are these pieces really going to fit together? And is this team really going to turn a page? And in my opinion, they've exceeded expectations.

This team has lost two games all year and, you know, about to lock up, you know, a spot. in the playoffs already and close to clinching the NFC West, which actually in and of itself, I think at the start of the season, the Rams were the favorite. And I don't even, I wouldn't, I would have been totally fine with them not winning the West and just getting a spot in the playoffs. Like that wasn't even on my radar really. Yeah. So they've totally blown the doors off of expectations.

It was like when they started going on a winning streak that was that long. The first thing I thought was, I don't know how to handle this. Like I almost I almost wanted them to lose just so the pressure was off, right? It's something. So much anxiety. Right. It's something I like when Mike Hazen said he didn't want the number one draft pick for the Diamondbacks, it sounds crazy. But then you're like, I kind of get it.

It's that pressure of that, especially with how weird their draft is and how few of guys actually turn out to be great major league players. Right. When the when the Cardinals were winning that much, I just didn't want it to become like the focal point of their season, which is so, stupid to say, but I just didn't, you know, I mean, I didn't want there to be this extra pressure. My expectations at the beginning were like yours. I just wanted them to make the playoffs. So at this point, when they were proving to be as good as they were, I'm like, get this other pressure off. And then let's just focus on winning in the playoffs and winning a Super Bowl, right? So, you know, once, if you start making the playoffs with an undefeated record that changes

things substantially. And it's something that I wasn't even ready for as a fan, let alone, like I can imagine how the players would feel about carrying that into the playoffs. When that's such an, it's such an arbitrary, unnecessary thing, but there is just that huge amount of pressure once you get there undefeated. They won't tell you that either. I was just another game.

Yeah. There's a little. What is it like their one and O mentality, O and one mentality? Their one and O mentality, yeah. Hey, they're 10 and two and maybe those two losses

could have helped them in some ways just to wake up and realize, you know, you know, what's at stake, don't take any week for granted. It doesn't matter who you're up against. Still have the best record in the league. Especially the Panthers game. Right. Right.

They learned a lot from the Panthers game. Well, I was going to say sometimes with a loss too, it gives you some tape to go back and look at, okay, here's some areas that maybe we weren't focused on as much while we were winning that we really should dial into a little bit more. Now that we have something to look at and pinpoint. Yeah. One thing that I think is really funny, and you guys tell me if you kind of feel this too, I know that I definitely feel this way. I'm scared to think about the Cardinals in any way that puts them in a Super Bowl type of like, this is a Super Bowl team, right?

Like, I don't know why I'm scared to feel that way because all signs point to them being that type of team. You know, they're firing on all cylinders. They've got Kyler Frick and Murray, who is an unreal quarterback. They've got all types of creative play calling from Cliff Kingsbury. Their defense is phenomenal. All signs point to them being a championship contending team. But for whatever reason, I'm just scared to be like, this is, this is it. This is the team that can win the Super Bowl.

And please, I don't want to get canceled in the comments. You like, you jigs it. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying like, I'm scared. I'm scared. I don't know. You guys feel like nobody wants to get hurt. Yeah.

Yeah. Like I feel like I'm trying to protect my heart. We've been here before. We've been in this abusive relationship before. And, you know, so there's some red flags every now and again, you know. You just kind of ignore them. Plug along, but still think of them at night, you know. Do you guys feel that feeling, though, or am I just, like, crazy?

No, I totally know what you're, that's, that's, especially when the expectations start to get high for this team, right? Because, you know, I am almost okay with the lack of national attention for Arizona teams when we start to get good because, fine. Let them not take us seriously. Let them take us for granted. This is different now, though, for the Cardinals. And they're just, they're coming up with the best record too often when they're showing the graphics on TV to not acknowledge them and how good they've been this season. I still think that they kind of write them off though.

And I'm fine with that. Like keep doing it. Let's just get to the playoffs and start doing the important games. Right. Coach Evan in the chat said, don't be afraid of it. Just embrace it. And then Shane says, yeah. You're crazy, but also I feel that too.

Like, I feel like I'm just like a wounded person that's just like scared to buy in. I'll tell you what. I honestly feel really, I mean, I'm putting my heart on a limb here, right? Oh, wow. Yeah, it's out there. It's out there. But I feel pretty confident in this team. Like, there's nothing about this team.

And I'm like, oh my gosh, you're experiencing success beyond what you can sustain. Yeah. And they've shown that. I mean, every single game you could pinpoint to something that they've shown that they have grown or they're able to get past, whether it's missing players, whether it's missing your coach, whether it's playing in certain weather conditions, whether it's, you know, whatever the case is. And time and time again, you know, the two losses were, you know, one without their starting quarterback. And it was sort of just a just an outlier, in my opinion. And then the Green Bay, I mean, Green Bay is a real. really good team. Yeah. And so, you know, aside from the two losses, the Cardinals have really

impressed me and I have a sense of confidence that I'm not saying like, oh, for sure, like, mark my word, they're going to win the Super Bowl. But this team just makes me calm because every time they go out on Sunday, like, they just show everybody that they're capable of being that type of team. And they let their play speak for itself. Yeah. Absolutely. I think the thing is for us, it's like, because ultimately at the end of the day, we're all fans of these teams, right? And we have so desperately wanted success in the Valley for so many years and we've been let down so many times. And just like even a glimmer of success, right? Like our success would have been like, can we just make it to the playoffs?

Make the playoffs. I remember how good 98 was when the Cardinals, I think it was 98 when the Cardinals made it just to the playoffs. Right. Oh, yeah. He celebrated that so much. But I think because we've been so hungry for some sort of success, when you start to get it, you're like, okay, like, what is this real life? What do we define success as? Like, it's hard to not be like, oh, well, we want a championship and that's all we want.

