Arizona
Larry Fitzgerald Deserves Arizona Cardinals Statue
Tom Brady is getting a statue of himself outside Gillette Stadium after his marvelous career with the New England Patriots. It’s always a fun sight to see for fans of a franchise who get to see their favorite players and team legends become immortalized forever.
Several amazing players and other football figures have earned such an honor across every team in the NFL. The Baltimore Ravens have a statue of both Ray Lewis and Johnny Unitas, the latter of whom won a Super Bowl with the then Baltimore Colts.
Speaking of the Colts, Peyton Manning has his for the Indianapolis version of the franchise.
Dan Marino has a monument for the Miami Dolphins. Jim Brown with the Cleveland Browns. Tom Landry with the Dallas Cowboys. Vince Lombardi with the Green Bay Packers. You get the idea.
An honor of such prestige does not and should not be handed out lightly. As insane as this may sound, not every Hall of Fame player for a franchise deserves a statue. I’m sorry, but I’m not wrong.
But it does beg the question of who is worthy of an honor like that. And although you would imagine the list to be massive, it isn’t and shouldn’t be.
NFL.com’s Adam Rank made a short-list of five players who are worthy of such an honor.
There were a few names omitted that I believe were snubbed (none more so than Drew Brees for the New Orleans Saints), but there was one player who deserves a statue as much, if not more, than any other player on this list.
Larry Fitzgerald.
We can start with this question: Does Larry Fitzgerald deserve a statue for the Arizona Cardinals? If your answer isn’t a resounding “YES!” then I’m afraid you are a bozo, at best.
Fitzgerald has been the face of the Cardinals since their move to the desert and even with the franchise’s previous stints in Chicago and St. Louis, he remains one of the biggest figureheads in its storied history.
The future Pro Football Hall of Famer, pending his eligibility becoming official, defined a franchise for nearly 20 years. During that time, he saw peaks and valleys, high and lows, and some of the Cardinals’ best and worst seasons.
And yet, he never wavered and never requested a trade. He just went to work every Sunday and put together one of the greatest career’s a wide receiver has ever assembled.
Rank made his argument:
“I wrestled with this one, because the Cardinals have a great tribute to Pat Tillman outside of State Farm Stadium, which really raises the bar high in terms of who else should enter such company. But Fitzgerald absolutely delivered. A class act both on and off the field during his 17-year career with the Cardinals, he finished with the second-most receiving yards in NFL history (17,492, behind only Jerry Rice), earned 11 Pro Bowl selections and won the 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year award. This Cardinals icon is very deserving of such an honor.”
The Pat Tillman statue is special and beyond precious in a seemingly endless amount of ways, and that’s all that needs to be said there for the American hero.
But as far as Fitzgerald goes, he is worthy of such an honor. His career is a remarkable one full of greatness even in forgettable and even horrific seasons. When #11 was on the field, Cardinals fans tuned in to watch — he was the saving grace for a franchise that struggled to give the fans what they wanted most.
The accolades and numbers speak for themselves, but there is simply one reason Fitzgerald deserves to be immortalized, and it has nothing to do with his on the field production.
Fitzgerald should be given a statue in his honor is for the way he conducted himself.
As we mentioned, Fitzgerald stuck it out with one franchise his entire career — which is a rarity in sports including the NFL. Not only that, but he spent 17 seasons — almost two decades — with one franchise. Not even guys who are receiving or have statues like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning can say that!
It makes Fitzgerald one of one.
And in that timeframe, he never complained. In fact, he always embraced the team and certainly the fans who were loyal to him more than the franchise at different points in time. His big smile was always something that gave even the most depressed Cardinals fan hope of getting a win that day.
Speaking of which, he did that several, several times. Perhaps that was never more evident than when the playoffs rolled around. Arizona didn’t make many trips in Fitzgerald’s 17 seasons with just four appearances in that time and nine games played. But man did he make an impact in those games.
The 2008 postseason run to the Super Bowl was incredible by itself with playoff records for yards (546) and touchdowns (7) in a single run. No one will ever forget his 64-yard touchdown reception in the Super Bowl that dropped the jaws of everyone watching.
We also won’t forget his heroics in the 2015 playoff game against the Green Bay Packers including a 75-yard scamper in overtime before taking a shovel pass into the endzone for the win.
I’m not exaggerating — I’m getting chills just writing this.
