SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The 2024 Phoenix Open was a lot like a house party where someone called the cops.

A cocktail of bad weather and booze led to mayhem at TPC Scottsdale a year ago, causing tournament officials to take the unprecedented step of closing the gates and — gasp! — cutting off alcohol sales.

To prevent a repeat performance, organizers have implemented a series of changes for this year’s event to reign in the revelry — well, as much as they can at the biggest bash on the PGA Tour.

“It’s a unique test because not only are you battling the golf course, but there can be a pretty hectic crowd out there,” said world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, a two-time winner at the Phoenix Open. “It’s something we don’t see as much throughout the year, but it’s really fun to come here and experience it.”

The Phoenix Open has long been the loudest, rowdiest event in golf. Up to 200,000 fans show up to TPC Scottsdale each day, ready to party — and maybe watch a little golf.

“The Greatest Show on Grass” always teeters on the edge of decorum and may have crossed the debauchery line in last year’s third round. Heavy rain led to multiple delays and turned non-playing areas of the course into a soggy mess as things got extra rowdy on a marathon Saturday.

The tension boiled over at times, with Billy Horschel and Zach Johnson yelling at unruly fans. To slow the tumultuous tide, tournament officials stopped letting fans inside in the afternoon because the course overcrowded and they cut off alcohol sales at certain locations.

The wild ride forced the tournament to make a few changes for this year’s tournament.

In addition to a stronger law enforcement presence, a new entrance will alleviate some of the muddy clogging that happened at the main gate last year. There also will no longer be any-day tickets so tournament officials can track sales and prevent overcrowding. Several walkways have been widened at high-traffic areas as well.

“They have tightened things up, but you don’t want to take away from what the tournament is,” said Gary Woodland, the 2018 Phoenix Open champion. “This tournament is crazy and we want it to be some good craziness.”

Nick Taylor has not only embraced the craziness, he’s played some of his best golf through it.

The 36-year-old Canadian finished second to Scheffler in 2023 and thrived through the stop-and-start 2024 tournament, beating Charley Hoffman in the second hole of a playoff.

Taylor couldn’t sustain the momentum, missing the cut in all four majors on his way to finishing 58th in the FedEx Cup standings. He finished 36th representing Team Canada at the Paris Olympics and didn’t make the Presidents Cup international team.

Taylor reassessed his game during the short offseason and made a few minor changes for 2025.

The extra work paid off.

Taylor chipped in from 60 feet for eagle on the closing hole at the Sony Open to tie Nico Echavarria and earned his fifth career PGA Tour victory with a birdie on the second hole of a playoff. He finished 12th in Palm Springs and was 33rd at Pebble Beach last week.

“I obviously have a lot of good vibes coming back here from the last two years,” said Taylor, who lives in the area and often practices at TPC Scottsdale. “I’ve played this golf course a bunch, so my game feels really good. (Not only) winning but having a couple weeks after that where just playing solid golf, I feel like I’m carrying that into here and a lot of good vibes when I come back.”

The Phoenix Open has vibes unlike any other stop on the PGA Tour. With a sunny weekend expected and some minor tweaks, it should get back to being the good kind.

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The plume of Kevin Durant trade smoke is growing more and more visible as the Phoenix Suns hurtle toward the trade deadline without a Bradley Beal-for-Jimmy Butler deal at this point.

Arizona Sports‘ John Gambadoro said on Wednesday that it is “definitely a possibility” the Suns trade Durant and get back Butler at the deadline. Such a deal would be complicated, and Durant has not asked to be traded.

The Suns and Warriors worked on a deal to send Durant back to Golden State, but him not wanting to return to there made that deal highly unlikely, Gambadoro said.

The latest from @Gambo987 on the Phoenix Suns as the trade deadline approaches. @WolfandLuke

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) February 5, 2025

The Warriors had been aggressive in their pursuits of the 15-time All-Star, and Gambadoro reported earlier this week they are not the only team that has called Phoenix about him.

The Athletic’s Sam Amick said on FanDuel’s Run it Back the Durant to Golden State situation “escalated quickly” on Tuesday night.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst added on Get Up that the Suns have entertained a Durant trade, reiterating Golden State’s interest in reuniting with the two-time NBA Finals MVP.

“I do not want to imply anything is going to happen,” Windhorst said. “I have no idea how you go back on this if it doesn’t work because now the world knows, the world does know the Warriors are trying to get KD back.”

According to The Athletic, Golden State had some frustration with the talks given Phoenix’s “exorbitant” asking price. Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga were listed as players Phoenix would be interested in.

NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer published a report that said Durant has “serious reservations” about another stint in Golden State. 

