Here’s what happened Monday on Gambo & Ash - post Selection Sunday

Dancin’ The Night Away

Both ASU and UA made it to the NCAA Tournament and will be playing in Miami on Friday.

Former ASU Coach and NCAA Basketball insider Bill Frieder joined G&A LIVE in studio for nearly 2 hours to break down each Region of the NCAA Tournament Bracket.

G&A took calls throughout the show on ASU’s chances of getting out of the first round, the expectations for the team and the scouting report on the Temple Owls.

They also asked listeners whether or not the Arizona Wildcats should have made the Tournament.

ASU point guard Derek Glasser joined the guys.

 

 Derek Glasser [12:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (46)

Here’s what went down Thursday on G&A

We had an abbreviated show this afternoon following ASU basketball here on Sports 620 KTAR.

Cat Scratches - It will all come down to Selection Sunday for UofA following Thursday afternoon’s disappointing loss to ASU in the Pac-10 Tournament quarterfinals.  ‘Zona made it last year with 19 wins.  Is history destined to repeat itself?  Will impressive non-conference wins over Gonzaga and Kanasas be enough?  Ash thinks they’re in - he’s thinking a 12-seed. Gambo doesn’t.  Both agree Ty Abbott’s shot looked awfully good.  He finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds.

We caught up with East Tennessee State head coach Murry Bartow.  His team beat Jacksonville over the weekend to clinch the Atlantic Sun title and punch their ticket to the Big Dance next week.

Our ESPN NBA analyst Tim Legler shared his thoughts on the Suns’ current 5-game losing streak and what might happen this off-season as the club looks to rebuild.  Legs feels Steve Nash and Shaq will be traded this summer, but isn’t so sure about Amare Stoudemire’s future with club.  He also talked about some of the hotter teams in the league-including the Jazz and Hornets.

Sunset - Gambo thinks it’s time the Suns start looking ahead to next season and that includes exploring trades for the Big Three (Amare, Nash, Shaq).  LeBron and the Cavs are in town tonight.  G&A agree if Bron Bron leads Cleveland to a title this year, he will likely leave Cleveland for a “new challenge.”  Speaking of new challenges…don’t look now but Mike D’Antoni’s Knicks are closing in on a playoff birth in the east.

9 Mouths to Feed - Running back Travis Henry is out of work and, apparently, out of money as well.  These tough economic are hard on everyone, but even more problematic for Henry who has nine kids from nine different women.  Yes, that’s right…nine from nine.  The good news is Henry is engaged!  The bad news is the 30-year old Henry cannot afford the child support payments-on top of the fact that he’s currently in Denver on house arrest for drug possession.  Henry made $6.7 million from the Broncos, but somehow can’t make the $200,000 a year support payments.  G&A wonder where all the money went?  Ash thinks this is an extremely sad story.  Gambo wonders how Henry could throw it all away - money, fame, and an NFL career.

 

 Murry Bartow [9:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (41)

 

 Tim Legler [12:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (54)

Here’s what went down Tuesday on G&A…

‘Tui Got a Dui - Former Arizona quarterback Willie Tuitama was pulled over and busted for running a red light and extreme DUI in Tucson over the weekend.  Gambo wonders what Willie T. was thinking with a slim, but possible, NFL draft and future just around the corner.  He hoped that a lesson would be learned from Sir Charles weekend stint in Tent City.  Ash feels the only way athletes will learn “the hard way” is if they get in trouble themselves.

Now former Philadelphia Eagles’ employee Dan Leone shared his bizarre Facebook story which led to his recent firing.  Leone posted his frustration of the team not re-signing now Denver Bronco Brian Dawkins.  The organization let go of the 6-year west gate chief by phone a few days later.

Facebook Firing - Dan Leone is no longer an employee of the Philadelphia Eagles and he can blame his Facebook account for it.  Gambo & Ash think it’s wrong for the Eagles to gas a part-time employee over something as generic as saying the Eagles made an offseason mistake (not re-signing Brian Dawkins).  Leone’s comments were not directed at anyone in particular.

