Phoenix Suns rookie forward Ryan Dunn will not play Monday against the Los Angeles Clippers at Footprint Center due to a sprained left ankle, according to the NBA injury report.

Dunn suffered the injury early in the first quarter of Saturday’s 119-109 win over the Washington Wizards after rolling his ankle on Devin Booker’s foot while launching to the basket.

He exited less than two minutes into the game and did not return, as Bradley Beal checked in off the bench.

“The image tonight was negative and we’ll just see how he feels in the morning,” head coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters after the game.

Dunn rolling his ankle on Books foot 😭 pic.twitter.com/j65jj1VbnN

— Cage (@ridiculouscage) January 26, 2025

Dunn has played in 40 of Phoenix’s 44 games this season and has started the last 12 contests with Beal coming off the bench.

Since his insertion into the starting five (excluding Saturday), Dunn has averaged 10.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 24.9 minutes per game while shooting 35.1% from beyond the arc.

The rookie’s defense and energy have been consistent, and his outside shooting has improved in January compared to the previous two months.

Dunn is the only Suns player on the injury report, excluding two-ways.

Clippers injury report

For Los Angeles, veteran guard and stalwart defender Kris Dunn is out due to left knee injury management. Dunn averages 6.0 points and 1.5 steals per game this season.

Rookies Jordan Miller (illness) and Cam Christie (left ankle sprain) are both out, as is former Suns forward P.J. Tucker, who is not with the team and has not played this season.

The Suns (23-21) enter the matchup 2.5 games back of the Clippers (26-19), who sit in the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Phoenix has won seven of its last nine games.

The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.

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Devin Booker on Saturday debuted the Aspen Corner edition of his Nike Book 1 shoe in a Phoenix Suns win over the Washington Wizards.

Devin Booker’s new Arizona-inspired Nike Book 1, dubbed “Aspen Corner,” draws inspiration from Flagstaff’s Aspen trees, which turn yellow in the fall 🍁 pic.twitter.com/BQuo0LsWot

— Nice Kicks (@nicekicks) January 26, 2025

It’s the third colorway in the “No Service” pack where each shoe is named after an area in Arizona’s high country, which Booker often returns to during offseasons to get a break from the populous city and avoid Valley summers.

“I go up to Flag every time the leaves turn over and go check that out,” Booker told reporters postgame. “Any bits of stories I can give to the fans or my people without just telling them or yelling in their face, I like to do it.”

Previous editions were named after Sedona and Flagstaff, and the Aspen Corner model stayed true to the theme with the silhouette of Arizona’s tallest peak — Humphrey’s Peak near Flagstaff — on the tongue under the “Book” logo.

“When they told me I was getting a shoe, I was like, ‘What’s a better way to tell stories?’ Because, you know, I don’t really talk that much. So I’d rather just tell stories through different ways like that,” Booker said. “And I think, each story having a shoe, people are finding the connections.”

Will the Aspen Corner colorway be available to purchase?

While the Sedona edition dropped on Jan. 1 at $140 and the Flagstaff colorway is expected to be released to the public on Feb. 13 retailing at $150, the Aspen Corner color will be a player-exclusive version meant for Booker only, according to Sneaker News.

On the latest edition of the State of the Sun Devils podcast, Jeremy Schnell, Jesse Morrison and Damon Allred react to Arizona State men’s basketball’s 76-61 loss to No. 3 Iowa State at Desert Financial Arena.

The Sun Devils started well and led 40-33 at halftime. They shot 50% from three-point range and 56% from the field in the first half.

The game started to unravel for ASU in the second half. The Sun Devils had 11 turnovers in the frame and were just 2-for-12 from three.

Foul trouble also hurt Arizona State in the game. The Sun Devils had five players pick up at least three fouls. Joson Sanon and Jayden Quaintance, debatably ASU’s two best players, fouled out.

The Sun Devils dropped to 11-8 overall and 2-6 in the Big 12 with the loss. They will have to start stacking wins if they want to make the NCAA Tournament.

ASU returns to the court Tuesday at Colorado before welcoming rival Arizona to Tempe on Feb. 1.

TEMPE — ASU men’s basketball nearly added a signature win to its resume on Saturday, but it lost 76-61 after a late surge by No. 3 Iowa State at Desert Financial Arena.

“We’re starting to figure some things out, but ultimately you’ve gotta win. There’s no moral victories,” Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley said postgame.

The 10th-year program leader pointed out the team’s previous three losses (Cincinnati, UCF, Baylor) all coming in competitive fashion before this one against national-contending ISU.