“There is a distinct sense percolating now that Durant does not want to be traded at all this week,” they wrote in The Stein Line. 

The Suns were not shopping Durant, by the way, but they’ve listened to offers.

The trade landscape is still very much evolving, as the Suns have been hyper focused on adding Butler from the Heat and struggling to get a deal done. Beal’s no-trade clause hampers Phoenix’s ability to do so considering his deal would be needed to pair Butler with Durant and Booker. The Heat are not interested in taking on Beal’s contract, which has another season plus a player option attached.

Durant has one more season under contract beyond this year with a cap hit of $54.7 million. Butler has a $52.4 million player option for 2025-26. Both players could be extended.

There is also a real chance Phoenix makes smaller moves around the edges without a dramatic restructuring of the roster.

The Suns enter Wednesday night’s game at the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 25-24 record. Durant is not expected to play due to a sprained left ankle.

Will the Suns trade Jusuf Nurkic?

Gambadoro said a trade sending out center Jusuf Nurkic for Washington Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas has been discussed but only as part of a bigger deal.

Nurkic began the season as Phoenix’s starting center but has been removed from the rotation. He has not played since Jan. 7.

Valanciunas is a 32-year-old veteran big who averages 11.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game this season for the Wizards.

Could Devin Booker get moved?

Gambadoro and Windhorst were both clear that the Suns will not trade Devin Booker.

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Arizona State guard Adam Miller was ejected from Tuesday night’s basketball game against Kansas State after he was assessed a flagrant 2 foul after he reportedly slapped Wildcat guard Dug McDaniel.

Miller was ejected at the 7:54 mark of the second half while Arizona State trailed 53-49.

Miller could be seen on the broadcast exchanging words with McDaniel in the corner during a Wildcats possession.

ASU head coach Bobby Hurley on Adam Miller’s ejection during Tuesday’s loss to Kansas State:

“The emotions of the game got to him and that was part of that issue. He hasn’t done anything like that in my two years with him.” pic.twitter.com/ZzXLTnWKYx

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) February 5, 2025

“The emotions of the game got to him and that was part of that issue,” Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley said after the game. “He hasn’t done anything like that in my two years with him.”

ASU managed to come back without Miller to take a one-point lead with 3:38 left. ASU went on to lose the game, 71-70, after a pair of missed free throws in the waning seconds.

“From a statistical standpoint his ejection didn’t impact us,” Hurley said. “But, I thought we played fairly well in response to Adam going. Guys had a little more urgency.”

This is the second game in a row that an ASU player has been ejected. BJ Freeman was ejected after he headbutted Arizona’s Caleb Love on Saturday. Following the altercation, Hurley opted to skip the postgame handshake with Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd and most of ASU’s players were sent away from the bench before the final buzzer went off.

A month removed from a season where the Arizona Cardinals allowed the fourth-highest completion percentage in the league last season at 68.6%, ESPN’s analyst Matt Miller has the organization doubling down on defensive backs in his latest two-round mock NFL Draft.

Miller has the Cardinals taking Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron with the No. 16 pick in the first round, followed by Shavon Revel Jr. out of East Carolina with the No. 47 pick in Round 2.

Despite the Cardinals’ needs at different positions — highlighted by pass rusher — Miller thinks Barron could complement veteran safety Budda Baker, who is coming off his best year as a pro.

Barron won the Jim Thorpe award in 2024, which is given to the best defensive back in college football. He logged 67 tackles, five interceptions, one sack and 11 passes defended in his award-winning year.

The Cardinals could go a number of directions with wide receiver, cornerback and defensive end all being issues. Barron took home the Jim Thorpe Award … after making a move from slot cornerback to the outside before the 2024 season. He had five interceptions and 10 pass breakups, and he boosted his profile from a Day 3 pick to one of my top 15 players in the class. Some teams might view him as an inside corner, while others like Barron’s tape on the outside. Playing him on the inside with Budda Baker gives the Cardinals instant improvement on the back end.

Cardinals add Shavon Revel Jr. in Round 2 of latest mock draft

Revel played in three games before a torn ACL derailed his 2024. He recorded eight tackles, two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) and two passes defended in the short showing.

A year prior, he had registered 54 total tackles, 13 passes defended with one interception and one sack. He also returned a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

Like Morrison, there was first-round talk around Revel before he suffered a torn ACL in September. … At 6-foot-3, 193 pounds, Revel has the size and speed to be the matchup cornerback the Cardinals are lacking.

Two Arizona Wildcats go in the top-64

Miller had Arizona’s standout wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan going to the New Orleans Saints with the ninth overall pick.

