From the Cheap Seats – Phoenix Coyotes

April 28^th

And just when you think that you cannot be more impressed with the Coyotes winning the Pacific Division, what do they do? They win their opening round playoff series with the 2010 Stanley Cup Champions Chicago Blackhawks.  This was probably the banner win for this franchise ever.  To say that it was a roller coaster series is an under-statement.  When it appeared that the Coyotes were in total control of the series at 3-1, Chicago comes storming back with a win in Phoenix on our home ice.  One couldn’t help but think, “will the Coyotes hang on or choke this one away?”

In listening to the various interviews with players, it is never easy to get a true feeling on it because they say all the right things to make us feel like they’re confident they’re going to win.  But the proof is in the pudding as they say and sure enough, we got our answer.

The Yotes went into Chicago, to one of the most hostile environments in existence and laid down a serious butt-whooping that Chicago fans will remember for years.  Trust me on that, I used to be one of those fans in Chicago and their memories are long and they’re short on forgiveness.  But none of that mattered to the Coyotes.

From the first drop of the puck, the Coyotes dominated that entire match.  They left little doubt as to which team was the better.  The Coyotes finished with a 4-0 victory over Chicago and would move on to play in the second round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

The second round finds the Yotes matched up against the Nashville Predators.  The Yotes continued their winning ways by taking the series home opener 4-3.  At the time of this article was written, we are waiting for tonight’s game 2. We all hope that the Yotes will continue their winning ways before departing for Nashville with a 2-0 lead.  We’ll see soon enough!  Jobing.com arena will be rockin’ for sure!

Justin Upton of the Arizona Diamondbacks

April 28, 2012

After the best start in Diamondback history, the Dbacks find themselves in a bit of a funk here at the end of April.  This funk isn’t from a lack of effort or a commitment to winning but the Dbacks have had to adjust on the run very early in this season.

The Dbacks have lost Chris Young and Daniel Hudson to shoulder injuries, Justin Upton has been dealing with an injured thumb and to add insult to injury, the Dbacks bats have gone silent.  Manager Kirk Gibson has already had to make, what had to have been a tough decision by moving Josh Collmentor to the bullpen and inserted Pat Corbin into the starting line-up from AA ball.

The Dbacks currently find themselves five games out of first place.  Things could be a lot worse because the Dodgers have finally cooled down after their hot start to the season.  Gibson continues to tweak the line up to find that magical line up that will ignite the bats once again and we can begin to reel in the Dodgers before we fall further behind.

My last article addressed the offseason acquisition of Jason Kubel, relegating Gerardo Parra to the 4^th outfielder.  But with the injury to Chris Young has put an end to any of that controversy.  Since then, Kubel leads the team in batting average and Parra has demonstrated his impressive defense and the best throwing arm in the majors in my opinion.  Having played baseball myself in my teen years, I had the reputation of having a good throwing arm, so I’m delighted to watch Parra play.  His arm is not only strong, but it’s accurate as well.  That combination makes Parra a very rare and valued ball player.

With just one month into the season, the Western Division is already proving to be a very tough division.  The Dbacks are going to have to work very hard to keep pace with the division leader and the 2 teams in front of them.  But I have faith in Kirk Gibson and this ball team.  The bats may be cold for now but the defense has been stellar and that is always a good thing.  Let’s go Dbacks!!

From the Cheap Seats, with Dale Shepard

The Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns faced off against the Utah Jazz with one goal in mind, win they make the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Jazz faced the same goal and it came down to a battle of wills, who wanted the playoffs most. It was a tough battle inUtah, but it was one that saw the sun’s playoffs hope die before their eyes. If the Suns had been playing at home things might’ve been different but this road game proved to be too much for them.

The Suns were missing two vital pieces to their team, Grant Hill who is still recovering from knee surgery and Channing Frye who had suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. The bench players stepped up and played well but not good enough. So for the second year in a row the Phoenix Suns have missed the playoffs.

The Suns had one more game to play the following night against the San Antonio Spurs. After seeing the results of the Utahgame, San Antoniocoach Paul Popovich decided to keep his three stars at home and decided to play his bench players. Popovich himself chose not to come to the game and stayed in Texas. So one would think that the Suns would’ve put up a gallant fight, but they really didn’t. The question buzzing around the arena in Phoenix was whether Steve Nash would return next season. That is a question that we don’t have answers for right now, but we will find out soon enough. It is this writer’s opinion that Steve Nash will play somewhere else next season.