But again, these are things that Cardinals fans will hold dearly forever — and they should. Fitzgerald gave a fan base that has known little success something to watch and enjoy. When the stakes were at their highest, he showed up. It was special
And that’s what makes Fitzgerald so special. He provided an endless amount of cheering, smiling, tears, laughter, and joy across 272 total games played. Even people who weren’t fans of the Cardinals knew who Fitzgerald was.
Not just that, they knew how great he was. Some may have owned his jersey simply because it was Larry-freaking-Fitzgerald.
He was, is, and always will be the face of the Arizona Cardinals and will be forever beloved by all who got to witness him. Perhaps it’s even more than that.
Maybe, just maybe, Larry Fitzgerald is the face of Arizona sports — professional, collegiate, amateur, or any other category — entirely.
Should he get a statue from the Arizona Cardinals? You better believe it, and you better believe that not a single player on Rank’s list or nearly any other deserves it the way that Fitzgerald does.
He’s more than a player… he is Arizona sports.
Arizona
2026 NFL draft: 3 potential trades back from No. 3 for Arizona Cardinals
Since the Arizona Cardinals want to trade back from the No. 3 picks, here are three deals that could work.
The Arizona Cardinals have the third pick in the 2026 NFL draft, which begins this week on Thursday. All the reports coming out are saying that they want to trade out of the pick to acquire more draft picks.
But what does a trade look like and who could be involved?
The Kansas City Chiefs are involved in talks at some level. ESPN’s Adam Schefter expects trade talks to heat up this week.
NFL teams use a variation of a trade value chart when it comes to draft picks. Now, what a team actually is willing to give up can be influenced by potential competition with other teams, but we can’t count on that.
Here is the general trade value chart teams use.
Here are some potential deals that could be done.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs have two first-round picks, which would be appealing to the Cardinals, who reportedly want to make a move for quarterback Ty Simpson, and the 29th pick might be just the spot to get him.
The third overall pick is worth 514 points.
The Chiefs’ picks at No. 9 (387 points) and No. 29 (202 points) together are worth 589.
To make up the difference, the Cardinals could give up No. 65 (78 points) for a total of 592 points.
One deal could be:
- Cardinals receive get No. 9 and No. 29 (589 points)
- Chiefs receive No. 3 and No. 65 (592 points)
Another could be:
- Cardinals receive No. 9, No. 29, No. 74 and 2027 third-round pick (653 points + value of future third-round pick, which is 36-78 points)
- Chiefs receive No. 3 and No. 34 (689 points)
The Cardinals keep their third-round pick and the Chiefs essentially move back five spots from No. 29.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys have the 12th and 20th picks but no pick in the second round.
Pick No. 12 is 347 points and No. 20 is 269 for a total of 616.
This deal is close:
- Cardinals receive No. 12, No. 20 (616 points)
- Cowboys receive No. 3, No. 65 (592 points)
New Orleans Saints
The Saints are perhaps a dark horse to move up, although they do not have two first-round picks. They have the No. 8 pick, worth 406 points. Their second-round pick, at No. 42, is worth 142 points.
This deal could work:
- Cardinals receive No. 8, No. 42 (548 points)
- Saints receive No. 3, No. 104 (547 points)
Then the Cardinals could use their two second-round picks to then move back into Round 1 to get Ty Simpson.
They could trade No. 34, No. 42 and No. 65 (395 points) for No. 28, No. 38 and No. 106 (398 total points).
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
Arizona
Dust returns to Phoenix area after hazy weekend – KTAR.com
PHOENIX — Breezy winds kicked up a blanket of dust across the Valley on Sunday, and forecasters say more is on the way this week.
Visibility in Phoenix became so bad on Sunday that Sky Harbor airport stopped flights for over an hour
The wind and dust peaked Sunday afternoon and gradually improved into the evening, said Michael Graves, an air quality meteorologist with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
“You might’ve seen the mountains a bit obscured in the distance,” Graves told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Monday. “A lot of haze in the air.”
By Monday morning, skies had largely cleared and dust levels near the ground had dropped significantly.
Expect more gusty, dusty days this week
The relief may be short-lived.
ADEQ is watching for increased afternoon breezes Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, this time from the west and southwest. Though the winds are expected to be weaker than Sunday’s, Graves said forecasters cannot rule out dust.
“I wouldn’t say windstorm,” Graves said. “I would just say we’ve got some waves coming in. They’re going to increase our afternoon breeziness.”