McMillan gives the Saints a wide receiver who can stretch the field and complement Chris Olave. McMillan finished 2024 with 84 receptions for 1,319 yards and eight touchdowns. In his sophomore campaign in 2023, McMillan recorded 90 receptions for 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Chris Olave is great when healthy (he played only eight games this past season), but the Saints lack impact receivers beyond him. That’s why the 6-foot-5 McMillan could fit. He can win deep down the field and gain even more yards after the catch. His range and ability to win 50-50 balls reminds me of the Falcons’ Drake London, who was a first-round pick in 2022. There is concern about McMillan’s pull-away speed at the pro level, so how he runs at the combine will be important for his draft stock. But he’s one of the best receivers in this class going off tape alone, finishing third in the country with 1,319 receiving yards in 2024.

Offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea is the other Wildcat listed in Miller’s mock draft. He goes 27th overall to the Baltimore Ravens as Savaiinaea gives Baltimore a younger look in the trenches.

Wide receiver would be an ideal pick if Baltimore signs left tackle Ronnie Stanley before he hits free agency, but the top five options on my board are gone, and there’s no early-Round 2 players worth reaching for here. Instead, Baltimore could get a replacement for free agent guard Patrick Mekari in the powerful and versatile Savaiinaea. Savaiinaea has experience at left tackle, right guard and right tackle, and the 6-foot-4, 339-pounder has 34 5/8-inch arms. He’d also give the Ravens more youth up front, where rookie Roger Rosengarten excelled this season.

The Arizona Wildcats open the Big 12’s 2025 football schedule with a bye before visiting conference runner-up Iowa State on Sept. 27.

The Wildcats will get their first Big 12 crack at Iowa State, which lost the Big 12 title game in 2024 to ASU.

Arizona’s slate includes projected top 25 programs Arizona State, BYU and Iowa State. The Territorial Cup matchup will take place in Tempe this year on either Friday, Nov. 28, or Saturday, Nov. 29, after the Sun Devils defeated the Wildcats 49-7 last season in Tucson.

Arizona will miss Utah, Oklahoma State, Kansas, West Virginia and UCF. It will take on Kansas State in nonconference play, as the matchup was scheduled before the two programs became conference foes.

Ladies and gentlemen: the 2025 Big 12 Football Schedule 🏈🗓️ pic.twitter.com/kzjNGAFoKQ

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) February 4, 2025

Head coach Brent Brennan is in his second year leading the program and has made notable changes to his staff after a disappointing 4-8 campaign.

Seth Doege takes over as the offensive play-caller, and Danny Gonzales has shifted from special teams to defensive coordinator.

One area of continuity will be at quarterback with Noah Fifita returning for a third season.

Here is the Arizona football schedule for 2025:

Arizona Wildcats football 2025 schedule – Early Big 12 slate released

Nonconference schedule

Aug. 30: vs. Hawai’i

Sept. 6: vs. Weber State

Sept. 13: vs. Kansas State (scheduled before Arizona joined the Big 12)

Big 12 conference schedule 

Sept. 20: Bye

Sept. 27: at Iowa State

Oct. 4: vs. Oklahoma State

Oct. 11: vs. BYU

Oct. 18: at Houston

Oct. 25: Bye

Nov. 1: at Colorado

Nov. 8: vs. Kansas

Nov. 15: at Cincinnati

Nov. 22: vs. Baylor

Nov. 28 or 29: at Arizona State

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Well, if Monday wasn’t the encapsulation of this failed era of Phoenix Suns basketball, we should fear what comes next to top it.

On a night that should have been special, the one Devin Booker became the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, the greatness of both him and Kevin Durant was overshadowed by another poor team performance, a 121-119 overtime loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Yes, the Blazers improved to 8-1 in their last nine games. But they are now 21-29 and just beat the Suns two games in a row, the official send-off for Phoenix before the schedule gets immensely difficult.

Worst of all, when the game was up for grabs, it was Booker and Durant who came up short.

After each made their first shot of the extra five minutes, they combined to miss their next four, all open 3-pointers. And with the Suns needing a bail-out down three with 5.1 seconds left, Booker was fouled on a 3-point attempt for the Suns to be gift-wrapped another opportunity to tie it, just like the end of regulation when Portland didn’t foul up three.

Booker, however, missed his third free throw to tie it, and that was that.

Despite a few margins of victory or defeat that were close recently, this was the first tightly-contested contest the Suns have played in nine games. That was the win in Detroit when Booker and Durant went supernova. Since the 9-2 start to the year carried by Durant in clutch time, the Suns haven’t had too many of these tests. That was evident.

