IVINS, Utah — It was day two at the PGA Tour’s Black Desert Championship in Ivins and both those from here and those from out of town said the same thing.
For Utahns, it’s the first opportunity in 61 years to see the top pros in men’s golf in the Beehive State.
For those from other parts of the country and world, it was a chance to see a sport known for its beautiful locales in red rock county.
For Arizona’s Steve Schaffer, it was a place for his bachelor party, bringing along his father Jeff. But what about the partner he’s marrying next month?
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“My fiance likes to play, but definitely not as much as I do,” Schaffer said. “We get to watch golf, play golf and spend some time with some great friends”
“It’s hard to watch golf when you have all the scenery around you,” Jeff Schaffer said.
The scenery was fit for an artist, and St. George artist Tommy Stirland was taking in the picture-perfect scene with his son Harvey.
“It’s pretty neat to have a PGA event here in my hometown,” Stirland said. “There’s probably not anything that’s gonna look like this anywhere else in the world with the combination of the black rock and the red rock and the desert.”
Stirland has been commissioned to create a painting marking St. George native Jay Don Blake, who was playing in his 500th PGA Tour event. Blake didn’t make the cut to continue playing in this weekend’s final rounds but he did finally get to play in his hometown for the first time in his long career.
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“He’s a local legend,” Stirland said.
Coming from Elmo, population 418, in Emery County,,golf fan Teigen Jewkes never thought he would see a PGA event in person.
“It’s just different, like the ball flights and the way they’re able to control the ball. It’s a different experience.”
As for bachelor Steve, he has a message for his fiance
“Can’t wait to marry you next month!” he yelled for the cameras as he marched off to take in the golf, scenery and his bachelor party.
Arizona State head football coach Kenny Dillingham gave arguably the postgame interview of the season, which finished with Dillingham jumping around with fans who stormed the field after ASU’s 27-19 win over Utah at Mountain America Stadium on Friday.
“We fought, man, we competed. That’s what football’s about, competing,” Dillingham exclaimed on ESPN.
Kenny Dillingham is the youngest head coach at a Power 4 school… can you tell?
The Sun Devils forced three Utah turnovers, while running back Cam Skattebo took over in the second half with touchdown runs of 50 and 47 yards to take down a team that bested ASU 55-3 last season.
It was a marquee win in Dillingham’s young tenure, and the ASU alum and Valley native knew exactly what it meant for the fans.
“I was one of these guys! I was doing this!” Dillingham said before jumping around with the students and getting swarmed alongside Sparky.
Outside expectations for the Sun Devils were not high coming into the season — a Big 12 media poll pegged them No. 16 — but ASU has started the year 5-1 with a 4-0 record at home.
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“We put in the work. Our kids care, we have kids that care that do it for each other,” Dillingham said.
Social media reacts to Kenny Dillingham postgame interview
Kenny Dillingham just reset the bar for a postgame coach interview. Wow.
Kenny Dillingham with maybe the greatest sign off to a postgame interview I’ve ever seen, yelling “I was one of them” before jumping into a mosh pit of students after pulling off your first statement win as the head coach of your alma mater is legendary stuff
With the transfer portal, NIL money and the extra COVID-19 year granted by the NCAA, college football rosters are lined with more veteran players than ever before.
That experience will be on full display Friday night on national television when No. 16 Utah (4-1) faces Arizona State (4-1) in a Big 12 matchup in the desert (7:30 p.m. MST, ESPN).
Utah has 29 seniors on its roster, including seventh-year starting quarterback Cam Rising and sixth-year starting running back Micah Bernard. Rising is expected to start for the first time since injuring his throwing hand against Baylor on Sept. 7.
Rising, who last played a full college season in 2022, graduated from Newbury Park High School in Southern California in 2018. He started his college career at Texas as a redshirt, then transferred to Utah in 2019 where he redshirted again. Rising played in one game in 2020, then earned the starting job in 2021. In 2022 he threw for 3,034 yards and 26 touchdowns, to go along with 465 yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground. He led Utah to a 10-4 record and a Pac-12 championship – and he outplayed then-USC quarterback Caleb Williams in the conference championship game.
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In Utah’s Jan. 2, 2023 Rose Bowl game vs. Penn State, Rising tore multiple knee ligaments. He sat out the entire 2023 season with a medical redshirt. In the Utes’ 2024 season opener, he threw a career-high 5 touchdown passes in a 49-0 win over Southern Utah.
Nearly seven years of college experience gives Rising a significant advantage over 19 and 20-year-old defensive backs and linebackers. As one example, Arizona State’s leading tackler, defensive back Myles Rowser, will be locked into a chess match with Rising on Friday, trying to determine where he’s going with the ball. Rowser graduated from high school in 2022 and recently turned 20.
Now 25, Rising is older than six current starting quarterbacks in the NFL, including 2023 NFL Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud. He is widely considered one of the best quarterbacks in college football and is projected as a Day 3 (rounds 4-7) pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Here are the six current NFL starting quarterbacks younger than Rising:
San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy (24)
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Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix (24)
Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels (23)
Houston Texas QB C.J. Stroud (23)
Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams (22)
New England Patriots QB Drake Maye (22) *
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* Maye will make his first NFL start on Sunday, Oct. 13.