Flagrant Foul - Rudy Fernandez was undercut by LA’s Trevor Ariza during the Blazers blowout win over the Lakers last night.  Fernandez was later carted off the court.  The play was called “dangerous” by Nate McMillan, while Phil Jackson defended his player saying he was going for the ball.  G&A agree this wasn’t a dirty play, just a hard, flagrant foul trying to prevent a break away lay-up.  Gambo says hard fouls are just a part of the game.

The head coach of the UT-Chattanooga Mocs, John Shulman discussed their 80-69 win over College of Charleston last night.  Shulman’s squad used a 20-0 run in the second half to put the game away and cement their spot in The Big Dance.

We caught up with Morehead State head basketball coach Donnie Tyndall.  His team beat Austin Peay in double overtime over the weekend to win the Ohio Valley Conference title and punch their ticket to the Big Dance.  The Eagles are 19-15 on the year, but are playing their best basketball of the year.

Desperation in the Desert - UA and ASU are set to play for a third time Thursday in the Pac-10 tourney.  Many feel this is a must-win game if ‘Zona hopes to continue their NCAA streak.  Gambo likes Russ Pennell’s team to prevail because they will likely be playing with a greater sense of urgency.  He is hoping for the ‘Cats to make it back to the tourney.  Ash thinks the key to Thursday’s game is which ASU will show up - the team that got embarrassed by lowly Stanford Thursday or the team that embarrassed high-scoring Cal Saturday on Senior Day at Wells Fargo Arena.

Mavs lead assistant coach Mario Elie previewed tonight’s game against the Suns at U.S. Airways Center.  “Super Mario” won two NBA Championships with the Houston Rockets during his 10-year playing career.  Dallas is currently four games ahead of the Suns for the final playoff spot in the West.  He still thinks Phoenix is a dangerous team coming down the stretch and feels Terry Porter got a raw deal by Steve Kerr and Suns’ management.  Elie is hoping to be a head coach in the near future.

Suns’ Super Bowl - Tonight’s game is a big one for the Suns and their slim playoff hopes.  The Suns are calling it their Super Bowl.  Ash doesn’t feel it’s a big game because he’s already writing off the balance of the regular season.  Gambo thinks tonight’s game is a big one because a loss tonight will, in essence, end the season.  He says the Suns biggest problem is defense - they are one of the worst in the league.

 

 Dan Leone [12:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (44)

 

 John Shulman [13:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (35)

 

 Donnie Tyndall [11:35m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (34)

 

 Mario Elie [11:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (39)

Here’s what went down Friday on G&A

In or Out? - The Sun Devils choked away a chance at an easy conference win, falling to lowly Stanford 74-64 at Wells Fargo Arena.  It was the Devils’ third-straight loss, and things don’t get any easier with high-scoring Cal coming to town tomorrow.  Ash thinks a possible 5-game losing streak (including the Pac-10 tourney) will keep the Devils from The Dance again.  Gambo thinks ASU will make it after being overlooked last year.  He also thinks it’s time for Herb Sendek to sit Ty Abbott, who has been held scoreless in seven conference games this season.  The guys are disappointed in the fan apathy regarding ASU basketball.  Ash still feels the Devils have plenty to play for - especially possibly beating UofA in the Pac-10 tourney and keeping them out of the NCAA tourney for the first time in 25 years.  Gambo thinks current Villanova coach Jay Wright could be the next head coach in Tucson.  We took calls.

We caught up with Jerry Palm from collegeRPI.com.  He is confident ASU will make the tourney - even with a poor finish, because other power conferences won’t have as many at-large qualifiers as usual (he only sees a total of 2 SEC schools making it).  Palm feels UofA’s March Madness streak will continue - barely.

