50 years ago this week Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon
The “moonshot” was once thought to be a dream but thanks to the ingenuity of thousands of NASA's best we managed to land on the moon and return safely to earth just as John F Kennedy had envisioned in 1962. The anniversary got me thinking, what are the dream scenarios for some of our local teams? The things that need a big undertaking to accomplish but if they do Phoenix fans might as well be walking on the moon with their excitement.
Arizona Coyotes - Get a new east valley arena
New owner Alex Meruelo got off to a quick start with it being apparent that he gave the go ahead to John Chayka to acquire Phil Kessel and bring the Coyotes near the NHL’s salary cap but his next mission is clear. Meruelo needs to spend as many resources as he can to leave Glendale in the dust and land his team safely in the east valley with a brand new rink. The NHL and the Coyotes have both stated that Glendale is not a viable long-term option so the Arizona Coyotes need Alex Meruelo to be their version of John F Kennedy and kick arena talks into the next level
Phoenix Suns - Getting Robert Sarver to sell the team
Getting to the moon was a long shot, Robert Sarver selling the Suns might be even crazier. This is an owner who put goats in his GM’s office, an owner who according to national reports was heard yelling in the background during a trade call, an owner who fired his GM just days before the regular season was to begin. The Suns have not made the playoffs since 2010 and in the years since there has been one constant, Robert Sarver’s incompetence
Phoenix Rising FC - Getting an MLS bid
The Rising are on fire. They have won nine consecutive games and are the best team in the USL Championship’s Western Conference. They are coming off a conference championship and are averaging 6,539 fans per game. The only place left for the Rising to go is to the MLS and there are a couple things that need to happen for it to happen. They need funding for a new stadium up to quality of the MLS, They need $200 Million for the expansion fee and they need to convince the league that Phoenix is ready to secure one of the final three spots that would bring the MLS to 30 teams
Arizona Cardinals - Kliff and Kyler are the new Bill and Tom
The Cardinals took a big gamble in the first six-plus months of 2019 and have already put their chips & money into their version of the moonshot so now they have to execute the plan. They hired Kliff Kingsbury as Head Coach without any NFL coaching experience and they drafted a 5’10” QB first overall. The Cardinals NEED this gamble to pay off and they need to be patient for it to happen. If Kingsbury and Murray are the real deal the Cardinals are set for the next decade. Something they have never been able to say
Arizona Diamondbacks - Keep their young stars and build just like Los Angeles and Houston
The Dbacks are rebuilding even though they have been slow to actually admit it. They traded Paul Goldschmidt and let Patrick Corbin and AJ Pollock leave in free agency and from then on we all knew the rebuild was on. Once they actually admit that to the fans they need to focus on keeping their young studs whose names we probably do not know yet. It means not trading the next Max Scherzer, It means not dumping the next DiDi Gregorius so quickly. It means finding your version of Cody Bellinger, Walker Buehler, Joc Pederson, Carlos Correa, Geroge Springer, Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve.If you cant beat em then join em.