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A 49ers-Cardinals rock fight in Arizona to close dreadful 2024 season

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A 49ers-Cardinals rock fight in Arizona to close dreadful 2024 season


It looked in the middle of the season like the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals may be playing for the NFC West crown in Week 18.

The opposite turned out to be true.

Both teams are eliminated from the postseason and the NFC West standings are set with the 49ers in last place. Whichever team wins Sunday at State Farm Stadium will drop in the draft, but beyond that small consolation there isn’t a ton at stake.

We checked in with our buddy Jess Root from Cards Wire to get an idea of how Arizona’s season went and what we should be watching for from the 49ers’ final opponent of the 2024 campaign:

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Niners Wire: Have the Cardinals been better or worse than you expected?

Jess Root: It’s a weird mix of both better and worse. If they win on Sunday, the 8-9 record will be exactly what I predicted back in May. Big picture, they achieved what was the best-case scenario for even the most optimistic projections — they would be better and still be not quite there.They were more inconsistent offensively than I expected. They had stretches when they were way better defensively than I expected.At 6-4, I thought they were gonna finish with 10-11 wins and win the division, and then they fell apart. So it was a roller coaster of being surprised and then fully disapointed.

NW: What are your thoughts on Marvin Harrison Jr. after Year 1?

JR: Man, he can be so good. He didn’t live up to incredibly lofty hopes for him. The projections of 1,100-1,200 yards were just too much.He looks so good at times and also has looked very much like a rookie. He has not gotten on the same page as Kyler Murray consistently. He has not been as great at contested balls as expected.But he is could flirt with 900 receiving yards. He will end up with better numbers as a rookie than his Hall of Fame father and future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald. He will have nearly (if not more than) 900 yards when there he has a 100-catch, 1,100-yard teammate in Trey McBride. He will likely have the second-most receiving yards for any Cardinals rookie ever. He needs one score to match legends Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin for the most rookie touchdown catches. He’s had a pretty solid rookie campaign.I do think he needs a little more edge and “dog” to his game to take his production to the  next level. He has to want the ball with the same intensity as many of the greats, at least when it comes to attacking the football coming his way. But my guess is he will be really, really good as early as next season.

NW: How hard are we rooting against the Rams in the playoffs?

JR: Yeah, it stinks when someone in the division does well, although it does bring a little satisfaction when they do more than flame out in the first round as a sort of justification for them eliminating the Cardinals.

NW: Is Kyler Murray still the long-term answer for Arizona?

JR: There is beginning to be a little bit of doubt from the public. Thus far, that doubt has not crept into the minds of the coaches. What I try to point out is that Murray’s worst is average QB play. The ceiling is there but he isn’t hitting in consistently. And he is showing he can’t be a consistent top-five guy. But he has the tools to be great year in and year out.So as for moving on, one must tread lightly because it will be hard to do better.

NW: Who do you wanna see win the Super Bowl?

JR: I’m a Patrick Mahomes fan and, as long as it isn’t a team I actively root against, historically great things are something I love to watch. I want a three-peat. I want Mahomes to prove to everyone he’s still that guy. After that, I root for players or coaches. I like Baker Mayfield. I like Dan Campbell. I like Jayden Daniels and Kliff Kingsbury. I kind of root for Russell Wilson, even though I still have issues with wanting the Steelers to be successful.

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NW: Prediction for this one.

JR: Whew this could be gross. The Cardinals are missing tackles. The 49ers will have Josh Dobbs at QB, who is only a threat if he can move. If the Cardinals can’t beat Dobbs….Anyway, the Cardinals should control this game. Cardinals 27, 49ers 19



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Arizona

Arizona AG demands answers over Social Security service ‘breakdowns’

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Arizona AG demands answers over Social Security service ‘breakdowns’


PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes says her office is demanding answers after reported failures and disruptions at the Social Security Administration.

In a letter dated Tuesday, the attorney general asked for steps to be taken to address a service crisis reported by seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income residents in Arizona. According to state officials, the AG’s office has received hundreds of reports related to delayed payments, wrongful benefit suspensions, and an inability to reach the office by phone or in person.

“The Social Security Administration is failing the very people it was created to serve,” said Mayes. “From lost payments to seven-hour hold times to field offices turning away walk-ins, the stories we’ve heard from Arizonans are heartbreaking — and completely unacceptable. The Trump administration has an obligation to deliver these benefits promptly, and right now it is not meeting those obligations.”

The AG’s office is calling out Elon Musk, who led the Department of Government Efficiency and claimed that Social Security is “riddled” with fraud, despite the SSA’s Inspector General stating less than 1% of payments over a seven-year period were improper.

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“Arizonans deserve a Social Security Administration that works — not one hollowed out by misinformation, mismanagement, and neglect,” said Mayes. “I urge the Trump administration to act now and restore lawful, accessible, and appropriate service for the people of Arizona.”