Curtis Jones willed Iowa State across the finish line without much help on the offensive end, scoring a career-high 33 points on 22 shots. The rest of the Cyclones were 12-for-26.

“He was playing like a different game than everybody else was today,” Hurley said of Jones. “But not only his offense, like he was face-guarding us, denying us on defense, picking up full court. He played a complete game.”

After the Sun Devils had built a 40-33 halftime lead, Iowa State opened the second half with six straight points. ASU held onto its lead until the Cyclones tied the game at 50 with 12:13 remaining.

That was well before Jayden Quaintance, who played through an injury sustained in practice and will undergo a “thorough evaluation,” fouled out in the first minute of a 19-3 run that saw the Cyclones turn a one-point deficit into a 15-point victory.

Fellow freshman Joson Sanon would later also foul out and finish with eight points on 3-for-6 shooting in 25 minutes as he made his return from a high ankle sprain.

Following a timeout during the late surge, chants of “I-S-U” rang throughout ASU’s home arena with the final in sight. The ASU students’ response? “Where’s your trophy?”

With Iowa State in town, the Arizona State football players were on hand, not missing the chance to rub in their Big 12 Championship trophy — won over the Cyclones on Dec. 7.

Defensive lineman Justin Wodtly brought the Sun Devils’ trophy over to where the Cyclones fans were stationed following the battling chants, showing it off one last time for good measure.

Jones said postgame seeing how the football team flaunted the trophy and gave him some added juice in the game.

As for the Curtain of Distraction brought out for the second half, defensive tackle Jacob Rich Kongaika and running back Raleek Brown served as the distraction, bringing the trophy with them.

The Curtain of Distraction 🤝 @ASUFootball pic.twitter.com/ySEdKieMjc

— 942 Crew (@942Crew) January 25, 2025

Hurley said the atmosphere felt like a “home-neutral” environment and later propped up the football team for what it has meant to the athletic department.

ASU’s transition defense takes a step forward

After ASU gave up 28 points off 15 turnovers to West Virginia, 17 points off 14 turnovers to Cincinnati and 16 points off 14 turnovers to UCF, it had a tall task matching up against the Big 12’s leader in turnovers forced per game (15.61).

“It starts (with) just building your transition, getting back quickly and getting matched up fast regardless of what happens on offense. Making sure we’re identifying the threats right away, they can score in transition,” Hurley said on Friday before the game. “We gotta help and we gotta get back and we gotta do it all.”

ASU was much better with its transition defense in the first half, allowing only three points off seven turnovers.

Shawn Phillips Jr. had the team’s best moment in transition defense with a block to prevent a buzzer-beater to end the half, allowing the Sun Devils to enter the locker room with their longest lead of the game to that point. He finished with a career-high four blocks.

Hurley called him a “bright spot in the darkness” and was complimentary of the big man’s attitude throughout the day.

“He took a big step today. Hopefully, we keep taking steps with Shawn, because he’s got great upside if he just stays focused and we keep him going in the right direction,” the coach said.

Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker had some fun using classic scenes from the best picture-winning movie “Forrest Gump” while promoting the new Cortez-inspired Nike Book 1.

Booker posted a series of videos on his Instagram story on Friday, generating his face on Tom Hanks’ body to reimagine iconic moments from the film.

In the movie, Gump ran for three years in the Nike Cortez shoes gifted to him by Jenny.

Booker poses as a scruffy Hanks in the moment Gump decides to stop his run while on the highway near Monument Valley, saying, “I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll go home now.”

Devin Booker and Nike recreate FORREST GUMP 🤣pic.twitter.com/R4b1Ml7EWF

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 24, 2025

Another scene shows Devin Gump telling a woman reading on a bench at the park, “Those must be comfortable shoes. I bet you could walk all day in shoes like that and not feel a thing. I wish I had shoes like that. … Mama always said there’s an awful lot you could tell about a person by their shoes. Where they go, where they’ve been.”

Booker, as he’s done with other Book 1 colorways, dropped off pairs of shoes throughout Phoenix on Friday, posting the locations on Instagram for fans to race to like the famous “Run Forrest, Run!” scene.

The Suns’ star has released several colorways of his first signature basketball shoe, including a Sedona edition and an upcoming Flagstaff-inspired sneaker.

