OK, fine. BYU’s not really ducking the Sun Devils. But they’re definitely pulling out of their commitment to visit Sun Devil Stadium next fall.

The rumor mill got going when Louisana Monroe released a 2009 football schedule that included a game at ASU. But our non-conference schedule was already maxed out with Idaho State, BYU and @Georgia.

Some said BYU was priming for a BCS run by adding a higher profile game against Oklahoma. Others were saying ASU was trying to lighten up after a tough season.

It appears now that it was the latter. BYU released its schedule today and ASU was nowhere to be found. Instead, BYU listed non-conference games against Florida State, Tulane, Utah State and … wait for it … Oklahoma!

Here’s hoping ASU reaps some sort of financial windfall from the broken contract. We can’t imagine season ticket holders will get a piece of it as they watch a sexy match-up with BYU replaced with a beatdown of Louisiana Monroe.

Hey, at least we get to see Idaho State visit Tempe.

More Sun Devil News, Less Hassle

Don’t fool around with bookmarks or the refresh button. We’ve made it easier to subscribe, so you can have Sun Devil news delivered FREE straight to your inbox.

According to the Arizona Republic’s Paul Coro, the Suns’ move may have had something to do with Miami releasing guard Shaun Livingston. Livingston, the former first round draft pick of the Clippers, has apparently been on Phoenix’s radar for quite some time.

Once labeled a can’t-miss, Livingston is now known in NBA circles for other unfortunate reasons. If you’re eating, please put down your food and watch the video below.

It could be a good move for the Suns, who have struggled to find a backup point guard seemingly since the late, great Johnny High roamed the floor at the Madhouse on McDowell. Ok, so Johnny High wasn’t that great, but I’m just proving the point that’s been a long time. If Livingston can find anything close to the game he had before his injury, this move could be a steal. He’s still only 23 years old. He played in only four games for Miami, scoring a total of 9 points, while dishing out 4 assists in 41 minutes.

And if not, well, it would be kind of cool to have the guy who suffered arguably the most gruesome basketball injury ever on the Suns’ roster.

If that theory holds true, the Cards and their fans just may be in luck. That’s because the Carolina Panthers look an awful lot like Atlanta.

The obvious similarities are the two teams play in the same division and finished with identical 8-4 conference records. The Falcons were a team that relied on a running back tandem, Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood, to carry the load, a quarterback, Matt Ryan, who could protect the ball and make a play when necessary, a talented wide receiver, Roddy White, to spread the field and a defense built around a strong pass rusher, John Abraham. Now fast forward to this week’s opponent. In the Panthers, the Cardinals are facing a team that relies heavily on a running back duo, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, a quarterback, Jake Delhomme, who doesn’t hurt the team, has the potential to have a big game and a good receiver, Steve Smith, who can make things happen and their defense features a strong pass rusher, Julius Peppers.

Sounds good to say they are similar, but it’s not until you look at the statistics that you see just how alike the Falcons and Panthers are.

On the offensive side of the ball the Falcons averaged 361.2 yards of total offense a game, 152.7 rushing yards and 208.5 passing. The Panthers averaged 349.7 yards of total offense per game, 152.3 rushing yards and 197.4 passing. A total of difference of 11.5 yards per game, and only .4 yards difference in rushing yards.

Even individual offensive players had similar stats. Matt Ryan recorded 3440 yards for Atlanta, Jake Delhomme had 3288 for Carolina. Ryan completed 265 passes and attempted 434 passes for a 61.1% completion percentage. Delhomme completed 246 and attempted 414 for a 59.4% completion percentage. How about the fact Ryan threw 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while Delhomme threw for 15 TDs and 12 picks?

Quarterbacks not enough for you? How about receivers? The Falcons’ Roddy White had 1382 yards and 7 TDs. The Panthers’ Steve Smith gained 1421 yards and 6 TDs.

Running backs? Falcons’ star Michael Turner gained 1699 yards with 17 TDs. Panther’s star DeAngelo Williams had 1515 yards and 18 TDs.

Defensively, both teams sport similar numbers. Atlanta, as a team, allowed 347.9 yards per game and 20.3 points per game. Carolina gave up 331.2 yards per game and 20.6 points.

There are, however, obvious differences between the two teams. The Panthers have playoff experience, specifically at the quarterback position, while the Falcons were lacking any real experience. The Panthers have an established head coach in John Fox, while the Falcons had a rookie coach, Mike Smith, patrolling the sidelines.

In the end though, the stats really tell the story. The Falcons and Panthers play a similar brand of ball. A brand of ball that the Cardinals figured out how to beat last weekend. If the Cardinals can execute their game plan, last week’s result just may repeat itself.

// Click here to Subscribe to Wildcats Weekly

Photo Credit: The Associated Press

Pregame, game and postgame, all in the amount of time it takes to spell Tostitos correctly. Buckeye Nation, who have suffered through three consecutive BCS bowl game losses, could probably use more beer than this man’s mug:

Note: We apologize for the randomly frustrating day of exceeding our fuckface CPU quota. If such message obstructed your daily Sports Culture fix, please note that binge drinking is a good Plan B and equally satisfying alternative. Heroine comes in a close third.

