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The Arizona Cardinals (3-6) host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at 2:05 p.m. at State Farm Stadium, and Carson Beck will make his first NFL start at quarterback. Gardner Minshew is out for the year after going on injured reserve with a torn UCL in his right elbow, and Jacoby Brissett was dealt to Baltimore last week, so the job is Beck’s.

NFL Network’s Kurt Warner talked about Beck’s spot on the Rich Eisen Show, and his message was to check the boxes, not to expect a savior. “Carson Beck, man, I don’t know who he’s going to battle with,” Warner said. “The guys that were slated as starters and difference makers aren’t going to be out there.”

Michael Wilson is out for the year, too, and Warner said that’s the whole point of the exercise. “If those guys show something from a competitive standpoint, I think that checks a huge box,” Warner said. “That lets you kind of perk your ears up and go, hey, maybe we got something here. Whereas I don’t think you beat them up too much if things don’t look pretty, especially in the short term.”

Beck still has one star to lean on. “Well, I guess he’s got Trey McBride still,” Warner said. “So he’s still got a dude.”

Warner said the plan has to fit the players who are actually out there, not the ones who are hurt. He went back to his own playing days in Arizona, when Steve Breaston took over a year after Anquan Boldin got banged up and Breaston went for a thousand yards. “Let’s take those handful of things that Stevie does really well and let’s build those into our plan,” Warner said. “It’s not say, hey, we’re just going to make this next guy do what Michael Wilson does. No, we gotta figure out what these guys do well and we gotta build that into our plan the best we can to give ourselves and give those players the best chance to succeed.”

Warner said it’s the same kind of situation as any young quarterback thrown in early. He likened it to his time in New York, when Eli Manning took over and the team went 1-6 down the stretch. “It wasn’t always pretty football, but he was learning, he was growing, he was checking some boxes,” Warner said. “When he had some struggles he was bouncing back and doing some good things and showing that he has the resiliency.”

So the standard for Beck on Sunday isn’t 300 yards and a win. It’s the boxes — compete, show something, and give the Cardinals something to build on.

© Old Town News Scottsdale — oldtownnews.us

The Arizona State Sun Devils (5-4, 3-3 Big 12) head to UCF (5-4, 3-3 Big 12) on Saturday, 1:30 p.m. MST on ESPN2 at Acrisure Bounce House in Orlando, and head coach Kenny Dillingham said after practice Wednesday that the Sun Devils are playing harder and faster after tweaking a couple of things the last couple of weeks.

Dillingham said Tuesday’s practice was really good, and the energy and intent have been drastically different. “I think our guys are playing harder and I think we’re playing faster,” Dillingham said. “I don’t know if it’s because of that. I don’t know what it is. We [changed] a couple things that we tweaked the last couple weeks.”

Asked about a Big 12 championship, Dillingham said no. “No, zero times,” he said.

Dillingham said the roster decisions and the extra reps have helped. “It’s good to have those extra reps,” he said. “The more times you get on the grass and coach and teach it’s better for sure.”

The run game is part of it, too. “We just gotta get some carries,” Dillingham said. “This year [we’ve done a] better job of being able to manage rotating guys in certain times and getting more guys fresh.”

Dillingham talked about a figure around the program who is there all the time. “He’s always around this program in some way, shape or form,” Dillingham said. “With his brother. They’ve got a great family.” Dillingham said the coaches teach the players about him. “We obviously teach those guys about what he sacrificed and his history,” he said, adding that he hopes they take that story to heart, though you’d have to ask the players individually.

Dillingham also praised the leadership council. “I think both those guys have been great,” he said. “Both those guys helped them, kept good attitude starting every day and in spirit, and I think that’s just a testament to how close that room is.”

And Dillingham said the bounce-back is what matters most with this team. “When you have high expectations you want to play your best every week and you don’t for a little bit there,” he said. “To be able for our team to bounce back, they bounce back, they get back on track and play better. Not our best game but better. I think it’s healthy that they are still in for the process.”

Saturday is Arizona State’s first trip to Orlando, and the third meeting ever between the programs. UCF beat Kansas 33-32 last week and needs one more win for bowl eligibility, its first since 2023.  

ANAHEIM — The Nashville Predators (10-4-5) beat the Anaheim Ducks (10-8-1) 4-2 on Wednesday night, ending the Ducks’ five-game win streak. Shane Wright led Nashville with a goal and two assists.