Devin Booker hid signed pairs of his “Forrest Gump” Nike Book 1 around Phoenix for fans to find and keep 📚👀 pic.twitter.com/fvLLsOPWZz

— Nice Kicks (@nicekicks) January 24, 2025

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The WM Phoenix Open on Wednesday announced Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Billy Horschel as the latest additions for its February 2025 tournament at TPC Scottsdale.

Thomas (No. 21 on World Golf Ranking) will try for his 16th victory on the PGA Tour and first since the 2022 PGA Championship. It will be his 11th time at the tournament, and he has a few top-five finishes under his belt: fourth in 2023, tied for third in 2019 and 2020.

Boasting five top-10 finishes in nine appearances at the tournament, Spieth (No. 71) has 13 PGA Tour wins, most recently winning the 2022 RBC Heritage.

Horschel (No. 16) is coming off a 2024 campaign that included his eighth PGA Tour win (Corales Puntacana Championship) along with an eagle putt to beat Rory McIlroy in a playoff at the BMW PGA Championship, his second win at the event.

“We are less than 20 days away, and already the field for the 2025 WM Phoenix Open is shaping up to be one of the strongest in tournament history,” WM Phoenix Open chairman Matt Mooney said in a release. “The latest round of commitments includes some of the biggest names on the PGA TOUR. We can’t wait to see them out at ‘The People’s Open’ in February.”

The three golfers join last week’s initial commitments of Hideki Matsuyama (No. 5), 2023 tournament winner Nick Taylor (No. 29) and Wyndham Clark (No. 7). Wednesday’s additions make it five top-30 golfers committed.

When is the 2025 WM Phoenix Open?

The first round of the 2025 WM Phoenix Open tees off Thursday, Feb. 6.

The fourth and final round is slated for Sunday, Feb. 9.

Additionally, the Annexus Pro-Am takes place the Wednesday before the first round.

The Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to terms with 21 amateur international signees on Wednesday, headlined by Dominican outfielder Elian De La Cruz.

Wednesday kicked off the latest international signing period, opening the window for amateur international free agents to sign with MLB teams.

De La Cruz, a 17-year-old right-handed outfielder from the Dominican Republic, agreed to a $1.1 million signing bonus, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reported.

FanGraphs ranked De La Cruz No. 33 in the 2025 international free agent class, and MLB Pipeline has him at No. 27 with 55-grade (above average) power and arm strength on the 80-grade scale.

MLB insider Francys Romero ranked him No. 28 due to his power potential:

According to several scouts, he is an outfielder with impressive instincts for the game. I’ve included him in this list because his power could become a significant asset in the future, and he has excellent potential for further physical development. His arm is rated between 50-55 on the 80 scale. While he still needs to refine his plate discipline, De La Cruz is undeniably a legitimate prospect in this class.

Each team is designated a bonus pool at the start of each international signing period, as smaller-revenue teams receive a higher spending cap. Teams can also trade or acquire international bonus pool money, similar to compensation draft picks.

The Diamondbacks entered 2025 with $6,908,600 to spend, the second-highest allotment with the Guardians, Orioles, Pirates, Rockies and Royals. The Athletics, Brewers, Mariners, Marlins, Rays, Reds, Tigers and Twins had bonus pools of $7,555,500, while the other end of the spectrum includes the Dodgers and Giants at $5,146,200.

Starting pitcher Roki Sasaki headlines this year’s class as a 23-year-old pitching phenom from Japan, who reportedly picked the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays as his three finalists.

Who did the Diamondbacks sign as international free agents?

Malvin Baez, RHP, Villa Verde, Dominican Republic

Juan Brima, SS, Cotui, Dominican Republic

Alam Bruno, SS, Santo Domingo Centro, Dominican Republic

Johan Calcano, RHP, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Elian De La Cruz, OF, La Vega, Dominican Republic

Mayki De La Rosa, CF, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

Feliz Genao, 3B, Santo Domingo Este, Dominican Republic

Santiago Gil, C, Caracas, Venezuela

Rodrigo Gonzalez, SS, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

Yaury Jimenez, RHP, Peravia, Dominican Republic

Albert Medina, OF, Carupano, Venezuela

Ismael Mejia, C, Carrizal, Venezuela

Jeshua Mendez, C, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Daonil Montero, SS, Santo Domingo Este, Dominican Republic

Jose Pitre, CF, Guayana, Venezuela

Eybert Sanchez, SS, Maracay, Venezuela

Victor Santana, 3B, Santo Domingo Centro, Dominican Republic

Angel Suarez, SS, Higuerote, Venezuela

Ronny Suarez, CF, Barlovento, Venezuela

Miguel Valdez, LHP, Santo Domingo Centro, Dominican Republic

Keivan Vasquez, LHP, Higuey, Dominican Republic

Dominican OF Maiky De La Rosa has officially signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Bonus deal: $600,000.