It’s enough to kick up dry, exposed dirt, which could create pockets of dust. There is a slight chance of broader regional dust transport, Graves said.
It will impact people with asthma, COPD or respiratory conditions the most. Graves advised those with issues to monitor conditions and stay indoors during the dustiest hours.
“If you’re going to be outside, be outside during the times when it’s less dusty or hazy,” Graves said.
Graves noted that spring weather systems typically pass to the north of the Phoenix area, delivering wind and slight temperature drops but little to no rain, a pattern likely to continue.
KTAR News reporter Kellen Shover contributed to this report.
Arizona
Trying to beat the heat: Addressing rising temperatures in Southern Arizona
The University of Arizona and Tucson are known for yearlong warm weather, but when is it too much? With temperature reaching record highs in March, the city of Tucson has already reported increased temperatures for this year.
In the wake of the third annual Southern Arizona Heat Summit, integrating voices throughout the City of Tucson, community stakeholders and experts from UA gather to speak about possible solutions and policies to address rising temperatures and extreme heat.
The summit strives to ensure that the lived experiences of Southern Arizona residents are voiced. The first summit commenced in 2024, in response to the declaration of an extreme heat emergency in Arizona by Gov. Katie Hobbs, as part of a larger plan called Arizona’s Extreme Heat Response Plan.
With representation from organizations such as the American Red Cross, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, Arizona Jobs with Justice, Tucson Indian Center and many more, the summit emphasized the importance of the perspective and concerns of stakeholder groups throughout the community.
The summit included a variety of UA experts, including faculty representing the School of Geography, Development and Environment; the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy; the Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture.
One particular project, led by Ladd Keith at the School of Landscape Architecture and Planning, is a part of the Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory, which is funded by the United States’ Department of Energy to explore extreme heat throughout Arizona. SW-IFL works in collaboration with other national laboratories including those at ASU and NAU.
The team works to analyze extreme heat in the southwest and rural areas, and how communities deal with heat by conducting interviews. The team has also prescribed policy to Pima County and the City of Tucson regarding more effective strategies to combat rising temperatures, such as green stormwater infrastructure.
Anne-Lise Boyer, a post-doctoral researcher with the Climate Assessment for the Southwest, shared that the team particularly analyzed extreme heat in three parts: heat mitigation, heat management and heat governance.
Mitigation deals with prevention through strategies such as green infrastructure and planting trees, while management includes cooling sensors and heat warning systems. Governance allows these measures to be enacted through policy.
In Tucson, some of the most meaningful work the team has engaged in has been drafting the City of Tucson’s Heat Action Roadmap in 2024, which outlines goals to mitigate and mandate extreme heat and its impacts while prioritizing community voices.
The goals of the roadmap include informing and educating citizens of Tucson on the adverse effects of extreme heat and cooling people’s homes and neighborhoods by incorporating heat risk in regional planning. These steps are essential to practicing heat management, especially as the city of Tucson grows.
“I think the most interesting thing about being based in Tucson is that because the heat has been here for a long time, it’s like a laboratory in itself,” Boyer said. “We have all this research and all this collaboration happening with local actors because it’s a pressing issue in Arizona.”
As the annual heat summit recurs, new ideas and perspectives continue to be shared throughout the community. Boyer shared that this year, the Southern Arizona Heat Summit focused on the youth perspective, highlighting middle school and high school students and how heat impacts their everyday lives. Many students spoke about how heat shaped their lives at home, school and sports.
“That’s one of the goals, to have community members participate and give their input in how they wish the city will deal with the heat,” Boyer said.
Boyer and Kirsten Lake, a program coordinator for the SW-IFL team, also shared how the impacts of extreme heat impact some neighborhoods and communities in Tucson more than others, and that their research often evaluates these factors to determine where heat management efforts would make the greatest impact.
“Its important when you’re putting into effect some of these measures, that you make sure you put it where it’s going to make the biggest difference,” Lake said.
The work of the SW-IFL team is not just locally known. The Brookhaven National Lab based in New York deployed a specialized truck to Tucson to collect information on the atmosphere and rising temperatures. The SW-IFL team hosted the Brookhaven team.
Additionally, Keith’s work has led to a guidebook called “Planning for Urban Heat Resilience” which focuses on the adverse effects extreme heat poses to marginalized communities across the country.
“It is so different from place to place and neighborhood to neighborhood because you have to take the whole context into account,” Boyer said. “They recommend first to document the heat impacts in your communities.”
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