Thousands of Suns fans absolutely love Steve Nash. Nothing was more evident than to hear thousands of fans chanting “we want Steve” with five minutes to go in what could be Nash’s last game in a Phoenix Suns uniform. Coach gentry inserted Nash back into the lineup, only to come out within a minute. Personally, I thought it was very anti-climactic. The Suns TV announcer had mentioned how hearing the Suns fans chanting “we want Steve” gave him goose bumps. The moment was very cool and brought a smile to Steve’s face. The thunderous applause when he stepped back onto the floor was short-lived with one trip up the floor and on the next dead ball gentry pulled Nash out of the lineup for possibly the last time. I can tell that caught the fans by surprise, I think the fans were expecting Steve to play longer and give the crowd one last thrill. But much like this entire season, the excitement ended early. Nash exited the game with a hug from Coach Gentry and was greeted by the rest of the team.

One would also think that the Suns would send Steve Nash out with a win, but that didn’t happen either. The Spurs went on to blow the game apart and once again celebrated on our home floor. So now the question is, will Steve Nash return as aPhoenixSun? Personally I think no. Steve Nash is in his twilight years of his career at best, Steve has two or three years left. It is clear that the rest of the Suns team is for real question. The Suns clearly lack firepower and the ability to play solid defense for four quarters. This is nothing new for the Suns and I seriously doubt that the Phoenix Suns ownership know what it takes to put a winner on the floor.

The Phoenix fan base is genuinely split on the subject. Many fans want Steve Nash to return and surround him with better players. This might be enough to get the Suns in the playoffs but in my opinion, not enough to make a run at a championship. Where I’ve never played pro sports, I have played competitively and I don’t see this Suns squad being a player or two away. We do have some good young players to keep in the mix but having our core players well into their 30s is not a recipe for success.

So now what? I say dump as much of the bench as we can, keeping a few of the good young players like Shannon Brown, Jared Dudley and one or two to veterans. Otherwise start unloading players for draft picks for this upcoming draft. This will be a very deep draft and we can save two years in the rebuilding process with some good selections. All of this will heap onto the desk of Robert Sarver the Suns owner. Whether he can get the job done or not will remain to be seen. But being a Suns fan all I can do is wait and hope that the Suns rebuild and get back into the playoff mix.

I am of the belief that it’s just not enough to make the playoffs. We need a team that is built to go deep into the playoffs and challenge for the Western Conference championship again. In my opinion, we are a far cry from that place right now. But it’s not enough to make the playoffs one year or even two and then fall away again. One of the benefits of having Jerry Colangelo as an owner like the Suns did, he was always committed to challenging for a championship. He was committed year in year out to putting the best team he could on the floor. For some reason this current ownership either is unwilling or doesn’t know how exactly to do that. I am not out to bash our owner because I love the Phoenix Suns but I hate seeing this team fall short year after year.

The Suns have made serious mistakes in the past regarding players. The Suns were somehow convinced that Amare Stoudemire was going to stay the Phoenix Suns. Everyone else seemed to know that he was going to get a huge contract offer fromNew York, a contract thatPhoenixcould never meet. We should have traded him at the trade deadline for some good players and build the future around them. Because for all intents and purposes, Amare was gone. So now the following season Amare signed with New Yorkand the Phoenix Suns got caught holding the bag and got nothing for him. So here we are again, same situation with a different player. Chances are good we’ll have the same outcome and we will lose Steve Nash.

Let’s reverse these trends of getting caught holding the bag and have nothing to build around. Let’s build for the future, let’s get some draft picks and pick up some players that could be here for years to come. And most of all, once again see the Phoenix Suns be a team to contend with in the Western Conference.

May 6th, 2012

From the Cheap Seats, with Dale Shepard

Arizona Cardinals Draft Party

On Thursday, April 26 I had the pleasure of attending my very first Cardinals Draft Party at University of Phoenix Stadium. Right from the start I was impressed with the size and variety the Cardinals offered for this event. It’s hard to say exactly how many were in attendance to witness the Cardinals first-round draft pick but by time that pick rolled around the place was jammed.

This event was partnered with the Big Red Barbecue Rib and Music Festival on the lawn outside the stadium. Coming into this event I expected the usual fan turnout but I got more than anticipated. As the crowd grew conversations throughout the facility were centered on who the Cardinals were going to draft. As I interacted with the crowd for opinions and picture opportunities, I began to experience something I had never done prior to this point.

