Arizona
Arizona Wildcats Head Coach Takes Full Responsibility for Ugly Loss to Kansas State
Coming into this past Friday night’s massive, top 25 matchup, the Arizona Wildcats had some questions they had to answer regarding which version of their offense and defense was going to show up.
Was it the offense that put up tons of points in Week 1, or was it the one that was largely shut down by an FCS-level opponent in the next game?
As for the defense, it was the complete opposite as they were gashed in the opener and were able to show their teeth in Week 2.
Well, those questions were answered on Friday, and the answers were not positive.
After an opening drive touchdown, the Wildcats didn’t score a single pointe again en route to getting completely dominated, 31-7. They had three straight possessions where they punted, followed by three straight where they turned the ball over on downs.
It was ugly.
Even quarterback Noah Fifita, who was so good last season and during the opener, looked like he had taken a massive step back.
The defense still clearly has some holes, specifically on the ground as they have given up 446 total yards rushing when facing FBS opponents.
Arizona came into the matchup ranked No. 21 in the nation, viewed as a team who could compete for a Big 12 championship and a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff.
Right now, no one has those proclamations.
The Wildcats have a lot to work on during their bye week after being dominated by Kansas State, something head coach Brent Brennan is fully aware of after taking responsibility for the loss.
“At the end of the day I need to coach this team better. It all starts with me,” he said per Jason Scheer of 247Sports.
There is certainly plenty of self-inflicted wounds they can clean up, starting with penalties that seemingly stalled drive after drive on Friday.
Arizona will have to use these two weeks before their massive matchup against Utah on Sept. 28 to get everything clicking, or else they are going to put themselves in an early hole when it comes to competing for the conference.
Arizona
Arizona Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #42: 5/13 @ Rangers
Last night was the seventh consecutive game where the Diamondbacks were held to six hits or fewer. That ties a franchise record, last done in April 2022, and previously in August 2011. The team’s .477 OPS over that time is actually lower than either streak, though due to the efforts of the pitching staff, Arizona are actually 3-4 during the current run. They went 2-5 in 2022, and 1-6 in 2011. There hasn’t been a longer streak in the majors since the Angels went nine in April last year. In the National League, the Pirates went eight in June 2023. And in case you are wondering, the last team to reach a double-digit streak of games with 6 or fewer hits each time? The 1968 Astros reached 11, the year before the mound was lowered.
Let’s hope the D-backs render that moot and the offense comes to life a bit. The three runs added in garbage time last night, because one of the Rangers’ relievers couldn’t find the strike-zone, certainly padded Arizona’s resume. But they were more because of walks than hits. I’ve no doubt the team will hit better. They have batted .152 over the past week. It’s the second lowest in franchise history for a seven-game span. The only worse was April 7-15, 2022 when Arizona hit a remarkable .135, going 28-for-208 in that span. They actually scored three more runs than the current streak, mostly because they had twice as many home-runs (6-3).
Arizona
Arizona Democrats debate for state’s top education job
Superintendent Tom Horne speaks at 2026 State of Education address
Arizona Superintendent Tom Horne spoke about controversial topics like DEI and ESAs at the State of Education address to the Legislature on Jan. 20, 2026.
Provided by Arizona Legislature
Democrats Brett Newby and Teresa Leyba Ruiz are set to make the argument to voters that they’re the best candidates to serve as Arizona’s top education official for the next four years.
The Arizona Republic will be streaming the Democratic debate for the Superintendent of Public Instruction race in partnership with the Arizona Media Association. The debate starts at 6 p.m. on May 13.
The office is currently held by Tom Horne, who will on May 14 face off in an Arizona Media Association debate against fellow Republican candidate Kimberly Yee, who currently serves as state treasurer.
Newby has worked as a behavioral analyst and professor, according to his campaign. He received a master’s degree in special education. His campaign has hinged on issues like downsizing the state’s controversial Empowerment Scholarship Program, retaining teachers and hiring more school counselors.
Ruiz attended Roosevelt Elementary School District and Phoenix Union High School District as a child before earning her Ph.D. from Arizona State University. She worked as a teacher at the middle and high school level before becoming president of Glendale Community College.
Like Newby, her campaign has also focused on the ESA program. She has also focused on advocating for more funding for public schools and supporting both rural and urban school districts. Ruiz has also spoken publicly about the teacher retention crisis as part of her campaign.
Arizona
Arizona Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #41: 5/12 @ Rangers
The last trip through the rotation for the Diamondbacks has been really good:
By that 5-game rolling average game score, it’s the best we’ve seen since a run around the All Star Break in 2022:
If we restrict to 5-game stretches with 5 different starters, it’s the best since September 2019:
So yeah, it’s been a while since we’ve had it this good. But this is still a far cry from the best in Diamondbacks history — the current stretch is only tied for 58th all-time. Here’s the best ever:
The good news is that there’s still quite a lot of room for Zac Gallen to improve on his last start, which had a Game Score of only 47. Doing so would give us an even better 5-game average. A score of better than 60 would surpass the 2022 streak; 69 or better would surpass 2018. Although it would take a career-best-tying 89 (reached against the Cubs on September 8, 2023) for him to pull the overall average into a tie for the franchise record. But any improvement on his last start would bring the rolling average up in the franchise rankings.
All records queried here are courtesy of Retrosheet.
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