Here’s what went down Monday on G&A

Two and Oh! - The Cardinals are alone atop the NFC West following yesterday’s 31-10 beat down of Miami yesterday in Glendale.  Gambo was impressed with the way the Red Birds came out and put the inferior Dolphins away early.  He also thinks the Cards’ offense has a chance to be the best in the NFL.  Ash is concerned with Neil Rackers and his inconsistent play.  That being said - he feels the defense is severely under-rated, but will be tested as the competition gets better-starting Sunday in D.C.  The guys pondered if Kurt Warner can stay healthy for the entire season.  We took calls.

Cardinals’ Pro-Bowl wide receiver Anquan Boldin joined the guys this afternoon.  “Q” had 6 catches for 140 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Red Birds’ decisive 31-10 win over the Dolphins yesterday in Glendale.  Boldin said he remains focused on playing football to the best of his ability and won’t address the contract situation - he’s a Cardinal…for now.

ASU senior quarterback Rudy Carpenter checked in to discuss the Devils’ stunning 23-20 overtime loss to UNLV Saturday night at Sun Devil Stadium and previewed their showdown with 3rd-ranked Georgia this weekend.  Carpenter was 13-23 for 242 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception in the upset loss.  He assured G&A that he and the Devils will re-focus and be ready for the SEC-power this weekend.

Georgia on My Mind - ASU was caught looking ahead to Georgia - suffering a major upset to UNLV Saturday night at Sun Devil Stadium.  Ash saw this coming last week.  G&A are a bit perplexed a Dennis Erickson-led team would fall into a trap game.  Both agree this loss falls squarely on the shoulders of Erickson.  Gambo is still concerned with ASU’s offensive line-which continues to surrender frequent hits on Rudy Carpenter and knows that the Devils’ have no chance of running against Georgia’s front-seven.

Tuesday:  the guys will be joined by super agent Drew Rosenhaus, ESPN baseball insider Tim Kurkjian, and college football analyst Mark May.

Here’s what went down Thursday on G&A

9-11 - The guys reflected back to 7 years ago today.  G&A shared stories about how they first found out about the awful attacks on our country and how they handled doing a show later that infamous afternoon.  Gambo discussed the morning of 9-11-01 and how many New York-based friends he tragically lost.

ASU sophomore wide receiver and former Hamilton High star Kerry Taylor joined the show.  He had 5 catches for 92 yards and a touchdown in Saturday’s win over Stanford.  Taylor is 2nd in the conference in yards per catch (20.6) and 4th in receiving yards per game (92.5).  He was happy Hamilton blanked rival and defending state champion Brophy 10-0 last week.

Ash told the story about how he and some of his Central Bobcat High buddies swiped the Brophy Broncos mascots’ head just before Homecoming.

Former Sun Devil star wide receiver, now in his third year with the Miami Dolphins, Derek Hagan previewed this weekend’s game against the Cardinals in Glendale.  Hagan had 29 catches for 373 yards and 2 TD’s last season.  He says he won’t be able to swing by his alma mater Saturday night to catch some of the UNLV game because he’ll be in meetings.

Arizona State Director of Athletics Lisa Love checked in for her weekly segment to preview the Devils’ upcoming game against UNLV and look ahead to next weekend’s showdown against the Georgia Bulldogs.

Vincesanity? - Titans’ starting quarterback Vince Young is in the news again and not for anything he did on the football field.  The injured 25-year old isn’t sure if wants to play football anymore.  Young refused to re-enter the game after he was injured Sunday against the Jags.  He tried to clear the air this afternoon saying he’s “committed to football,” but G&A aren’t buying it.  Gambo thinks no NFL quarterback can make it thru their career without getting booed or dealing with some controversy.  Ash thinks where there’s smoke, there’s fire.  The guys debated if there’s any more pressure-packed position in professional sports than being an NFL quarterback.  We took calls.

The Right to Name? - There is controversy in The Big Apple over the naming rights to the new Giants-Jets stadium which is set to open in 2010.  The teams are considering granting the rights to German-based Allianz which happens to be one of the worlds’ largest insurance firms.  This same company once had ties to Hitler and the Nazis.  Ash thinks this would be a public relations nightmare and lead to further future scrutiny.  Gambo doesn’t really have a problem with Allianz acquiring the rights because no one involved in the conflict (back in the 30’s and 40’s) are associated with the company-much less likely even alive.  We took calls.

Tomorrow:  we’ll be joined Dbacks’ skipper Bob Melvin, ESPN NFL analyst Mark Schlereth, and sports handicapper Brandon Lang

 

 Kerry Taylor [9:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (314)

 

 Derek Hagan [8:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (316)

 

 Lisa Love [6:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (317)

Here’s what happend Tuesday Gambo & Ash

Ship Slowly Sinking - The D-backs lost their 4th straight last night as they were over-powered by Giants’ ace Tim Lincecum.  Gambo thinks Lincecum deserves the Cy Young with only 3 losses on a team that isn’t in contention.  Coming down the stretch, G&A agree Manny Ramirez has made a much greater impact on the Dodgers than Adam Dunn has here in Arizona.  Gambo knows if the Dodgers’ starting rotation would have been healthy the whole year - the NL West wouldn’t be close right now.  Ash is quickly losing faith in the once-proud D-backs rotation and that includes Brandon Webb and Dan Haren.