Wright was in the middle of it after the Ducks took the early lead. Nashville scored three straight after Cutter Gauthier’s opener — Jayden Struble tied it 21 seconds later, Nils Hoglander put the Predators ahead in the second, and Wright made it 3-1 early in the third. Anaheim pulled within one, but Steven Stamkos answered to close it out.

Gauthier opened the scoring at 8:08 of the first with his 16th goal of the season, assisted by Mikael Granlund, and Struble tied it 1-1 at 8:29, assisted by Wright. Hoglander scored at 16:02 of the second, assisted by Struble and Wright, to make it 2-1, and Wright scored at 8:05 of the third, assisted by Hoglander and Roman Josi, to make it 3-1. Granlund pulled Anaheim within one at 12:11, assisted by Beckett Sennecke and Drew Helleson, but Stamkos answered at 16:04, assisted by Mavrik Bourque and Josi, to make it 4-2.

Gauthier’s goal was his seventh straight game with a goal — 14 goals in his last eight games, and points in nine straight. He led Anaheim with seven shots on goal. Granlund finished with a goal and an assist for the Ducks, and Josi had two assists for Nashville.

Annunen made 27 saves on 29 shots for Nashville. Brossoit made 18 saves on 22 shots for Anaheim. The Ducks outshot the Predators 29-22, both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play, and Nashville won 51 percent of the faceoffs.

© Old Town News Scottsdale — oldtownnews.us

LAS VEGAS — The Vegas Golden Knights (13-5-2) beat the Utah Mammoth (10-8-1) 5-3 on Wednesday night in the biggest game of the night on TNT, and the difference was the power play — Vegas went 2-for-4, Utah 0-for-1.

Victor Olofsson scored the power-play goal to make it 2-1, then set up both of Ivan Barbashev’s goals. Barbashev scored twice in the second period, and Olofsson finished with three points — a goal and two assists.

Jack Eichel opened the scoring with his ninth goal of the season on the power play at 2:15 of the first, assisted by Mitch Marner and Mark Stone, and Lawson Crouse tied it 1-1 at 8:07. Olofsson’s power-play goal at 3:07 of the second made it 2-1, Barbashev scored at 4:51 and again at 8:16 to make it 4-1, and Jack McBain’s goal at 16:39 cut it to 4-2 and kept Utah in the game.

Dmitri Simashev pulled Utah within one at 9:07 of the third, but Brett Howden answered at 10:19 to make it 5-3.

McBain led Utah with a goal and two assists, and Clayton Keller picked up his 20th assist of the season on Simashev’s goal. Marner had three assists for Vegas.

Carter Hart made 14 saves on 17 shots for Vegas. Sebastian Cossa made 23 saves on 28 shots for Utah. Vegas outshot Utah 28-17, and Utah won 55 percent of the faceoffs.

Utah never led. Crouse’s goal at 8:07 of the first tied it 1-1, and that was the only time Utah drew level — Vegas scored three in the second, and the closest Utah got after that was Simashev’s goal at 9:07 of the third, which made it 4-3 before Howden answered.

HOUSTON — Reed Sheppard’s three with 6:59 left turned out to be the basket of the night. After that, the Houston Rockets (9-3) took care of business on Wednesday night, beating the Golden State Warriors (8-4) 115-108.

Without Stephen Curry, the Warriors battled back to within five, 91-96, on Brandin Podziemski’s 27-foot three and a free throw with 7:10 left. Sheppard answered with a 27-foot three of his own from the left wing, assisted by Fred VanVleet, to make it 91-99 — and the Rockets never let them back in it.

VanVleet hit a 28-foot three to make it 91-102, and Jabari Smith Jr. scored four straight — a 15-foot pullup jumper, then a steal and a dunk — to make it 106-93.

Earlier in the fourth, after De’Anthony Melton’s 26-foot three, assisted by Draymond Green, cut it to 85-88, Houston answered with an 8-0 run — Amen Thompson’s alley-oop layup off Alperen Şengün, then two 28-foot threes from Sheppard — to make it 96-85.

Yaxel Lendeborg led all scorers with 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, and Podziemski had 22. Kevin Durant led the Rockets with 20, Şengün had 19 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists, Thompson had 19, and VanVleet had 18.

Curry finished with 3 points on 1-of-3 shooting. He hit a three, then grabbed his right side and went to the locker room. The Warriors ruled him out with right abdominal soreness. The Warriors were also without Jimmy Butler III, out with an injury/illness.

