Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun - A Great Place to Live Pt 3 Sports
The Valley of the Sun- Phoenix Sports - This is the 3rd part of a series on the Phoenix/Scottsdale metro area. Today we'll cover the many sports options available to our residents. Phoenix is home to the four major sports, Baseball, Football, Basketball and Hockey. In addition, there are many other fan opportunities! The Arizona Diamondbacks were the quickest expansion team to ever win the World Series. Other teams have come close to titles, but we're still waiting. This year is the year! College Football's BCS Championship game will be played in January at the new Univ. of Phoenix Stadium (Cardinals Stadium). The 2008 Super Bowl will be played there as well!
The Arizona Diamondbacks played their first game in 1998. Earlier in the 1990's, MLB granted a group led by 
Jerry Colangelo a new expansion franchise for baseball. The public battles that 
insued regarding construction of a stadium were interesting, but an election passed funding, and BOB was built (now called Chase Field). In its short history, the team has been home to great players such as Randy Johnson, Curt Shilling, Marc Grace, fan favorite Luis Gonzalez, and this year's Cy Young Winner, Brandon Webb. The Diamondbacks have introduced a new logo and team colors for the 2007 season, shown at the right.
Chase Field
Arizona Cardinals -The past few years of the Cardinals' franchise have unfortunately been disappointing. But 
few fans know the long and illustrious history of the Cardinals. The Cardinals were founded in 1898 as the Morgan Athletic Club on the South Side of Chicago. They were a charter member of the National Football League, and hold the distinction of being the oldest continuously-run professional football franchise in the nation. The team changed its site to nearby Normal Field, prompting a new name the Normals. In 1901, the owner of the team bought used jerseys from the nearby University of Chicago. The jerseys were faded maroon in color, and he stated, "That's not maroon, it's Cardinal red!" The name stuck. The name was changed to the Racine Cardinals to reflect the playing location and nickname. The team disbanded in 1906 because of a lack of competition. It was re-organized by the same owner again in 1913. The team was again disbanded during World War I. After the war, the team formed again, and has been going ever since.
In 1922, the name was changed to the Chicago Cardinals when a team from Racine, Wisconsin entered the league. The Cardinals played in famed Comiskey Park for 37 years starting that year as well. Ownership by the Bidwell family begain in 1932. During WWII in 1944, the team temporarily merged with Pittsburgh, and played games in both cities. The Cardinals won their first National Championship in 1947. The team moved to St. Louis in 1960. After 28 years, the team relocated again in 1988 to Arizona, playing in the ASU Sun Devil Stadium as the Phoenix Cardinals. The name was officially changed to the Arizona Cardinals in 1994. 2006 marked another milestone with the opening of the Cardinals own state-of-the-art stadium, recently sponsor-named, the Univ. of Phoenix Stadium.
The Cardinals have played in two championship games: 1947 (W) and 1948 (L). There are 14 Cardinals enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
Phoenix Suns - Like the Diamondbacks above, the Phoenix Suns are a true Phoenix team. In fact, they were the first major sports team for the Phoenix area. The NBA approved an expansion franchise for Phoenix in 1968. 
The Suns originally played at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Arizona State Fairgrounds. The original GM was a 28 year old that came out of the Chicago Bulls organization by the name of Jerry Colangelo. He was the youngest GM ever. He went on to become the owner of the Suns, part owner of the Diamondbacks and instrumental in almost everything sports-related in the Valley. The Original Sun was Dick Van Arsdale. Many more great names have graced the court for the Suns including: Gail Goodrich, Charles Barkley, Alvan Adams, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Paul Westphal, Dan Marjele, Connie Hawkins, Tom Chambers, Jason Kidd, Kevin Johnson, Pat Riley, Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire. Although the Suns have been to the playoffs many times and the Finals more than once, they have yet to win the championship. Maybe this year!! The Suns play at US Airways Center--> 
Phoenix Coyotes - The Phoenix Coyotes originally came into existence as the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey 
League in 1971. After 8 years, new owners applied and were granted status as a team in the in the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1979. In 1996, after more than a year of efforts to keep the team in Winnepeg and get a new arena built, the Jets moved to Phoenix and became the Phoenix Coyotes. The Coyotes shared the America West Arena (now US Airways Center) with the Suns. In 2000, the Great One, Wayne Gretzky, becomes part owner of the team. He is currently also the coach. In December of 2003, after seven and a half seasons in the Valley, the Coyotes finally open their very own arena in Glendale before a "standing room only" crowd of 19,052 at Glendale Arena. The arena was renamed this year as Jobing.com Arena. Star players of the years include Bobby Hull (Jets), Teemu Selanne (Jets), Keith Tkachuk, Jeremy Roenick and Teppo Numminen. Jobing.com Arena -->
In addition to the 4 major sports, we have the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA. The Mercury are now in their eighth season and were one of the original WNBA teams. They are led on the court by 2004 rookie of the year Diana Taurasi. The Mercury play at US Airways Center
The Arizona Rattlers joined the Arena Football League in 1991 with their first game in 1992. In their history they
have gone to the Arena Bowl 5 times and have won twice. Former NFL great Danny White was the coach for the first 13 seasons. The Rattlers also play at US Airways Center.
The Valley also has a Professional Lacrosse team in the Arizona Sting. The Sting started out as the Columbus 
Landsharks from 2000-2003. They moved to Arizona and stared playing at the Glendale Arena (now Jobing.com Arena) in 1994. They made it all the way to the finals in 1995 but lost to the reigning champs.
The Valley is also home to the Phoenix International Raceway (PIR). Built in 1964, it has hosted all the great racers. Among the many races run, a feature is the NASCAR Nextel Cup series.
As mentioned before, the Valley of the Sun is a golfing mecca. Leading the way for the tourist golfers is the PGA tour stop at the Tournament Players Club in North Scottsdale. This event, held in January every year is called the FBR Open, formerly known as the Phoenix Open. This is known as the party stop of the tour, and entertainment events surround the tournament all week.
Spring training baseball has been a ritual for years, and Cactus League baseball is its best. The Valley plays host to nine MLB teams, with two more just announced to join the Phoenix area league. Cactus League baseball is also played in Tucson (Diamondbacks and two other teams).
Our fantastic weather draws all kinds of sporting events throughout the year such as the PF Chang's Rock 'N Roll marathon. Don't forget to check out the previous installments of this series at
Phoenix Arizona and the Valley of the Sun - A GREAT place to live
Phoenix Arizona and the Valley of the Sun - A GREAT place to live P.2
Adam Tarr,ePro
Sharon Kotula,ABR
RE/MAX Excalibur
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Scottsdale, AZ
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