Mayes’ actions come after Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a fellow Democrat, also called out the new anti-fraud checks following a report from NextGov, a news publication that covers technology within the federal government, found only two out of 110,000 were potentially fraudulent.

Last month, CNN reported that the Social Security Administration was pushing back the rollout of the new measure.

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Arizona family demands answers after stolen dog was found dead in Loxley

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Arizona family demands answers after stolen dog was found dead in Loxley


MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – A dog stolen in Arizona was found on the side of a road in Loxley.

Loxley Police said the Australian Shepherd was reported missing from Phoenix in 2023 and was discovered dead off County Road 68 last Thursday.

“At that point, that’s when they had mentioned that they had him and it wasn’t in the way that we had expected,” said the dog’s owner Aubrey Garcia. “They had said that he had been found tied up on the side of a dirt road, and he had his mouth bound, and he was deceased.”

It was the worst news possible for Aubrey Garcia. A phone call from 1700 miles away delivered devastation. The Phoenix, Arizona woman heard what happened to Kiyo, her missing Australian Shepherd from a Loxley Police officer. The details were very disturbing.

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Investigators said Kiyo had noticeable trauma to his body and a rope tied around his mouth.

“It’s like 1700 miles straight down the I-10,” said Garcia. “I mean when I looked it up, I was like Loxley…I never heard of Loxley, Alabama.”

Garcia said what happened to Kiyo was her worst nightmare after searching for him for almost two years. She said she will never forget the day he disappeared from their backyard.

“I went out into the backyard after cleaning out his box and realizing that only two of my dogs were home and panic set in very, very quickly,” she said.

Garcia said her family frantically searched the neighborhood for hours, but it wasn’t until a few days later when someone in the area reported seeing what looked to be Kiyo taken by someone in a black SUV. She said ring camera footage didn’t give them the answer they were looking for.

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“We just couldn’t get a clear shot of the vehicle at the time because it was it was 10:30 at night at this point four-door black car couldn’t make out make a model,” she said. “All they could all they could see is that it was in a really beat-up condition and that’s really what we had to go off of.”

Loxley Police said a witness reported seeing a four door sedan in the area where Kiyo was found on Thursday. While detectives continue investigating, Garcia has a message for the person responsible for Kiyo’s death.

“You deserve everything, everything that’s going to happen if you’re caught because you had every opportunity for you to do the right thing and return him when we gave so many outlets to return him anonymously,” she said. “You could’ve left him to the side of that dirt road without his mouth being bound and maybe he would’ve made it home.”

Garcia said Kiyo’s remains will be cremated and sent back to Phoenix. Loxley Police are asking anyone with any information about what happened to Kiyo to come forward.

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Why Arizona State Football is ‘America’s Team’

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Why Arizona State Football is ‘America’s Team’


Fans of the Arizona State football program have spent much of the last three decades on an emotional roller coaster. 

The continued patience is seemingly paying off in the present day. 

The program has built up unbelievable momentum less than three years removed from the Herm Edwards era – and people are noticing in the best terms possible.

Josh Pate of CBS Sports took to his podcast earlier in the week to touch on a wide variety of college football topics – including heavily praising Arizona State.

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Pate was asked who “America’s team” is by a listener who cited his ongoing opinion that the Big 12 is ‘America’s conference’  – his response? 

Arizona State. 

“Yes. They’re in the Big 12. It’s Arizona State.”

“Number one, it’s not an SEC or Big Ten team. Not only is it not a power two program, it’s not Clemson or Notre Dame, or like Miami, but the program was left for dead.”

“I want to remind people that it’s not all that long ago that Herm Edwards was the head coach there and the program was going nowhere fast and then you’ve got the sanctions and you’ve got the firings and the program just spiraled into the desert and if you looked at it at the time you would have thought it’s going to be a decade before we ever hear anything about Arizona State football again.”

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Pate then went on to heap praise onto head coach Kenny Dillingham, citing his passion for the program, overall loyalty, and overall likability as all the more reason that the Sun Devil football program is his answer when it comes to the ‘America’s team’ discussion.

Dillingham has undoubtedly cast a substantial amount of likability around the Arizona State program – his players respond well to his coaching, he has chosen a staff that works extremely well together, and his infectious energy has reflected in a resurgence in fan interest. 

The nation is beginning to catch on as well – as the near-upset over Texas in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day captivated viewers in what was one of the most watched games of the 2024 season. 

The bottom line? Arizona State is everything that is right with the modern landscape of college football. 

The program boasts a loyal fanbase. The roster is hungry and generally likable. Dillingham exhibits equal parts professionalism and passion. 

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Lastly, they are quickly becoming the class of a conference that doesn’t carry the same baggage as the SEC or Big 10.

The future is bright in Tempe.

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