Trained by Cacoon Academy. pic.twitter.com/S0tUUd4M1G

— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) January 15, 2025

The Diamondbacks’ top international free agent of 2024 was Dominican outfielder Adriel Radney, whom MLB Pipeline ranked No. 10 in his class. He was Arizona’s No. 15 prospect at the end of last season after playing in the Dominican Summer League, per Pipeline.

International free agent success stories on Arizona’s active roster include shortstop Geraldo Perdomo (2016) and relief pitcher Justin Martinez (2019), both of whom the D-backs signed as teenagers from the Dominican Republic. Ketel Marte (D.R.), Eugenio Suarez (Venezuela) and Gabriel Moreno (Venezuela) are among players signed by and developed in other farm systems before the D-backs traded for them.

The Diamondbacks this offseason unveiled their new Dominican academy at the Las Américas Complex in Boca Chico with an education center and lighted ballfields for their prospects.

Diamondbacks announce player development staff

On Tuesday, the D-backs revealed their 2025 player development coaching staff, overseen by director of player development Chris Slivka. Slivka is in his first season as farm director after Shaun Larkin transitioned into a new role as third base coach.

Former big leaguer Nick Evans is Slivka’s assistant farm director, while Rick Short is Arizona field coordinator.

Jeff Gardner takes over as Triple-A Reno’s manager for Blake Lalli. Jeff Bajenaru and Doug Drabek return as pitching coaches, Terrmel Sledge is the hitting coach and Shawn Roof the bench coach.

Javier Colina will manager Double-A Amarillo, Mark Reed will skipper High-A Hillsboro and Dee Garner remains the manager at Single-A Visalia.

The full staff is listed online.

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Here’s an exercise for you: Next time during a Phoenix Suns game, take a peek at the box score on your favorite basketball app.

First, look at the shooting percentage for each team. Then compare how well the shooting accuracy reflects the product on the court — and the score. Quite often, it doesn’t.

That trend has continued to astonish me since a Dec. 21 meeting with the Pistons, who allowed the Suns to bomb for a 58% shooting mark by the game’s end yet ended with a 133-125 victory.

The Pistons shot 55% in that one, and you could blame the Suns’ defense a bit.

Let’s look at the last five games against pretty light competition for more of this trend, though. Phoenix has consistently outshot its opponents — credit to the offense and even the defense lately.

– 51-44% Suns advantage in a five-point loss to the Hawks Tuesday
– 48-45% Sunday in a seven-point win against the Hornets
– 51-44% Saturday in an eight-point win against the Jazz
– 58-49% in an eight-point win over the Hawks Thursday
– 42-39% in an 11-point loss to the miserable Hornets last Wednesday

What’s the point I’m trying to make? Phoenix’s offensive execution has been good enough and its defense has held up.

The Suns continue to score the hard way, and even if you have players who are wildly efficient doing it the hard way, that doesn’t make it easier. Convince me Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal wouldn’t have a little more energy to defend and rebound if they’re bombing spot-ups and transition threes instead of isolating in the mid-range.

The Suns are losing on the margins in a lot of respects.

Widen the view season-wide and across all the miscellaneous ways to score, and the Suns find themselves struggling to make up ground even when their offense is clicking.

Per game in 2024-25, the Suns are 18th in points scored off turnovers, third-to-last in second-chance points, 20th in fastbreak points and second-worst in points in the paint.

Sounds like a roster expensively constructed around high-level scorers with holes and a lack of identity otherwise.

So about the Phoenix Suns’ recent rebounding issues

In the past 10 games, the Suns’ rebounding has been miserable, partially because they play small and for three different reasons (suspension, illness and coaches decisions) haven’t had their best rebounder, Jusuf Nurkic, in the mix much, if at all.

Phoenix is last in the NBA by giving up 17.3 second-chance points per game in the past 10.

“We’re just ball-watching, watching guys jump over us, watching guys run past us, get the ball, get the rebound, first to the ball on the floor. Especially the long ones, as guards, we got to get in there,” Beal told reporters after the Hawks game.

Head coach Mike Budenholzer and Durant also mentioned that size isn’t a great excuse. Against a team like the Hawks with a couple of deep gunners, many of the rebounds were long ones.