Houston led 56-51 at halftime and shot 50.6 percent from the field to Golden State’s 40.9 percent.

There were so many lead changes. The Rockets led 35-20 after the first quarter. Curry had to leave the game after just six minutes with an abdominal injury, but the game still got within reach as the Warriors battled back to make it a closer game. 

The Warriors continue their road trip Friday at San Antonio.

© Old Town News Scottsdale — oldtownnews.us

MILWAUKEE — The Los Angeles Lakers (11-2) beat the Milwaukee Bucks (1-11) 123-112 on Wednesday night, and Luka Dončić kept the scoring run going with 32 points.

Dončić went 10-of-25 from the field and 5-of-12 from three, with 5 assists and 5 rebounds, for 32 points — 425 in his last 11 games. Austin Reaves added 18 points, and Sandro Mamukelashvili had 23 off the bench on 9-of-15 shooting, 5-of-8 from three. Walker Kessler had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Matisse Thybulle added 8 points and 3 steals.

The shooting told the story. The Lakers shot 46.3 percent from the field (44-of-95) to the Bucks’ 43.2 percent (35-of-81), and 37.5 percent from three (15-of-40) to Milwaukee’s 34.2 percent (13-of-38). The Bucks were better at the line, 87.9 percent (29-of-33) to the Lakers’ 87.0 percent (20-of-23), but Los Angeles won the ball: 32 assists to 25, 48 rebounds to 40, 19 offensive boards to 14, and 14 steals to 10. Turnovers were even at 17 apiece.

The Lakers took control in the second quarter, going into halftime up 61-50 after a first quarter that ended 30-28. Austin Reaves hit two free throws to make it 52-43, Sandro Mamukelashvili hit a 23-foot three from the left corner off Walker Kessler for 55-45, and Reaves drove for a hook shot to make it 57-48 with 1:15 left. Tyler Herro kept Milwaukee in it with a 32-foot three, but the Lakers went into the break up 11. It had been tight early — Luka Dončić’s two free throws with 53.8 seconds left in the first made it 30-26, Jaime Jaquez Jr. answered with two of his own to cut it to 30-28, and Ryan Rollins missed a 26-footer at the buzzer.

Tyler Herro led Milwaukee with 27 points on 8-of-16 shooting, 9-of-10 from the line, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 25 off the bench, 9-of-9 from the line. Kyle Kuzma had 9, and Kel’el Ware and B. Burries had 8 each.

Bronny James played four minutes off the Lakers’ bench and scored 4 points, all from the free-throw line.

The Lakers play at Phoenix on Sunday.

PHOENIX — The Grand Canyon Antelopes (3-0) turned a close game into a rout in the second half, beating Cal Poly (1-2) 99-71 on Wednesday night at Global Credit Union Arena.

The Lopes led 37-29 at halftime, and the game ran away from the Mustangs early in the second half. Cal Poly got it to 39-30, and then Grand Canyon answered with seven straight points in about a minute — a Jaden Henley layup, a Henley dunk, a Dylan Darling steal, and a Makaih Williams three from the left corner off Henley. Just like that it was 46-30, and the Lopes never looked back, outscoring Cal Poly 62-42 after the break.

The shooting told the story. Grand Canyon shot 50.6 percent from the field (39-of-77) to Cal Poly’s 42.4 percent (25-of-59), and 30.3 percent from three (10-of-33) to the Mustangs’ 20.0 percent (5-of-25). That last number is the one that stung Cal Poly — the Mustangs knocked down 16 threes at Arizona last week, and went 5-of-25 tonight. Cal Poly was better at the line, 76.2 percent (16-of-21) to Grand Canyon’s 55.0 percent (11-of-20), but the Lopes won the ball: 23 assists to 10, 11 steals to 2, and only 7 turnovers to Cal Poly’s 19.

Barkley led Grand Canyon with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting. T. Holloman had 13 points and 6 assists off the bench, J. Zimmerman added 13, T. Behrend had 12 points and 7 rebounds, and Williams scored 12. Henley and Darling each had 10, with Henley adding 3 steals and Darling 4 assists.

Mousa led Cal Poly with 16 points, and T. Plumtree added 13 off the bench.

The Lopes host Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday.

