Arizona Cardinals franchise quarterback Kyler Murray is looking to give back through his foundation’s first annual softball game.

Slated for May 17 at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, the Kyler Murray Foundation’s softball game is expected to include fellow Cardinals Marvin Harrison Jr., Trey McBride and James Conner and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens, among other celebrities from the sports and entertainment worlds.

All proceeds for the game will go directly toward benefitting local programs in underserved communities.

“This game is about bringing the community together while supporting causes that matter,” Murray said in press release. “I’m excited to share this experience with fans, friends and fellow athletes while making a positive impact in Arizona.”

Those planning to attend can also enjoy music, concessions, games, chess and other activities in the “fan zone.”

Tickets for the event are on sale now. General admission is $19. VIP and on-field experiences are also available. Kids 2 and under are free.

Murray is embarking on his seventh season as Arizona’s starting quarterback. He completed 68.8% of his passes for 3,851 yards and 21 touchdowns to 11 interceptions last season. The signal caller also ran for 572 yards and five scores on 78 carries.

He finished 10th in Comeback Player of the Year voting.

What is the Kyler Murray Foundation?

The Kyler Murray Foundation’s mission is “to inspire and support youth by providing educational resources and athletic opportunities, fostering a foundation for success in life.”

In addition to the upcoming softball game, Murray has given back to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley and the Arizona Education Foundation since coming to Arizona as the No. 1 overall pick in 2019.

It’s a party at the @bgcarizona. @K1 is here handing out $10,000 and getting some football in with the kids. pic.twitter.com/4AG5JYoh3a

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) March 24, 2022

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Maybe the Phoenix Suns squeak into the play-in round of the postseason. Maybe they fall flat with the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA.

Regardless, they need a hard look in the mirror to determine how things have gone south the past two-plus seasons. Financially, a summer trade of Kevin Durant appears the best way out of this roster mess — and he’s even admitted that looks like a possibility after the Suns shopped him at the trade deadline.

What could Phoenix get in return? ESPN’s Bobby Marks doesn’t think it’ll be close to what the Suns gave up for him: Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and a slew of first-round picks and swaps.

“A lot of it he’ll dictate as far as what you can get in value based on him (being) willing to extend with that team,” Marks told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Tuesday. “He can extend for I think two years, $120 million dollars.

“If there’s a team out there willing to throw … a lot at Phoenix and he’s not willing to extend, that’s probably not going to be a deal that will happen.”

And that is why, if the Suns do aim to move Durant, it’d be in their best interests to work with him by finding a new team that he is excited to join.

Durant’s current contract pays out $54.7 million next season, but a two-year extension would run through his age-39 season.

If he can get through the end of this season with the Suns cleanly, then maybe another team will consider the risk.

The reward could be something like this: Durant is averaging 26.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game this year, while shooting 53% overall and 40% from deep.

Plugging him in with a younger squad that needs an ace scorer is possible. Marks believes the playoffs have to play out before Phoenix might be able to start landing on potential trade frameworks.

“We won’t know (who is interested) until we get to the first or second round here. Whether it be if Houston loses in the first round and they say, ‘You know what, we’re going to accelerate this retool of our roster a little bit further down the road.’ … We see it every year.

“You don’t know what the market is until we probably get through the playoffs.”

Is a Kevin Durant trade the biggest need for the Suns looking to 2025-26?

Phoenix’s problems, however, don’t get solved with a Durant trade alone.

He has been a relatively constant presence on the team the past two-plus seasons and under three head coaches.

Blame doesn’t stop with the players — or the coaches.

“I do think you kind of need a full audit of everything that goes on in that basketball operations department,” Marks said of how the Suns have to approach reviewing the past few seasons. “Certainly within the coaching staff, the front office and the players — and you can include ownership in there. You can start that right now. You just got to figure out: How did it go so bad?

“In the (2021) NBA Finals to now multiple coaches, certainly the ownership change and now we’re not even talking about getting swept in the first round. We’re talking about not even getting to the first round here. I think that starts right there in terms of a full audit.”

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SCOTTSDALE — Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll is considered day-to-day after leaving Sunday’s Cactus League game at the Texas Rangers with lower back tightness, manager Torey Lovullo said on Monday.

Carroll received Monday off, while the club does not play on Tuesday. He will continue to receive treatment and be evaluated to jump back in later this week.

“It’s just the tightness, there’s no imaging that was necessary and we felt like with some rest and getting back into his rhythm and routine … he’s going to be fine,” Lovullo said.

Carroll is off to a scorching start this spring, hitting 6-for-12 with three home runs and two steals in five games.

Kendall Graveman update

Diamondbacks reliever Kendall Graveman underwent imaging for back tightness, and Lovullo said the tests came back clean.

“There’s nothing that is going to be alarming enough for there to be a major setback,” Lovullo said. “Just going to step away to recuperate and get that mid back tightness out of there.

“He’s in the treatment phase, and he’ll come out as soon as he possibly can. We have a lot of time to recover from this injury. We know he’s working hard, and we’ll get him back out there as soon as possible.”

Graveman signed a one-year deal at the start of spring training to add depth to Arizona’s bullpen. The veteran reliever missed all of 2024 with shoulder surgery.

