Here’s what went down Wednesday on G&A

Somebody Step Up! - The Diamondbacks lost (again), but Gambo & Ash have a bigger problem than the loss itself.  Following a Brandon Phillips homer, Jon Rauch threw two high-and-tight pitches to Phillips his next at-bat.  The following half inning, former D-back Micah Owings plunked Ryan Roberts on the elbow.  Roberts left the game.  The next inning, D-backs reliever Scott Schoeneweis didn’t come close to plunking a Reds batter the following inning.  The guys think it shows just how far the team has fallen.  No one is sticking up for anyone else.  Why a veteran pitcher like Schoeneweis didn’t retaliate is beyond comprehension to the guys.  Ash wonders why new manager AJ Hinch didn’t “prove something” to his new, young team and tell Schoeneweis to hit a batter of his choice in the ninth.  D-backs’ analyst Tom Candiotti knew Owings hit Roberts intentionally because of the way catcher Ryan Hanigan reacted by immediately walking out towards the pitcher.  The guys agree a veteran-laden team would never allow something like this to happen.  Gambo told stories of how the ’01 veteran-filled World Series team would never tolerate something like this.  He said no pitcher on that team stood up for their teammates more than Miguel Batista.

We caught up with former big leaguer and Valley resident TROY O’LEARY  The 10-year MLB vet and Chandler resident is creating a reality television show called “Play Big or Go Home” aimed at baseball players around the country ages 18-22 who are hoping to get noticed by major league scouts with the ultimate payoff being a spring training invite.  Former major leaguers Jeff Cirillo, John Valentin, Darren Lewis and others will serve as judges for the show in an “American Idol” type format.

We were joined by Arizona State Director of Athletics LISA LOVE.  She discussed President Obama’s commencement speech Wednesday at Sun Devil Stadium, ASU baseball’s weekend series against Oregon at Packard Stadium, and the Lady Sun Devil softball squad’s quest to defend their National Championship.  They face San Diego State Friday night in the Tempe Regional.

One For the Ages? - Times couldn’t be much worse for the NHL with attendance down, the Coyotes’ future here in Phoenix uncertain, and general fan apathy across the board.  Tonight the Caps will host the Penguins in a winner-take-all semi-final seventh game.  This a game that the NHL needs - an all-or-nothing playoff game featuring the league’s two best players - Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin.  Gambo thinks this is must-see TV - even if you’re not a hockey fan and you may not know where the VERSUS Network is on your cable or satellite provider.  Will you go out of your way to watch tonight?

Our ESPN baseball insider TIM KURKJIAN joined us to share his thoughts on last week’s decision to dump Bob Melvin in favor of AJ Hinch.  He also discussed latest Roger Clemens saga, the Dodgers minus Manny Ramirez, and Ryan Zimmerman’s hit streak - which ended Wednesday in San Francisco at 30 games.

Streak Over  - The Nats beat the Giants 6-3 Wednesday afternoon, getting 12 hits in the process.  Unfortunately, one of those hits was not collected by third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who saw his hit streak end at 30 games.  The guys feel this was one of more remarkable, yet under publicized, stories of the young baseball season.  Is it because Zimmerman plays for one of the worst teams in baseball?  G&A debated if anyone will come close to breaking Joe DiMaggio’s streak.  Gambo hopes not.  We took calls.

The Master of Panic - The Magic dropped a heart-breaker last night in Boston and star Dwight Howard says it’s head coach Stan Van Gundy’s fault.  “Superman” scored 12 points and got only 10 shots as the defending champion Celtics creped to within one win of the Eastern Conference Finals.  G&A concur Van Gundy, who Shaq ripped earlier in the year, could be on his way out if the Magic don’t win the next two games against the champion C’s.  Game 6 is Thursday in Orlando.

Summer Bird Watching - The Cards are in the news again.  First, Eagles’ coach Andy Reid told a Philly radio station that the Red Birds wanted a 1st, 3rd and 5th-round pick for Anquan Boldin during trade talks last month.  G&A feel Reid may be fabricating the story a bit.  Then there’s Karlos Dansby.  The franchise-tagged linebacker has a new agent and is taking a wait-and-see approach to his contract situation.  He’s said and done all the right things, or simply the opposite of Boldin and Darnell Dockett, and may end up the big winner in all this - even if it means leaving the Cards after the 2009 season.  Will Ken Whisenhunt and Rod Graves get this right?  We discussed and took calls.

Sports 620 KTAR reporter Craig Grialou checked in LIVE from Chase Field after manager AJ Hinch and Ryan Roberts discussed the retaliation, or lack there of, last night at Chase Field with the media this afternoon.  Gree reported Hinch and Roberts said the events were still a “non-issue” and nothing was really made of it.  Hinch seemed more excited about getting the potential tying run to the plate than thinking about “getting even” after Roberts was plunked by Micah Owings.

Thursday we’ll be joined by ESPN NBA analyst Tim Legler and reporter/baseball insider Pedro Gomez