© Old Town News Scottsdale — oldtownnews.us

The Arizona Cardinals are turning to rookie third-round draft choice Carson Beck as their starting quarterback following a trade and an injury to their previous quarterbacks. Under coach Mike Lafleur, Beck brings a new style of play supported by players like Trey McBride and Tyler Allgeier . Additionally, the team is hoping to regain the services of running back Bam Knight, who is practicing in a non-contact jersey this week.

The Phoenix Suns‘ starters built the lead Tuesday night, but the story underneath the 133-110 win over the Los Angeles Clippers was the bench — a season-high 81 points, and the player who drove it playing his first game in more than a week.

Jordan Goodwin scored 18 points in 13 minutes, 6-for-7 from three-point range, in his return after missing four games with a calf injury. Head coach Jordan Ott, asked how big Goodwin was off the bench, went past the points to the energy Goodwin brings at all times. “General enthusiasm for life and basketball at a high level,” Ott said. “And tonight, on top of it, made shots. It feels like every time it leaves his hands, it’s going to go in.”

Goodwin, asked what he does with that energy when he can’t play or practice, said the bench nearly got a workout out of him during the games he missed. “Last game I almost sweat up there, getting active, trying to get the guys going,” he said. “I try my best just to be myself, 24/7.” And on a night he went 6-for-7 from deep, he said the heat check never came because the offense never called for one. “I had no need tonight,” Goodwin said. “The guys were finding me. The ball was moving the right way.”

He traced the shot itself back to the summer — with the shooters this team lost, he knew the role that was waiting for him. “All summer it’s just been shooting,” Goodwin said. “That’s a key role I need to do with this team, especially losing the shooters that we lost. I just wanted to take that next step.”

The shooting night was the team’s, not just his. The Suns took 43 threes and made 22, a night after taking only 26 in the loss to San Antonio. The volume, Ott said afterward, is where he wants this team to live. “We got 43 up tonight — I think it was 26 last night,” he said. “That’s where we want to live. We want to live a little bit above that, taking high-quality shots.” Ott had challenged Collin Gillespie after the San Antonio game to find his shot inside the flow of the offense, and Gillespie answered with 12 points and eight assists. “Collin took the message well,” Ott said. “Any time you get him up there — eight, nine, ten threes.” Luke Kennard, who scored 14, is on the same instruction: let it go when a smaller defender switches onto him.

Goodwin closed his availability on Ryan Dunn, and his point was that the response matters more than the ribbing Dunn takes from his own teammates. “We all be on him pretty hard, but the way he responded this year is very impressive,” Goodwin said. “I love where it’s headed right now.” At 4-6, with the bench producing a season high, a returner shooting like a summer’s worth of work, and the homestand continuing  Thursday against Charlotte, the Suns’ coach and his sixth man are describing the same thing — a second unit that is starting to look like an identity.

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Kings (5-9-2) put 30 shots on goal Tuesday night and got nothing for them, shut out 3-0 by the Nashville Predators (9-4-5) at Crypto.com Arena behind a 30-save performance from Juuse Saros.

The Kings are at home for a while — a seven-game homestand that runs through Saturday — and Tuesday was the fifth game of it. The stand stands at 2-3-0: an overtime win over Ottawa, losses to Buffalo and Pittsburgh, a 7-2 rout of San Jose, and now this. The last road trip ended Oct. 27 in Chicago, at the end of a five-game swing through Washington, the New York Islanders, New Jersey, the New York Rangers and Chicago that the Kings finished 3-2-0. Home ice was supposed to be where this got fixed.

Instead the Kings kept pace everywhere except the scoreboard. Shots were even at 30. Los Angeles won 52 percent of the faceoffs and out-hit Nashville. None of it mattered, because the Kings could not finish — not at even strength, and not on their two power plays, which came up empty.

Filip Forsberg did the damage at the other end. He beat Anton Forsberg 5:20 into the first period for his sixth goal of the season, assisted by Nils Hoglander, and again 10:32 into the second — his seventh, with Hoglander and Brady Skjei assisting — for a 2-0 lead the Kings never dented. Adam Wilsby‘s unassisted empty-net goal, his first of the season, with 2:17 left in the third closed the scoring.  

Anton Forsberg gave the Kings a chance, stopping 27 of the 29 shots he faced, but Nashville blocked 21 shots in front of Saros and absorbed 19 penalty minutes without breaking. The homestand continues Thursday night against the New York Islanders and Saturday against the Calgary Flames. Nashville plays Wednesday night at the Anaheim Ducks, 8 p.m. MST on ESPN+.