Having lived in Arizona for 37 years, I’ve gotten used to the fact that Phoenix is a walled city. All the houses throughout the Valley are all fenced. You can go months maybe even years without seeing or hearing your neighbors. I grew up in Northern Indiana and in all my time there I never saw one fenced yard. I could walk to school through people’s yards and get there fairly quickly, that practice in Phoenix would get you shot. But as I walked around the draft party I was amazed and quite touched at how friendly and interactive the Arizona Cardinal fans are. Total strangers would come up to me and just start talking about who the Cardinals are going to draft. We also spoke of the quality that the Cardinals provided for the event. Many partygoers were responsible and booked rooms at the hotel next to the stadium so they could partake in a party atmosphere for the entire night without having to drive home.

A highlight of the event aside from the draft picks is the barbecue competition. Barbecue champions came from all over the country to compete in the cook-off but were open for business to partygoers. Everyone had the chance to sample some of the best barbecue in the country. Barbecue champions came from areas like Texas, West Virginia, Chicago, Kansas City and right here in Arizona. My first sample of a pulled pork sandwich came from a local vendor and it was excellent. Prices started at around seven dollars for basic barbecue sandwich. The aromas were incredible but so were the fans.

In a previous “From the Cheap Seats” article, I addressed some of the issues that Phoenix teams face having a lot of fans pulling for teams from other states instead of the teams here inArizona. But the realization of becoming a true Arizona fan was made very clear at the draft party. We were Arizona fans, there were pockets of fans from Dallas,Philadelphia and San Francisco scattered around the grounds, but overwhelming numbers were in favor of Arizona. I then realized how special it was to be Arizona Cardinal fan. Too many people who share their allegiances with other teams are missing out. There is a fan base emerging here in the desert that’s second to none. Granted it’s been a long process but numbers continue to grow and fans from other teams no longer dominate the numbers in the seats. After reflecting on the day’s events, I realized how special things were that I had become a true Arizona Cardinal fan. The Cardinals, despite their records over the years are a vital part of our community. That sort of commitment deserves our respect. I am proud to be an Arizona Cardinals fan.

Now, on to the draft pick. The Cardinals number one pick on Thursday was Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd. He is a 6 foot 3, 220 pound machine. Floyd holds the touchdown record at Notre Dame at 37 touchdowns for his career. Floyd ran a 4.47 40 yard dash and had steadily moved up the draft board. The Cardinals were very fortunate that Floyd was around at the number 13 pick. He was rated as the number two wide receiver in the 2012 draft. Floyd is set to accent Larry Fitzgerald at the line of scrimmage and things look to be very solid for our offense for this coming season.

I’m excited about the future of the Cardinals and I look forward to the rest of the draft and our off-season workouts leading up to Cardinals camp in Flagstaff in late July. Stay tuned for additional details about the camp. Please check out the pictures of day one at the Cardinals Draft Party.

Let me know what you think or if you have pictures of the draft party e-mail me at

daleshepard31@hotmail.com.  Thanks for your support of From the Cheap Seats.

Here are a few more pictures taken by (and with) me. I hope you enjoy!

“From the Cheap Seats” by Dale Shepard

^{May 5th}, 2012 – 2^nd Edition

Greetings fellow sports fans; it’s time for another edition of “From the Cheap Seats”.  First off, I would like to thank all those who have responded to my recent submission of articles with Phoenix.org.  Your support is appreciated and I thank you for taking the time to read my stuff.

In this commentary, I want to address a very unfair perception that is cast upon Arizona fans.  Having grown up in the Midwest and moving here to AZ 37 years ago, all throughout the years, I’ve heard how Arizona fans aren’t as good or as passionate as other fans around the country or in particular, back east.  Many times, New York, Boston, Chicago and Philly fans are considered some sort of benchmark of fandom.  I recognize that these fans are as passionate and supportive as any team could hope for.  But it seems when football rolls around, I hear a lot of Steeler fans talking about how pathetic AZ fans are in comparison to them.  Well, let’s get out that measuring stick shall we?

Yep, Pittsburg fans turn out in droves to support their Steelers, but my question to them is, “where is that passion and support for the Pittsburg Pirates in baseball?”  If Pittsburg fans are one of the best fans ever, why are most of the seats for Pirate games empty?  Are they not passionate enough to carry over that passion to another sport win or lose?  Where are they? The NHL is almost over, they have no pro basketball team, so what is it?

img source: http://tomscabin.hubpages.com/hub/Sports-Fan-or-Sports-Fanatic-the-Scary-Dark-Side-of-Sports-Supporters

Arizona fans are accused and labeled fair-weather fans.  And to a certain point that’s true because when our teams are in the playoffs, seats are sold out, no problem, where the regular season games aren’t.  The state of Arizona fan support is a work in progress.  The Suns before the past 2 years are generally sold out. Since the new stadium opened for the Cardinals, we’ve sold out every game. The Dbacks are a challenge for the simple reason there are so many home games, but we’ve always ranked in the middle of the pack for attendance and the same holds true for the Coyotes.