The right-hander worked a 3.12 ERA with eight saves back in 2023. He has yet to make his Cactus League debut for the Diamondbacks.

Jordan Montgomery steps onto the mound

Left-hander Jordan Montgomery took on live hitters for the first time this spring on Monday at Salt River Fields. He faced catcher Aramis Garcia three times and first baseman Pavin Smith twice.

The next step for him is to be determined, but he will either throw another live batting practice session or get in a game.

Montgomery showed up to camp with a strained left index finger, so his ramp up to the regular season has been a bit behind his fellow starting pitchers.

“I thought after the first four or five pitches, he started to find the zone in and follow the glove and did a good job,” Lovullo said. “There were, in particular, some good breaking balls I saw him throw that had good shape and good finish in the hitting zone. It’s hard to evaluate. I don’t want it to move too fast. I want to be sensitive to this entire process and tell you he’s on the right track.”

Jordan Montgomery threw his first live BP of the spring against Aramis Garcia and Pavin Smith.

Next steps TBD pic.twitter.com/uOnj6gt3su

— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) March 3, 2025

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A week remains in the regular season Big 12 schedule, and for a conference that boasts one elite club and a deep group of NCAA Tournament hopefuls, there’s only a smidge to shake out.

Barring a surprise run in the conference tournament, it’s expected the Big 12 will land half of its 16-team conference in the Big Dance.

The Arizona Wildcats, who are 2-4 in the last stretch and most recently lost at No. 9 Iowa State, remain tied with Texas Tech for second (13-5 Big 12) in the conference, behind the 17-1 Houston Cougars.

Arizona (19-10) has a Tuesday hosting of the Arizona State Sun Devils (9 p.m., ESPN) and a Saturday visit to the Kansas Jayhawks (2:30 p.m., ESPN) left this regular season.

Here’s a look at the Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament resume heading into this week by several different measures.

Bracketology: What NCAA Tournament seed are the Arizona Wildcats projected to earn?

BracketMatrix.com, which creates a composite of bracket predictions from across the internet, puts Arizona in the third-rated No. 4 seed.

The range of seedings list the Wildcats as high as a No. 3 seed and as low as a No. 6 seed.

Where do the big bracket brains list the Wildcats?

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Arizona listed as a No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region, where they would face a No. 13 seed Akron for a first-round game in Seattle.

CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm is down on the Wildcats compared to most, listing them as a No. 6 seed and facing a No. 11 First Four winner.

Arizona in the NET rankings

The Wildcats sit at No. 10, with an iffy 7-8 record in Quad 1 games, a 4-2 mark in Quad 2 games and a spotless 8-0 combined for Quads 3-4.

Visiting No. 20 NET-ranked Kansas falls into the Quad 1 bucket, and hosting ASU at McKale Center counts as a Quad 2 game because the Sun Devils are 65th in NET despite a 13-16 overall record.

Point is, this week carries a bit of weight ahead of the conference tournament, as do most Big 12 games.

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Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker addressed a recent report by NBA reporter Chris Haynes that claimed Booker had been told by head coach Mike Budenholzer to “tone down his chatter” on the court and in the huddle during timeouts to allow the coaching staff’s message to be heard.

At shootaround on Sunday, Booker said the relationship between he and Budenholzer is “great” and the two are on the same page.

“We’ve had multiple conversations,” Booker said. “I can’t seem to find one that sticks out more than the others. It’s a player/coach relationship. When things start going bad, everybody tries to point fingers to find out what’s wrong. People are going to come up with stuff. The relationship is great. We’re on the same page, we’re trying to win and that’s that.”

Booker also noted that he will continue to use his voice to lead the team when he feels it is necessary.

“I am always going to do that,” Booker said. “Like I said, it is in the pursuit of trying to win. Like my postgame comments, I’ve seen it before when teams are quiet and tend to kinda separate in tough times ya know that’s where it gets worse. Me being around for a little bit now, just trying to implement my voice in the right spots and the right time. I’m going to continue to do so.”

“I’m not saying only one thing works,” he added. “There’s multiple teams at the top of the NBA right now that are playing different styles of basketball. So, there’s not one way that works but everybody definitely has got to be on the same page.”

Budenholzer addressed the report on Friday after the report went live as the coach praised Booker’s communication style and awareness.

The Suns play the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday night at 7 p.m. and can be heard on 98.7 FM, the Arizona Sports app or online. 

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SEATTLE (AP) — Duke Brennan’s 18 points helped Grand Canyon defeat Seattle U 63-60 on Saturday night for the ‘Lopes’ fifth straight win.

Brennan added 12 rebounds for the Antelopes (22-6, 12-2 Western Athletic Conference). JaKobe Coles added 13 points while going 5 of 8 and 3 of 5 from the free-throw line while he also had 12 rebounds. Makaih Williams had 12 points and shot 4 for 8 (1 for 4 from 3-point range) and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line.

GCU is a game behind conference-leading Utah Valley with two games remaining in the regular season.

The Redhawks (11-17, 6-8) were led in scoring by Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, who finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Paris Dawson added 16 points for Seattle U. Brayden Maldonado also recorded 12 points.

Both teams play on Thursday. Grand Canyon hosts Utah Tech and Seattle U travels to play Southern Utah.

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