Durant took the closer role again in this one but Phoenix could not get enough stops to take a lead, and instead, required a terrible strategic decision by the Blazers not to foul up 3 with 14 seconds remaining. That led to a Royce O’Neale 3 to tie it and send the game to overtime with 1.7 ticks to go off a terrific extra pass by Booker.

In OT, Portland had it tied with under two minutes to go before Jerami Grant drew free throws on a mismatch. He made the first before missing the second, only for Deandre Ayton to grab the loose ball. Blazers guard Anfernee Simons got his own foul drawn for two more free tosses that put them ahead by three with 1:39 to go. A broken possession ended with an open Durant corner 3, only for him to miss.

Phoenix gave itself one more chance by Durant assisting Bradley Beal at the rim for two at 0:32 on the clock. With the Suns needing one stop to avoid the free-throw shenanigans Portland would surely trigger on a second chance to do so, they squandered two opportunities to grab a defensive rebound.

The first actually forced a pause in play by the officials since the Portland bench yelled for a shot clock reset on a shot that never hit the rim, all while Phoenix left Simons wide open with the ball and 4.5 left on the shot clock after the rebound went off Mason Plumlee’s hands. The review left that as the clock, and the Blazers got a terrible attempt from 3 by Grant that was way off. The long rebound spent enough time in the air to hit the ground and be grabbed by Ayton, an absolute no-no for defenses. Ayton made both free throws.

After Beal was intentionally fouled and sunk his two, Ayton was up again with 5.5 ticks left and once again converted.

That was when Booker got the trio of free throws and missed the third. While the Suns didn’t have a timeout and were basically cooked at three ticks left, in a fitting end, Ayton missed his second but Portland corralled the loose ball.

The Suns were once again led by their three big scorers and unable to play cohesively enough to inspire a better overall team outing. Booker produced 34 points, Durant added 27 and Beal’s 25 were his most since Jan. 9.  O’Neale provided 14 points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals.

After Portland had seven players in double figures on Saturday, it was six on Monday. Ayton was the standout with 25 points and 20 rebounds, nine of which came on the offensive glass. The Suns had 10 as a team, playing a small-ball unit for the last 15 minutes of the game.

The Suns went down 14-5 in under three minutes, a stretch that included a Portland 3 off an offensive rebound, a Suns pick-six turnover on a pass 35 feet from the basket, a blocked Suns jumper, a Suns turnover on a 60-foot pass over Booker’s head and three baskets at the rim for Portland’s Deni Avdija.

Phoenix, behind nine quick points from Booker, got within four shortly after that. But we’re at the point in the season where the comebacks being necessary from disastrous stretches against mediocre competition trumps the fight being shown. The necessity for it is mind-numbing.

So too were the Suns’ turnovers early. With two of them already painted out, there were more in the first quarter when you could see the ball-handler hesitating to throw the pass that isn’t there and then just tossing it anyway.

Not that Phoenix should be surprised by any team playing aggressive and physical off the ball given this is the NBA, but it stayed in Portland after seeing that exact effort in a loss on Saturday.

The Suns, however, finally located their own source of being an irritant by forcing six turnovers in the first 15 minutes after Portland, the second-worst turnover team in the league, only had three in the first three quarters on Saturday. Phoenix was getting out in transition and hitting 3s, going 8-for-12 in those 15 minutes after knocking down just a total of 10 the game prior.

That brought the lead to four and completely took Portland out of whack. The Blazers went on to score 11 points in the first 10:40 of the second quarter, which allowed Phoenix to extend its lead to nine. The Suns led by six at halftime and it felt like both teams deserved to be down 20, sadly reflective of where Phoenix stands at the moment given Portland, you know, sucks.

After Booker got the record on an open 3-point jumper from the corner in with 7:54 left in the third quarter to give the Suns their biggest lead of the game (seven), Portland closed the quarter on a 28-15 run.

Phoenix got back to drilling 3s in the final frame to stay in it, all while struggling to generate stops, another nice microcosm of the season.

Booker played 47 minutes and Durant was 46. Durant was grimacing throughout the rest of overtime after his first make of the period. It wasn’t clear what was bothering him but he clearly wasn’t moving right. Phoenix now has to take that workload and go to Oklahoma City on Wednesday, the last game before the trade deadline.

Ryan Dunn and Nick Richards, two of the bright spots of the last month, played 12 and 18 minutes, respectively. Tyus Jones, the big addition of the offseason, got only 17 minutes of run. Head coach Mike Budenholzer has begun heavily leaning into Booker, Durant, Beal, Allen and O’Neale, which comes at the expense of those three.

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