Somehow, fans from other teams think Arizona fans don’t know sports, don’t know how to support their team, but Arizona fans do a solid job of supporting their teams in all sports.  Only a handful of cities have 4 major sports, not even Los Angeles has four.  The reason why I can address these issues like fan support is because I was one of those fans here in AZ where I work and live here but supported other teams back east.  In my particular case, I was a Chicago fan.  I was a typical Chicago fan, loud, obnoxious and NEVER pulled for an AZ team.  I was one of those fans booing the Cardinals as they walked onto the field at Sun Devil Stadium.  This went on for years until in the late 90’s and I met Aeneas Williams.  He and his family attended the same church I did. He was a gentleman, good family man and has been a vital part of the Phoenix community for a long time.  So I’m looking at him, knowing that I booed his existence and efforts on the field, I felt kind of ashamed.  That season, Aeneas did an interview on TV after a game that the Cardinals won and pulled even at .500 for the season.  Aeneas was in tears because he and the team had been working so hard to get to that point and strive to make the playoffs.  So there I sat, booing him just because I was a Bears fan, his efforts had absolutely no impact of the Bears whatsoever.

Call it conviction from above or whatever, but that day I decided, ok, I’ll start cheering for the Cardinals, but I’m not giving up the Bears.  I began to enjoy the Cardinals from a distance; I was kind of a closet Cardinal fan.  This went on for a few years, but as time went on, I started meeting more and more Cardinal fans who were sold out to their team 100%.  These were the fans that were sitting on those hard aluminum bleachers out at ASU.  Things began to change in me slowly until things came to a head at the Monday Night Football game back in 2007 against the Bears.  It was there I caught myself cheering for the Cardinals to win.  This wasn’t some sort of fake, second hand effort on my part, you know that feeling in your stomach when your team is in a tough game, your stomach is all tight, seldom breathing, long exhales at time outs.

It was clear to me, that night I was a Cardinal fan, not a Bears fan.  Well history recalls that the Cards blew their lead and lost to Chicago but I walked away from that game proud of the Cards efforts.  As I was walking out of the stadium, Card fans were getting bombarded with all kinds of smack talk from the Chicago fans; I was not excluded from the smack talk.  They peppered me like all the others.  But at that point in time I realized, not just that I was a Cardinal fan, but I was no longer a Bears fan.  The most disturbing part was I used to be just like those Chicago fans leaving the stadium, I was ashamed of that fact.

From that point on, I cut all ties to Chicago.  People say that once a Cubs fan always a Cubs fan, well not true.  What the Cubs did to Mark Grace was unforgiveable.  Grace represented what a Cub was, but the powers to be didn’t even offer him a contract after all he did for the Cubs and he wasn’t the first.  They shafted Andre Dawson and many others, my first memory of that goes all the way back to Kenny Holtzman.  When the Dbacks signed Gracie, I took it as a sign from God that I was on the right track.  Dumping the Bulls came easy because I couldn’t stand Jordan and all his trash talk.  So my transition to an Arizona fan was complete that fateful Monday night football game.

Now I don’t expect people to do what I did, most simply don’t have that sort of courage but here are some suggestions.  Keep your favorite team but still pull for the local teams.  And it won’t kill ya to show up at a Dbacks game without wearing your Red Sox gear.  It’s a game, you’re not cheating on your wife.  Seriously, would it kill ya to scream and yell like you do for some team you grew up loving because your mom and dad were fans?  But what bothers me most is that people live here in AZ and are quick to point out all the flaws AZ fans have but don’t have the guts to show them how to be a fan.  You’ll always be on the outside looking in, so if you choose to continue to criticize AZ fans just remember, if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.  AZ is my home; the Midwest is old, cold, wet and overall dead to me.  My life, my family and my future is here in AZ, come be a part of the new standard of fandom rising up.  It was truly one of the most liberating decisions I’ve ever made.

DISCLAIMER:

To those fans from other parts of the country, the above comment is for those who qualify for the statement: if the shoe fits. You don’t want to switch, I respect that but ask yourself, can you do AZ, your home, better than you do?