That's the only way it's going to be successful. But, I mean, you look at the sun's season last year, like they didn't win. But nobody in the Valley would be like that season sucked. Right? Like, it ended in a heartbreak, but the season overall was so fun. It was one of... I think you just have to live in the moment and just enjoy what you have while you have it and hope that they can go the distance and bring home some hardware, but it's still fun,

even if they don't, and then you know, at least they're taking steps to better places. Michaela, what have you gained from this therapy session? I have gained that I am validated in my emotions and I am not insane despite Shane calling me crazy. I do feel a lot better. Pearson, do you expect them to be NFC West champions? Is that your expectation for this team? Yeah, no doubt. I mean, they basically win on Monday and get one more win after that and your champs.

Do you think that they can do it against the Rams? Absolutely. I mean, they definitely have something to prove on Monday. So it's not a game that they're overlooking. And, you know, they've already beaten them once. It's really hard to sweep a team in the NFL and really in any sport. But I put my money on the Cardinals on Monday. I mean, they realize what's at stake here.

and they definitely want to get a win in front of their home crowd. And, I mean, not wanting to jump the gun to get too far out of myself. You know, if the Cardinals are NFC West Division champs, you know, the road to the Super Bowl, who are you scared of in that case? Like, who out of the NFC, out of the AFC, who worries you that the Cardinals would face in the upcoming? Well, if you say that, I mean, to get there, I mean, there's plenty of teams that worry me. I mean, if you say if they do make it to the Super Bowl and they're up against the Patriots, that would worry me.

I mean, I mean, in terms of the NFC, bucks, I was going to say, how about playing Green Bay? Yeah, Green Bay and Green Bay. Two teams that would definitely, I mean, worry me that those are teams

that could win and lose on any given night, but don't ever, ever, ever, ever count. Either one of those teams or either one of their quarterbacks out. So definitely those would be two teams. And if they do make it, and I feel like the Patriots or the favorite now to make it out of the AFC.

I mean, obviously they would be scary too. So, you know, you've got a lot of teams that are contenders right now that are, that have long histories of success and the Cardinals don't. Right. Absolutely. And as we know, experience plays a big role in those important games like the Super Bowl. Speaking of the Cardinals really quick, a check of the drafting sportsbook app. Right now they are one.

Oh, shoot, I just lost it. One and a half point favorites. They are slightly favored. not by a lot. The over and under set at 51. What do you guys, are you guys feeling like you're going to take the Cardinals on the drafting sports book up?

For sure. Yeah. One and a half. Put money on it. All right. There you have it. We're taking the Cardinals. If you want to take the Cardinals,

you can sign up with the Drag King Sportsbook app by using code PHNX. You can just bet on a team to score, which I can guarantee you the Cardinals will at least do that. Hopefully. Oh, my God. I'm scared. I'm going to jigs it. What do you do?

What are you doing? Yeah. Talk about another game. If you bet on our mouth out with soap, ASAP. I'm going to knock on win. If you bet on any team to score point, though, and you use code PHA10X to sign up, you'll win $100 in free bets when they score. When they score, you score the Jack King Sportsbook app. Also, if you are not a member of PHNX yet, please become a member.

Come hang out with us in the members-only Discord. Get some amazing written articles on go-PhNX.com. Johnny Venerable, Gerald Bourghay. They all write Derek Montia writes amazing things, which you can only have access to you if you are a member. If you sign up for an annual membership, you get a free t-shirt. I'm wearing our PHNX letter shirt, which also happens to be the logo for this podcast. Derek has on our son's gorilla shirt, which is a really sick. It actually matches a tattoo he actually has on his body.

Which is kind of crazy. Which came first? The tattoo came first. The tattoo came first for sure. But we would love it if you would become a member and join our family. I think we have a good time. Making content. Hopefully you guys have a great time consuming the content that we make. Like I said, we do have a member's only Discord and we talk in there all the time. So come

hang out with us if you're not in there already. If you're watching the show on YouTube, but you can subscribe to this podcast, wherever you get your podcast, Apple, Spotify, whatever they have on Android, I don't even know. Wherever you listen to podcasts, it's available. If you're listening to this audio version, you can come hang out with us on Wednesdays on YouTube. Come hang out on the live chat to all of you that are watching and commenting. Thank you so much. We love it. Any final thoughts before we wrap it up, guys? Go sports.

I'll say this. Sometimes in life when too much good is happening to you, I think that's when you feel like impending doom is going to happen. You're like looking for the bad. The bad or you're just waiting for the other shoe to drop. And I think that might be the case with the Cardinals and the Suns. If you're an Arizona sports fan, this might be too much goodness for you to handle for you to not be worried that something bad is going to happen. We got to embrace it while at last though, right?

Because we know the dark days. That's what everybody should come away. from all of this with. Yes. Embrace the fact that we've got two of the best teams in the respective leagues, in the suns and the cardinals, and life is good, and the sun's shining and life is good in Arizona. Absolutely. Talk you are smart.

You deserve it. You've been through years of being on the receiving end of it. Yes. Who cares? Start a fight on Twitter, but not within your own community. One day for the deeps. Please send Stephen A. Smith, all of the mean DMs that you can possibly think of. I'm just kidding.

I'm not encouraging violence. Thank you guys for this amazing therapy session. I feel so much better. Hopefully you do too, unless you're an Arizona Coyotes fan. I am so sorry. You'll get that. Hang in there.

There are brighter days ahead. You guys are the best. Thank you for tuning in, and we will see you next Wednesday.