Barkley Gets a Break - Charles Barkley’s DUI sentence was reduced Friday from 10 days to three.  Although Gambo understands first-time offenders frequently have their sentences reduced, he still thinks it’s going to look like Charles got off easy.  Ash explained the reduced sentence almost always happens - especially when the guilty party agrees to take, and complete, alcohol education classes.  They discussed if Barkley may be getting cut a break and if Sir Charles is doomed to make the same mistake again.  Barkley is expected to check into Tent City tomorrow morning.

Team Shopping - Terrell Owens is on the market and Drew Rosenhaus says he’s “negotiating with several teams” and expects a deal within a week.  Umm, right.  Gambo insists T.O. is going to have a difficult time finding work - especially since the majority of franchises have openly said they won’t take a flier on Owens and his better years might be behind him.  Ash feels, eventually, he will latch on somewhere.  Both are uncertain how T.O. will fit in on the field and in the locker room.  We took calls.

Trouble in Tallahassee - The Florida State football team will vacate a number of wins in recent years after the NCAA came down on the school following a major academic cheating fraud.  This will obviously affect Bobby Bowden’s chase of Joe Paterno on the all-time wins list.  Ash thinks 2009 will be the final season for the aging Bowden - especially since he will likely have no chance of chasing down JoePa, who recently got a three-year extension in Happy Valley.

Gambo is off Monday.

 

 Jerry Palm [13:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (42)

Here’s what went down Wednesday on G&A

Keeping Kurt - The Cardinals and quarterback Kurt Warner are together again.  The popular signal-caller and future Hall-of-Famer will hope to continue his magic from 2008.  G&A applaud Mike Bidwill, Rod Graves, and the Cards’ management for re-signing one of the faces of the franchise.  This is a move that had to be made to keep the momentum moving forward.  G&A agree losing Warner, especially to an NFC West team, would be big.  Warner is a stand-up, locker room leader who makes others around him better - both on and off the field.

We caught up with Cards’quarterback Kurt Warner who agreed to terms on a new 2-year, $23 million dollar deal to return to the Red Birds.  Warner confirmed that he was serious about signing an offer sheet with the 49ers, but is excited to be back in Arizona.  He said the negotiations were a “learning process.”  Warner also expressed that he hopes the Cards can re-structure a deal for teammate and close friend Anquan Boldin.

Later Leinart? - Kurt Warner told Gambo & Ash that he would not be surprised if back-up Matt Leinart requests a trade after Warner re-upped with the Birds this afternoon.  Gambo thinks it’s time the team part ways with Leinart because it’s apparent Ken Whisenhunt hasn’t been enamored with his play or off-the-field decisions.  Ash thinks the Cards could get nothing higher than a 3rd-round pick in return for the former Heisman Trophy winner.  He thinks the now Brett Favre-less Jets would be a good fit.  What is the best option for both Matt and the Cardinals?

Arizona State Director of Athletics Lisa Love joined us for her weekly segment.  She discussed the big weekend ahead for the ASU men’s and women’s hoops squads.  Herb Sendek’s crew looks to bounce back this weekend against Stanford and Cal, while the Lady Devils hope to expend their school-record 14-game win streak in the Bay Area.

Cardinals new defensive coordinator Bill Davis checked in.  Davis was promoted last month after serving as the team’s linebackers coach this past season.  He previously was the d-coordinator in San Francisco from 2005-07.  Davis expects big things from the Red Birds’ defense - even with the loss of Antonio Smith to the Texans over the weekend.

Nearing the Edge - Edgerrin James wants out of Arizona.  The veteran running back is insisting the Cards release him - even though he is still under contract.  Gambo feels Edge is a selfish, money-hungry, aging player who is hoping for one last big contract (he likely won’t get) before retirement.  He knows the Cards are wise to keep him until they know how the roster will shake out following free-agency and the draft.  Ash is confident the organization knows how to handle Edge and possibly work them into their scheme-especially since J.J. Arrington is now officially a member of the Denver Broncos.

 

 Lisa Love [5:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (25)

 

 Bill Davis [12:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (42)