As Phoenix gave up 27 second-chance points off 20 offensive boards Tuesday night, at one point television play-by-play voice Kevin Ray pointed out a long rebound during the broadcast that reached the playing surface before it was gobbled up by a Hawk.

Backup big Onyeka Okongwu scored 22 to go with 21 rebounds, joining Goga Bitadze, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Nick Richards and Mark Williams as non-All-Star centers to go ballistic on Phoenix.

“It starts with just everybody who’s out there has to participate,” Budenholzer told reporters after the loss to Atlanta. “Are there other guys or other things that maybe we can do to help our rebounding? We got to look at that and see where we get better. But everybody who’s out there has to make a commitment to go get it. That’s where it starts.”

I’ll translate that for you: Neither Bol Bol nor Nick Richards will save the Suns’ season. The rebounding problem is one of many.

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Arizona men’s basketball continued its winning streak and undefeated Big 12 record by beating No. 25 Baylor 81-70 on Tuesday for the program’s seventh-straight win.

Henri Veesaar led the way with a career-high 19 points off the bench for Arizona and after a 3-4 start in nonconference play to begin the season, the Wildcats improved to 11-5 overall and 5-0 in the Big 12.

Entering Tuesday, Baylor was already a shorthanded team missing Langston Love (recurring ankle soreness) and Jalen Celestine (ankle) to injuries, but after Baylor big Norchad Omier picked up two early fouls just 1:06 into the game, the Bears did not have much of a shot with their best player in foul trouble for much of the evening.

Omier averages 15.9 points and 10.6 rebounds per game but was held to nine points and four rebounds in 26 minutes.

After Omier checked out for the first time, Arizona went on a 7-0 run and never looked back.

Somewhat of a bold move, Baylor put Omier back in the game with two fouls at the 15:42 mark, but that was mainly because there was no other choice. Baylor played just six players more than six minutes.

Arizona is now 7-0 since Anthony Dell’Orso joined the team’s starting lineup versus Samford, and the Australian made his first three 3-point attempts on Tuesday, which helped set the tone for Arizona.

Baylor entered allowing opponents to shoot 36.3% from three, so this game was not necessarily the best assessment for a Wildcats team we have seen struggle to knock down 3-pointers at times this season (Arizona averaged just 6.8 3-pointers per game entering Tuesday), but Arizona made seven alone in the first half.

Tommy Lloyd’s group played like the more physical team as well and looked much better defensively, holding Baylor to a 7 of 27 (25.9%) mark in the first half and just 1 of 11 (9.09%) from three.

A 17-4 run from Arizona saw the Wildcats take a 42-19 lead into the break, its largest halftime lead all season, while 19 points at the half was a season-low for Baylor. Arizona made six of its final seven shots to end the first half while Baylor made just one of its final nine.

Baylor guard Jeremy Roach picked up his third personal foul with 46 seconds left in the first half, which quite literally added insult to injury for the Bears. Coming out of the half, Roach later picked up his fourth foul with 16:59 left leaving Baylor even more depleted.

But the second half was a much different story for the depleted Bears. The Wildcats went cold and were held without a 3-pointer in the second half as the Bears clawed their way back into the game.

The Bears made four straight and 5 of 6 field goals to start the second half to keep it competitive. Baylor looked the much more aggressive team in the second half and Arizona was sloppy as the Bears turned to a 1-3-1 zone defense that caused the Wildcats to look sluggish.

Once trailing by 27, Baylor hit seven shots in a row to go on a 17-4 run to pull to within 10 with three minutes remaining.

Arizona managed to make most of its free throws down the stretch and key blocks from Carter Bryant and Caleb Love in the final two minutes helped Arizona hang on for the win but once again the Wildcats were unable to put together a complete performance.

And Love continued to struggle offensively as well. The 2023-24 Pac-12 Player of the Year finished with eight points on 3 of 10 shooting.

The Wildcats return to action Saturday at noon MST at Texas Tech (12-4, 3-2).

Follow @veenstra_david

GLENDALE — The Los Angeles Rams traveled to a home game away from home as their city continues to fight destructive wildfires, and they dominated the Minnesota Vikings in their Wild Card round victory at State Farm Stadium on Monday, 27-9.

The game had a great turnout with 64,515 announced fans in Glendale, especially considering this game was to be played in Los Angeles as of Wednesday evening.

Fans piled into buses before the sun rose on Monday morning at SoFi Stadium to attend, and — sorry Cardinals fans — the Rams displayed a resilience and ferocity to reward them with a win. 