Utah Hockey Club management drew some criticism for signing Dylan Guenther to a long-term extension before playing a full NHL season. But those critics might eat their words as early as this season.
It’s probably still too early to form opinions, but Guenther scored twice again in Utah HC’s 5-4 overtime win over the New York Islanders on Thursday evening. It was his second two-goal game in as many games.
In Utah’s first-ever road game, Maxim Tsyplakov scored with 2:07 left in regulation to put the Islanders ahead by a goal. However, Josh Doan tied the game 13 seconds later on a partial breakaway, sending the game to overtime.
Guenther, 21, who is under contract for nine years, scored the overtime winner.
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“All three of us were in (the offensive zone) so if we didn’t score, it probably would have been a breakaway the other way,” Guenther said of the goal after the game.
Utah leaves UBS Arena with two points, starting the season 2-0.
How this works
This is a three-part article geared toward three different audiences.
First, we’ll have “Utah Hockey for dummies” for all you new hockey fans. Welcome, by the way — we’re glad you’ve taken an interest in the greatest sport in the world.
Next, we’ll have a section titled “Utah Hockey for casual fans,” aimed at those who have a base understanding of the sport.
Finally, we’ll have “Utah Hockey for nerds.” That will be for those of you who, like me, think about nothing but hockey all day, every day.
Feedback is welcome, so let me know what you think in the comments of this article or the comments section on “X.”
Utah Hockey for dummies
If this was your first hockey game, you probably think hockey is the greatest sport in the world. It was a nail-biter all the way until the end, and no matter which team you root for, you were entertained the whole time.
Not every game has this much drama, but the speed, physicality and excitement are always the same at the NHL level. Stick around. It only gets better.
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Utah HC is now 2-0-0 in the regular season, but their upcoming games against the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils will be good tests. Head coach André Tourigny called the Rangers “elite.”
New York Islanders’ Ryan Pulock (6) defends Utah Hockey Club’s Sean Durzi (50) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
New York Islanders’ Anthony Duclair (11) and Mike Reilly (2) defend Utah Hockey Club’s Michael Carcone (53) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
Utah Hockey Club’s Jack McBain (22) passes away from New York Islanders’ Alexander Romanov during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
Utah Hockey Club goaltender Connor Ingram (39) stops a shot by New York Islanders’ Brock Nelson (29) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
New York Islanders’ Brock Nelson (29) fights for control of the puck with Utah Hockey Club’s Josh Doan (91) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
Utah Hockey Club’s Jack McBain (22) fights for control of the puck with New York Islanders’ Maxim Tsyplakov (7) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
Utah Hockey Club’s Dylan Guenther (11) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
Utah Hockey Club’s Dylan Guenther (11) celebrates after scoring the game winning goal during the overtime period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov (40) protects the net during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Utah Hockey Club Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov (40) leaves the ice as the Utah Hockey Club celebrate after an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
The Utah Hockey Club celebrates a goal by Logan Cooley during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
Utah Hockey Club goaltender Connor Ingram (39) stops a shot by New York Islanders’ Anthony Duclair (11) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP
Utah Hockey for casual fans
Goalie Connor Ingram told me five days ago that he loves to be a boring goalie. With the amount of times I said “How did that stay out?” during this game, I have to disagree.
Being “boring” is a good thing for goalies because if you’re always in position, you rarely have to make desperate or flashy saves. It’s what made Carey Price as good as he was. But who doesn’t love a good flash of the leather?
In the first period, after a weird bounce behind the net, Ingram found himself way out of position with the puck on an Islander stick. He dove and blocked it in mid-air, bringing the crowd to its feet and immediately back to its seats.
“It is the most lonely feeling in the world being behind the net, looking through the net and seeing the wide open net,” he said. “There’s nothing you can say about it. It’s just pure desperation.”
A period later, he denied an Islander on the doorstep with a sliding pad save.
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“Sometimes you’ve just gotta be an athlete,” he said.
Utah Hockey for nerds
The hockey die-hards appreciate a solid defensive play just as much as a fancy goal. “Solid” would describe Utah HC’s defensive game on Thursday — especially on the penalty kill.
Utah HC took six penalties and killed five of them.
“I think our PK was probably the best part of our game,” Tourigny said after the game. “A lot of the guys who played PK, they came out big. They made big plays.”
On Thursday, Utah did all the little things right: blocking shots and passing lanes, playing hard in the corners and backchecking and forechecking as if its season depended on it.
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Tourigny specifically shouted out Mikhail Sergachev, Ian Cole and Michael Kesselring for doing the little things right, but he emphasized that there are many more players that did virtually everything right.
What’s next?
Utah HC plays its third and final home opener of the year on Saturday as they take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers are expected to be Stanley Cup contenders this year.
Interesting fact: It will be color commentator Dominic Moore’s first time ever calling a game at MSG, where he played five seasons for the Rangers.
What’s Tourigny’s key focus for the upcoming game?
“Rest for now,” he said.
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On Monday, Utah HC visits the New Jersey Devils, followed by the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday to round out the road trip.
Saturday’s game is at 5 p.m. MDT, Monday’s is at 11 a.m. and Wednesday’s is at 8 p.m. All three games will be available on Utah HC+ and Utah 16.
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