At today's Suns practice we hear Steve Kerr (who postponed for undisclosed reasons his scheduled knee surgery) talk about the Suns interest in Shaun Livingston.

This comes just hours after the Suns released Dee Brown for what appears to be primarily financial reasons.

Coach Porter for his part reportedly said it was "all financial" when asked the reason for the release and seemed please with his play and would like to have Brown back if he doesn't get signed by another team.

I don't want to read too much into this, but one does sense a bit of tension between the front office bean counters and the coach who was happy with the player. Let's not forget that 13 is the minimum number of roster slots and that even if Brown stayed, the Suns could certainly sign one of these buy out types if someone interesting (NOT MARBURY!) becomes available.

Dee Brown has done well and would be good to have on the roster. I certainly would like to see him getting minutes ahead of Dragic at this point. It was widely expected Goran would be headed to Iowa to work on his game last week. That seems to make the most sense from a basketball standpoint but financially it costs less to cut Brown now so as not to have his contract become guaranteed on the 10th and that means Goran stays with the team for the time being.

The Suns are not reported to be in any hurry to fill the slot and have until January 19th to do so. All this roster tap dance might make sense in the cost-cutting economy we are all facing but it sure doesn't feel good.

Kerr for his part was also content with Brown saying "he did everything we asked" but it is not guaranteed that the Suns will look for another guard. This supports my plan to sign Courtney Sims to a 10 day and send Lopez to Iowa. At some point either Lopez or Dragic or both need to go to Iowa and get some remedial playing time.

As for the rest of the team - practice practice practice...to the point that the guys are tired of beating up on each other and want to take it out on somebody else.

Speaking of which, Lou Admunson practiced with a bandaged and stitched chin which came not from a tumble off his bike but from a Robin Lopez elbow yesterday.

Leandro Barbosa was back after missing yesterday due to personal reasons.

Jason Richardson was surprised to hear that he's leading the NBA in 3-point FG percentage....47 of 97 (48.5%). But not that surprised.

He said if asked he would participate in the 3-point shooting contest during All-Star weekend where he would try to become the first to win both the slam dunk contest AND 3-point contest (Michael Jordan tried and failed). He does not lack confidence.

Audio and practice notes again provided by Sports 620 KTAR.

Many would say Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson, who led the league in rushing, but also fumbled 9 times. Others might say Michael Turner of Atlanta or New York Giants’ behemoth Brandon Jacobs. And others who maybe didn’t follow the league as closely this season, might still throw a vote to LaDainian Tomlinson of San Diego. In fact, in a quick, completely unscientific poll, I asked three co-workers separately, and two responded with votes for AP, and one for Jacobs.

They’re all wrong.

With the window for a running back’s success shrinking seemingly by the minute, you have to judge that question on who’s getting it done right now. And nobody is more productive right now than Carolina’s DeAngelo Williams. The third-year runner from Memphis is on quite the tear in the second half of the season. In his last 8 games, Williams has carried 153 times for 993 yards and 15 touchdowns. That’s 6.5 yards per carry. And he doesn’t fumble. Williams has coughed up the ball only once in 538 career carries, and not once this season.

And Williams showed big-play ability in the second half of the season as well. In the first 8 games, Williams’ longest run from scrimmage was a 32-yarder in a 34-0 win over Kansas City. In the last 8 games, Williams reeled off 12 runs of 20 or more yards, including touchdown runs of 69, 56 and 56 yards, and three other touchdown jaunts measuring 30 or more yards.

Here’s what the league’s top ten leading rushers did in their last 8 games of the season…

The Cardinals did a great job in containing Atlanta’s Turner in the Wild Card game, holding him to a season-low 42 yards, and throwing the Falcons’ run-happy offense off kilter the entire afternoon.

But the Cardinals’ defense has first-hand knowledge of how disruptive Williams can be. In week 8, he had 68 of his 108 yards after halftime, and his 15-yard touchdown run in the third quarter started a Panthers’ rally which ended in a 27-23 Carolina win. Page one of the Cardinals’ defensive game plan has got to be devoted to stopping, or at least slowing down DeAngelo Williams.

The recipe is pretty much the same for the Cardinals as it was against Atlanta. Make the Panthers throw the ball. If Williams goes off for more than 100 yards, which has been the norm in the past 8 weeks, it could be a long day for the Cardinals in Charlotte.

However, not all is lost.  With Brown once again in the news, it gives me an excuse to torture UofA alums.  Dee, Deron, Luther, you’re the best around.  The Wildcats could never keep you down.

Kerr is probably not finished making moves and tinkering with the Suns bench.  With Lopez struggling mightily and Dragic not playing, it’s possible their next stop is the D-League.  If that’s the case, it only makes sense to take a look at Courtney Sims and what’s left of Shaun Livingston (via BDL.)

The Suns bench has been inconsistent at best, some new blood surely wouldn’t hurt.  Perhaps Coach Porter will give that Dudley fellow they traded for some more run as well.