“There was definitely every excuse in the book to come out here and be lethargic and ‘woe is me’ and all that,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “But we weren’t playing just for us, we were playing for people back home that needed something to watch and enjoy. And I’m glad we could give that to them.”

State Farm Stadium packed the house for Monday Night Football despite the short notice. pic.twitter.com/9xpH6gtB4C

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) January 14, 2025

Los Angeles’ defense played a stellar game, sacking Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold six times in the first half alone and finishing with nine sacks, which tied the NFL playoff record. A strip sack from Ahkello Witherspoon was returned 57 yards for a touchdown by Jared Verse to give L.A. a 17-3 lead in the second quarter, a back-breaking turn of events for the Vikings.

“Like, a sack party I was not invited to,” Verse joked after eight different Rams players were credited with at least half of a sack.

Minnesota returned a fumble for a touchdown in the first quarter, but a review determined Stafford flipped the ball forward to an intended target. Instead of a 10-10 game, the Rams ran away with a 24-3 lead at halftime as their side of the split crowd bellowed “Whose house? Rams house!” in the home of the Cardinals. There were a few Cardinals jerseys sprinkled throughout the crowd, naturally.

The Rams’ offense led drives of 70 and 62 net yards to put up 10 points before the defensive score. Stafford found tight end Davis Allen for a touchdown 21 seconds before halftime after a Minnesota turnover on downs.

Minnesota held Los Angeles to three points in the second half, but its offense could not muster a comeback.

“I think you could just feel it, you could feel it in warm ups. There was just an aura,” head coach Sean McVay said. “Once we got to Arizona … once we got here, I think that offered just a chance to kind of exhale. Now, let’s lock in. Let’s all be in the same place. Let’s have two really good days of preparation, and then let’s peak at the right time. And our guys certainly did that.”

JARED VERSE SCOOP AND SCORE!

📺: #MINvsLAR on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/bXLHmOUaQW

— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2025

The Rams arrived in Arizona on Friday and used the Cardinals’ facilities to prepare.

Los Angeles will travel to Philadelphia in the Divisional Round and kick off on Sunday. The Rams started the year 1-4, including a 41-10 shellacking by the Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. They went 9-2 over the next 11 games to claim the NFC West.

The Vikings went 14-3 in the regular season, but a Week 18 loss to the Detroit Lions cost them the division crown, and they enter an offseason having to manage a quarterback controversy with Darnold and 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy.

Cardinals successfully host playoff game between Rams-Vikings

The NFL sets up contingency plans for games throughout the season, but rarely are they ever needed. With the ongoing wildfires devastating Los Angeles, the league moved Monday’s playoff game to Glendale. More than 40,000 acres have burned and 12,000 structures have been destroyed as of Monday evening with more strong winds coming, per Cal Fire.

The Cardinals played the role of a welcoming host, and despite the division rivalry, the cooperation between the Cardinals and Rams led to a successful event in Glendale. The building had great energy, and seeing friends reunite in the parking lot pregame given this past week’s events in Los Angeles showed what sports are all about at the end of the day — even if it felt jarring for Cardinals fans to see the Nest transformed.

With the midwestern presence in the Valley — especially this time of year — there was always going to be a split crowd. The environment had a bowl game feel in that sense, and there were plenty of back-and-forth chants on the concourse before introductions.

A mix of Rams and Vikings fans made their way to State Farm Stadium for the NFC Wild Card playoff game that was moved to Arizona due to the wildfires in Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/ogBaLW2Uq3

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) January 14, 2025

All parties involved did an admirable job attempting to create a Rams home game from the paint on the field to the in-stadium graphics to the Warren G performance during the third quarter.

“To have an opportunity to do something special, provide something of value for people that are going through a tough time, to pull that out the way we did there, it means a lot,” Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp said.

Thanks for opening your doors to us, @AZCardinals. 🫶 pic.twitter.com/9zgyUabQdk

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 12, 2025

The NFL announced its decision on Thursday, giving the operations staff the weekend to make preparations. Several signs in the crowd showed support for Los Angeles and the first responders who have gone to battle with the wildfires, with phrases such as “LA Strong” and “Stay Strong LA.”

“This experience has been, bar none, amazing,” Jesus, a fan who made the trip on Sunday, said during a Rams pregame tailgate.

Former Rams star left tackle Andrew Whitworth addressed the crowd pregame, saying “We will rebuild,” before the opening kick off, and QR codes to donate to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and American Red Cross were placed at each concession stand.

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