Liddell Lit Up! - UFC superstar Chuck Liddell was knocked out cold by Rashad Evans.  Gambo thinks there’s no worse way to lose a fight than to get knocked out cold because you start to doubt yourself as a fighter.  He feels he hasn’t lost his power but definitely lost some speed.  Ash thinks Liddell might want to switch to “wrestling style” instead of being a puncher because he simply isn’t the fighter he once was at the age of 38.

Back on the Bike - Lance Armstrong confirmed rumors this afternoon that he is returning to cycling and will compete in the 2009 Tour de France.  Gambo feels Armstrong is still extremely popular here in the U.S.  Ash isn’t so sure he’s as popular as he thinks he is.  Gambo thinks Armstrong is getting back into cycling for all the right reasons because he wants to race and dominate the sport once again.

ESPN baseball insider Tim Kurkjian checked in for his weekly visit to discuss the slumping Diamondbacks, Carlos Quentin’s broken wrist, the NL Cy Young race, and the suddenly surging Boston Red Sox who are just a half game out in the AL East.

A Decade Later - 10 years ago yesterday Cards’ slugger Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris’ record to become the Homerun King of Baseball.  Today, people simply look back on the “milestone” and shake their head.  G&A agree Big Mac and Sammy Sosa were heroes in 1998 - today they are looked upon with great shame and poster-children for the black eye that is the steroid era.

Our ESPN college football analyst Mark May broke down ASU’s surprisingly easy win over Stanford Saturday, shared his thoughts on the controversial BYU-Washington ending in Seattle, and told us just how good these East Carolina Pirates are.

Sleepless in Seattle - BYU kept its winning streak alive thanks to a last-second blocked PAT attempt after Washington quarterback Jake Locker was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after to crossing the goal line to pull UW to within a point.  This “new” rule irritates G&A.  Both agree the zebras shouldn’t have thrown the flag on this judgment call - even though it is clearly stated in the rulebook.  Gambo wonders how BYU can go on the road, beat a Pac-10 team, and slide three spots in the polls.  He also thinks Cougars’ quarterback Max Hall is a dark-horse in the Heisman run.

Tomorrow:  short show after day baseball in San Fran.

 

 Tim Kurkjian [13:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (316)

 

 Mark May - Part I [11:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (317)

 

 Mark May - Part II [11:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (320)

Here’s what went down today on a Football Friday on G&A

Good Start - The defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants opened their season last night with a convincing win over the Redskins.  G&A concur the Giants’ defense had their way with Jason Campbell and Eli Manning was lucky to escape without throwing any interceptions.  Ash thinks the G-Men could be a sleeper this season but can’t see them repeating.

Cardinals’ starting quarterback Kurt Warner shared his thoughts on winning the training camp battle over good friend Matt Leinart and previewed the Red Birds’ season-opener Sunday in San Francisco against the 49ers.  Warner also discussed his Midwest Flood Relief Efforts as he is leading a group to help build homes and aid displaced families across the Midwest, including his hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

For the Birds? - The Cardinals open their season this weekend.  Gambo can see the Cards jumping out to a 3-0 start, but finishing 7-9 as the schedule gets much tougher as the season progresses.  Ash predicts a 9-7 finish and a spot in the playoffs after winning the wide open NFC West.

D-backs’ skipper Bob Melvin checked in from LA to preview their weekend series against the Dodgers.  BoMel said it was time for the starting rotation to step up and give the bullpen a much-needed break.  He also mentioned that he feels the Dodger rotation doesn’t get the credit they deserve-particularly tonight’s starter, Derek Lowe.

Big Series - The D-backs open a monster 3-game series against the Dodgers tonight at Chavez Reveen.  Gambo thinks the Snakes’ starters need to step up and give the fatigued bullpen a rest this weekend.  Ash wonders if Bob Melvin’s team can string together five or six straight wins and thus, wrap up the division.  Gambo doesn’t know if the D-backs are possible of stringing a long win streak.

Sports handicapper and good friend of the program Brandon Lang checked in for his weekly segment to share his thoughts on the weekend ahead in college and pro football.  Lang really liked the over in the Detroit-Atlanta game and liked the Colts to cover against the Bears.

Our ESPN NFL analyst Mark Schlereth broke down the defending Super Bowl champion Giants’ win last night over the Redskins, shared his thoughts on Matt Leinart (he’s not a fan) and how the Cardinals might fare this season in the wide open NFC West.

Pick The Pros - 

Ash - Lions (-3), Vikings (+2 1/2), Cardinals (-2 1/2).

Gambo -  Cardinals (-2 1/2), Jets (-3), Steelers (-6 1/2).

E - Bengals (-1 1/2), Patriots (-15 1/2), Chargers (-9).

 

 Kurt Warner [16:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (310)

 

 Bob Melvin [14:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (311)

 

 Brandon Lang [12:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (320)

 

 Mark Schlereth [13:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (318)