The Phoenix Mercury

With the WNBA draft approaching, the Mercury must be focused on replacing veteran Penny Taylor. Taylor sustained a season-ending knee on injury on March 29 while playing for Fenerbahce (Turkey) in the Euro league Final 8.

Taylor tore her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) against rival Galatasaray. Taylor will undergo surgery and immediately begin the rehabilitation process.  This is definitely a severe injury and a genuine setback for the Mercury.  The rehab has begun but strategy for the upcoming season will have to be modified.

The regular season will begin on the road against reigning champs Minnesota Lynx.  With the injury to Taylor, the Mercury will have to rely on the younger players on the squad to step up to pick up the slack.  The Mercury still have a solid core of players in Diana Taurasi, DeWanna Bonner and Candice Dupree.  Regardless of the injury, the Mercury will always be a team to be reckoned with, that’s what champions do.

Good Luck this season Mercury!

The Arizona Diamondbacks

The 2012 season is finally underway and the Dbacks made a bold statement to the NL West with a 3-game sweep of their division rival San Francisco Giants.  If this first series is any sort of sign of things to come, we are in for a tremendous ride this season.

Amongst the Cheap Seat fans, the talk has been about the acquisition of Jason Kubel in the offseason as the starting left fielder, making Gerardo Parra the 4^th outfielder.  This acquisition befuddled me.  The Dbacks could not have asked for a better player than Parra last year.  We all know the stats and the significant money we’re paying for Kubel.  I won’t argue that we needed more bats in the lineup but I can’t see how Parra didn’t see this move as a slap in the face.   To Parra’s credit, he’s handled things professionally, far better than us fans.  I think Parra is a stud in the outfield and is drastically under-paid at a little over $500k a year.

What concerns me even more are the rumors of trading Parra to Washington for 2 players.  This move has been considered because of the possibility of losing catcher, Miguel Montero to free agency.  This Dbacks fan will be watching this scenario very closely and will be genuinely upset to lose Parra for any reason.

That being said, I am stoked about the Dbacks season.  I think we have things in place to where we can dominate the NL West for years to come.  Definitely easier said than done but that’s why we watch the games!

The Arizona Cardinals

Now that the Peyton Manning sweepstakes is over, the Cardinals are preparing for their upcoming draft.  Free agent signings have been slow but solid.  Questions still remain and the Cards brass is working diligently to prepare for the draft beginning April 26^th.

Two positions that have not been addressed through free agency have been the tackle and wide receiver spots.  One of these two positions should be addressed with our #1 pick.  Many of the endless mock drafts have the Cards taking Notre Dame wide receiver, Michael Floyd at #13.  Floyd would be an excellent choice to offset the best wide receiver on the planet in Larry Fitzgerald.  But our QB’s cannot complete passes while lying on their backs.  That’s why some of the experts have Stanford’s left tackle, Jonathan Martin at the #13 spot.

The Cardinals approach is to address needs through free agency and the draft as choosing the best player available. This process may not be as quick as fans would like, but it is far more important to sign and draft the right players as opposed to grabbing whoever they can get quickly.  Questions will be answered soon enough; draft day is always an exciting time.

The Cardinals are putting on a draft party out at the stadium sponsored by the Valley Chevy Dealers on April 26^th beginning at 4 pm. This roving reporter will be there taking photos of all the fun.  Come on out and support the Cardinals! You’ll have a blast!

The Phoenix Coyotes

The Coyotes are without a doubt, the biggest quagmire I have ever seen in pro sports.  I don’t mean that in a negative way, it just seems that the NHL has painted themselves into a corner and for some reason cannot get out of it.  This roller coaster of a franchise should have dried up and blown away with the last haboob.  But just when you think that the Yotes would miss out on another playoff opportunity, they win the Pacific division!!

The failure to attain a buyer for this franchise did not detour this team from achieving great things.  What lies ahead in the playoffs is anyone’s guess but you have to give this team their proper respect.  I for one, had lost interest in the NHL because of their lockout a few years back.  I can forgive such a situation but it has been difficult to forget some of the comments players made during that time.  That should not overshadow the efforts of this current team and their playoff run and I choose to not let it.

I would hate to see the valley lose the Coyotes.  Granted that the NHL isn’t the marketing machine the NFL, NBA or MLB is, but it is a great sport and is a very exciting time to see the White Out in full effect.

Good luck Yotes, the Stanley Cup would look great with some chips and salsa inside!