The Valley sports media has been tripping over itself in lauding the hiring of new Phoenix Suns general manager Ryan McDonough, calling it a turning point and a ray of light for a franchise that has been in a death spiral during these past couple years of the Robert Sarver era.

A federal judge on Tuesday slapped down the latest efforts by the state to block the Tohono O'odham from building a casino on the edge of Glendale.

The Arizona Cardinals didn’t need this.

Fittingly for a guy who’s about to become “big time,” Dion Jordan’s life has been hectic.

A mob of runners and many well wishers flocked to Tempe on Saturday for the ninth annual Pat's Run to honor one of Arizona's finest and pay respect to the victims of Monday's attack on the Boston Marathon.

Gov. Jan Brewer said Tuesday that enhanced security is being put in place for this weekend's Pat Tillman run in the wake of the bombings in Boston.

On Jan. 16, students from 14 Valley schools gathered at Gilbert’s Higley Center for the Performing Arts for the Building Bridges program to fight bullying in schools. In May of last year, Kyrene Altadeña Middle School students participated in the Bully Academy Webquest, an online course involving reading articles, watching videos about bullying and most importantly, talking about it. After all, this is about how young people learn to express their emotions. In November 2011, students from Chandler’s Tarwater Elementary School spent a day focused on kindness, respect, and friendship.

“A group of parents in petitioning Mesa Schools to give teachers a raise. The average teaching salary in MPS is $54,398. If teachers can’t figure out how to live on a salary that is nearly double the average salary for the general population of Mesa, how are they smart enough to teach children?”

Classes stopped at St. Timothy Catholic School in Mesa for a few moments last week as students and staff watched televisions, awaiting for the announcement of a new pope.

Desperation. That is what prompted John Rhode’s journey to success.

For a long time, two things felt as if they would always exist among Arizona Cardinals’ fans:

Watch out for the construction zone.

It seems ironic that the title of the movie is "Identity Thief" when its co-stars have such a firm grasp on their well-established screen personae.

The Cardinals are back to drafting in the top 10, back to enduring losing streaks that last months. They have fired the coach that guided them to the Super Bowl and have no quarterback in a league where it is the No. 1 requirement.

Now that the Cardinals have done the right thing when it comes to their coaching situation, will they do the right thing when it comes to their coaching situation?

Am I the only one who’s waiting to see if Arizona running back Beanie Wells writes his home phone number and email address on the back of his helmet for today’s 49ers game? Perhaps he can put it right over the Cardinals logo, since that doesn’t mean anything to him anymore.

A lot of people like to make predictions on what is going to happen. Too few of us take responsibility for their successes and, yes, their failures. Here is what I forecast on December 23, 2011 followed by what actually happened and my report card:

Remember when the idea that leading the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl would have insured the kind of job security only Supreme Court Justices and the Pope have enjoyed?

"Trickle-up poverty, aka socialism, means everyone will be getting crumbs."

For those who cannot make it to the Mountain Pointe-Hamilton state title game on Saturday at University of Phoenix Stadium, the game will be televised by Fox Sports Arizona. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:07 p.m.